logo design case study

Inspirationfeed

Inspiring and educating bright minds.

30 In-Depth Logo Design Case Studies

Last Updated on March 7, 2024

Table of Contents

Ever wondered what it takes to create a logo? Well if you have you’re in luck, because today we have some eye opening logo design case studies.

You get to go behind the scenes and discover what it takes to design a successful logo. The case studies  below provide an overview of logo redesign/design by talented designers.

We hope you will enjoy this article and hopefully get inspired to create your own logo. Please feel free to comment below and tell us what you thought.

2. Just Creative Design

3. A-List Blogging Bootcamps

4. butterfield photography.

6. Ultimate Potential

7. Rockable Press

8. Vivid Ways

9. MyNiteLife

10. the bounty bev.

13. Latitudesouth

15. Directededge

16. Mindberry

17. Grooveshark

18. Dachelogo

19. Brokers

20. Siahdesign

21. Peter Hylenski Sound Design

22. Undersea Productions

23. Keyboard Kahuna

24. Tamara Kauffman

25. Apple & Eve

26. Orb Web Solutions

27. Foehn & Hirsch

28. Smashing Network Badge Development

29. Botanica

30. Homespun Chili

Posted by: Igor Ovsyannnykov

Igor is an SEO specialist, designer, photographer, writer and music producer. He believes that knowledge can change the world and be used to inspire and empower young people to build the life of their dreams. When he is not writing in his favorite coffee shop, Igor spends most of his time reading books, taking photos, producing house music, and learning about cinematography. He is a sucker for good coffee, Indian food, and video games.

• Logo Design
• Brand Naming
• Brand Tagline
• Label Design
• Brochure Design
• Business Card

11 Famous Logos and their Successful Case study

In everyday life when we see so many brand logos, we appreciate few and others vanish from our mind. Have you wondered what makes a logo creative that will stay in the minds of people and doesn’t vanish?

In this blog, LogoPeople will take you behind the scenes and discover what it takes to design a successful logo. Some eye-opening logo design case studies below will help you make an overview of successful logo designing. 

Table of Contents

Google logo represents all the positive, energetic, and young forces. It’s simple, brief, and powerful.

The very first impression of the Google logo is that it is simple and colourful!

Brands collect all information from data online, sorts and display them to the users of Google results. Irrespective of colour, race and area it treats users equally.

If we ignore all colours, only the simple word” G” is visible, which is its theme. In real life also we are bombarded with much information, but we urgently need a convenient service to sort data and provide what we need most. That’s what Google does! Google doesn’t use any art fonts that are hard to read. Instead, all Google logo fonts are straightforward.

It all started with a fruit Apple, the falling fruit that led Isaac Newton to discover the gravity concept. The main idea behind Apple is bringing simplicity to the public, with the most sophisticated way. It was simple but strong and with changing, the evolution of logo’s from 1976 till today thought it brought variations in its colours, but the shape of the logo remained untouched.

When Apple came up with its first-ever iMac, the Bond Blue, the logo was modified and its rainbow colours disregarded. They thought that the rainbow-coloured logo would have looked childish, silly, and out of place on the sky-blue compute.

The logo then took designed with a luxurious metallic look with embossing. The “Glass” themed logo design was the next evolution for the logo. Now the company uses a more modernized flat “Millennial” Apple logo.

The logo matches the personality of the brand when we think of Apple’s products; we think of words like accessible, sleek, and intelligent. The logo conveys just that.

The brand Nike “swoosh” has one of the most recognizable and iconic brand logos. The recent advertisements let go the Nike name and use only the logo, combined with their tagline “Just do it.” Graphic design student Carolyn Davidson created the logo. Despite being a famously simple logo, it has evolved and changed since it was initially conceived.

The line reflects the goddess Nike wing, who gave the brand a name. Nike means the victory in ancient Greece and patronized the athletes. The Swoosh is known to the whole world and transmits sound at high speed. It is a symbol of eternal and constant movement.

