Imagine that years ago you bought a classic car, years have passed and the paint has worn off and the design has become outdated. So you decide to take it to a restoration shop, where experts will renovate it with more modern features.
The car has now retained its style but looks a thousand times better, and you have become the envy of your friends. Something like that happens with brands, as time goes by they can start to look outdated and your competition can look much better than you. This is when you should consider give it a new life with the brand redesign.
A brand redesign is a total or partial modification of a brand’s image. These changes can range from a small adjustment to the typography or colors, to a complete change of the image.
The reasons to redesign a brand are diverse, such as when you have been in business for years and your company’s activities have changed. your company’s activities have changed. Keeping the same logo can be counterproductive because it no longer represents you and giving new life to it will help you reach your customers properly.
Companies have been redesigning their brands for years to stay competitive in the market. Some of these companies have had memorable successes that today have become an example for entrepreneurs to follow. For that reason, in this article we are going to focus on 10 success stories of companies that have done a brand redesign.
Good examples of brand redesign
Apple
Posiblemente una de las mejores historias de rebranding de la era. A principios y mediados de la década de 1990, Apple sufría de bajas ventas, bajo interés de los consumidores y toneladas de competencia que alejaban a los clientes de ellos.The brand’s color palette didn’t represent much, and certainly didn’t stand out, until Steve Jobs took over the company in 1997 and began to change consumer expectations.
With an image of minimalism and modernity, a series of innovative new products and a series of marketing and advertising campaigns that focused on ideas and experiences rather than products or purchases.
Fedex
En 1994, la compañía de envíos invirtió bastante tiempo y recursos para conseguir una nueva imagen y dejar atrás su anticuado diseño. El resultado fue un logotipo que incluso es referente en las escuelas de diseño.A characteristic feature of its logo is the arrow hidden in the letters, which represents the company’s mission: speed.
Airbnb
It is a good example of how some start-ups do not pay much attention to branding when they start, however, it is also a clear example of how a good rebranding can help them to position and differentiate themselves from the rest.
In 2014, Airbnb unveiled a new brand identity designed by designstudio with a new color palette, typography and a new brand, called “bélo”.
The premise behind the rebranding was to foster a greater sense of belonging, and this was done through the formation of a new “community symbol that can be expressed differently by every member of the community and in every listing – it is not limited by language, culture or location”.
Burberry
This brand suffered a blow to its reputation due to a bad brand association. A group of gang members known as the “chavs” began to use its famous Esocés pattern as a symbol for them. Because of this, their customers began to believe that the brand no longer had the same prestige.
Fortunately, in 2001 Christopher Bailey joined the team as creative director. Among some of the strategies he implemented was the redesign of the logo, removing the characteristic horseman and changing the typography. With this, little by little he managed to make the brand reflect the exclusivity and prestige that characterizes it.
Nike
Originally called “Blue Ribbon Sports”, Nike was dedicated to selling imported tennis shoes in the trunk of a car. When the company began to grow and create its own products, its owners saw the need to redesign the brand identity because it no longer identified them.
That’s when they hired a designer who created the iconic “swoosh” or “little dove” logo. They also changed their name to Nike, whose inspiration was the name of the Greek Goddess of Victory. Thus arriving at this new image that has worked very well for them over the years and is highly identifiable.
Uber
The founder originally presented a first logo that customers soon rejected because of its design. In addition to this, there was criticism of the service and a bad working environment, so Uber quickly redesigned its brand with a simpler and more modern design.
TV Azteca
Tv Azteca had not made such a radical change to its brand as it did in 2023. It renewed its corporate image and abandoned the eagle after 10 years of use. It debuted a new logo and graphics, making it clear that this company knows how to keep up to date with its competitors.
Bad examples of brand redesign
GAP
The American textile company Gap decided in 2010 to renew its logo to make it more modern. When they announced the news with the change of image, they received an avalanche of criticism through social networks.
Six days after the launch of their new logo and in response to the criticism received, they decided to erase any trace of it, and continue with the old one.
In 2016 they launched a fresh, flat, gradient-oriented new app icon design for their main app, as well as their three daughter apps; Design, Boomerang, and Hyperlapse.
The new logo generated several criticisms, most of them bad, but the decision was made to continue with it, following the trend generated by iOS in 2010.
The star channel
The main channel of the Mexican network Televisa renewed its image and, from being El Canal de las Estrellas for more than 30 years, reduced its name to Las Estrellas, with a visual identity that generated criticism and is reminiscent of the colors of its direct competitor TV Azteca.
This change has not been fully accepted by its audience, however, as in the case of Instagram, it has been decided to continue with its use, hoping to achieve the acceptance of its audience.
Rebranding has its pros and cons, you will generally find divided opinions between people who like it and people who don’t. The secret is to focus on conveying what the public wants. The secret is to focus on conveying what the public wants. 