The wing shape was designed as a reflection to stimulate athletes to achievements and actions such as the tagline “Just do it” that appeared later.

In 1971 a logo featured the full company name “Federal Express” inside a rectangle which was divided in two by a diagonal line. The corporate colour palette included three hues (blue, red, and white) that portrayed the ideas of power and professionalism.

Such as colour orange stands for FedEx Express, red is a direct indication at FedEx Freight and green is the corporate colour of FedEx Ground.

FedEx emblem is simple if you look between letters E and X, you will spot a white arrow which stands for accuracy speed, strive for perfection, and perseverance in achieving goals. It looks stylish and relevant even decades after its last re-designing.

The FedEx logo is a textbook example of how to use negative space; for the iconic hidden arrow, designer Lindon Leader paired the Universe 67 and Futura Bold fonts

It consists of a thick black ring encircled by a silver lining where the word ‘BMW’ is inscribed in a non-serif typeface in the top half of the black ring. The ring was partitioned into four equal alternative colours of blue and white quarters which are known as “roundel”, which was created and registered in the year 1917.

It is remarkably simple and projects an identity that is smart, clear, sporty and image-conscious.

The white and blue colour of logo has many variations such as:

Sky blue and white fields other are interpretation to a rotating propeller and BMW logo to Bavaria where the products are produced”.

On 3rd march new logo is revealed to match their new release i4 car concept. The circle shape is still the same along with the blue and white colour. The lighting and 3D effect replaced the thick black ring with a transparent one to develop a more straightforward and minimal logo.

6. Coca-Cola 

Over the year 1886 there were many changes in the logo, but there was never a dramatic change, aside from the addition of the “white wave” that we commonly see underneath the text or classic, and script lettering that has largely remained the same.

The logo represents originality and classiness; the cursive and fashionable lettering is truly unique and personifies the stylish class of its brand. The brand has created red and white colour as the anthem of cold drink. It is the most desired logo all around the world due to its emotional connect and nostalgic feel.

Red displays energy, appetizing, passion and excitement. The logo is very simplistic, and hence it stayed in the minds of customers. In fact, people recognize the logo with just colour and font style also.

7. Mc Donalds 

McDonald’s iconic logo has gone through a lot of changes during its history. The logo was just a simple sketch of a chef in the 1940s. Now it has been transformed into one of the most recognized logos, eliminating its unnecessary elements over the years.

The McDonald’s brand logo looks similar to two of the restaurant’s golden brown French fries bent into the shape of an “M”.

It is a subtle message that advertises one of McDonald’s most popular menu items without the viewer, even realizing it. The brand chose to incorporate the slogan “I’m lovin’ it” into their logo. In this slogan, the company purposefully uses lower case letters and abbreviation to convey a calm and informal tone.

The packaging design of the Pepsi label has contributed in a massive way to the victory of the brand. The Design of Pepsi Logo is simple, attractive, instantly visible and helps in catching the attention of people towards the beverage.

Pepsi Globe shape logo that we see today has gone several changes over the years. The new Pepsi brand logo is now a simple circular design without the company name, which simplified version of the logo that act as excellent on all promotional campaigns. Started with almost same typography and colour as their competitor brand Coca-Cola, but now brand logo uses blue and red as these are contrasting colours.

The middle white strip increases the contrast more for producing tantalizing spectacle. The word Pepsi are typecast at the side of the globe this time in the lower case. The centre white space gives a smiling face to the logo. Current Pepsi logo has a patriotic palette of the year 40s, minimalistic design of the years 70s and script-like curves from the brand logos original look.

Shell from 1891 has gone many changes with its brand logo, but the picture of the shell has never disappeared.

The company wanted to align the colours of the Spanish flag, where many early California settlers were born to try and form an emotional bond with their customers. The shell represents a mollusk, which reflects the company’s trading roots, and part of the eco-cycle of oil exploration.

Bold and robust font lines indicate a bold company with a strong standing in the business world. Shell’s colours remind us of the company’s heritage.

10. Microsoft

Microsoft started with a soft coloured graphic which carried a suggestion to data structures. The ‘times’ family moved a crossed ‘W and this logo had a professional and sophisticated look.

Over the years it added more colours to its logo such as red, green, blue, yellow along with bolder sans type. The later logo acquired cleaner, 3D that presented as the plastic look and hence after two generations the logo came up as flatter ad cleaner design.

These few changes were aligned with the evolution of digital screens. As the resolutions get better, the type gets thinner.

Finally, the present logo, with the arrival of Windows 8 was a time when the whole design philosophy of Microsoft products was changing- when the entire design world was realizing the utility of flatter designs.

11. Walmart

The company played around with various designs, mostly flip-flopping on whether to hyphenate the company name in the logo to read “Wal-Mart” the company eventually settled on the latter in 2008.

“Walmart” which was spelt out in all lowercase letters accented on end by a yellow sunburst, the brand refers as “the spark”. The logo marks the 6th version of the brand logo design and said that the design was to make shopping more attractive to higher-income families.

The soft blue and yellow colour is an attempt to be more welcoming and inviting to their customers across the world. The spark is a symbol of inspiration and innovation, both things that have driven the company forward over the years.

The new logo didn’t have to be completely innovative and original; it just had to be different from their old one—something that would represent a fresh start and a new direction for the company.

Some other famous and successful brand logo:

Conclusion:

After going through the above beautiful and iconic brand logo case studies, there are also many other famous and successful brand logo such as Adidas, Honda, Starbucks, Rolex, Mercedes, Google, Chanel, Mickey mouse, Sony, Toyota, Dell, ford, ebay, Disney, Harley Davidson, Burger king, Dominos, Jeep, Amazon, Costa coffee, Android, CNN, Nestle and many more in list.  We are sure you have enriched your knowledge. Case studies make us realize that these giant companies have also once faced issues. Their logo today, we see their famous and most recognized logo all around the world, but now we know they have even gone through a journey of modifications and alterations to get that one perfect logo. Though changing time and market makes us keep updated with logo design, it is essential to approach a professional logo design agency who understands your requirement and then work. The agency that thinks for your future expansion and aligns such relevant elements in your logo design is significant. You can connect us if you are confused or ready to change your old logo and take a new direction, we will make you achieve your vision.

Being a strategist’s head and a long term visionary personality aims to achieve excellence in branding, packaging and digital marketing field. My 15 years of design experience and masters degree ais my strength which keeps me motivated and keep me going positively. I have participated in extensive branding design conquests in India, USA, Australia and New Zealand with winning zeal. My objective is to encourage start-ups and hence involves actively in the articles which will act as a productive intake of knowledge for them. Do connect me personally via my LinkedIn and I love to share my expertise with you.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Blogs

April 23, 2024.

Download Free Transport Logo That Puts Your Indian Brand on the Map!

April 9, 2024.

147+ Packaging Box Designs That Gain Customer Admiration

March 15, 2024.

Download Free Farming Logo for Your Indian Agricultural Business

Disclaimer: The ownership and copyright of the listed designs rest with their respective companies who have full worldwide ownership of the designs.Our blog is just presenting different creative design without any claim of ownership or rights. We are just showcasing the information for design inspiration and creativity.

Logo Design Case Studies: Deconstructing Successful Logos

Your brand’s first impression is crucial in a crowded marketplace. The key to making a lasting impact lies in your logo, which serves as the visual ambassador. It’s like a firm handshake, a warm smile, or a catchy tune that instantly captures attention and stays in people’s minds.

A skilled logo design agency crafts a well-designed logo that goes beyond being a pretty picture; it silently ensures trust, quality, and connection. It speaks volumes about your brand’s personality, stirs emotions, and creates a strong bond with loyal customers.

Logo design case studies help us reveal the design choices, target audience insights, and marketing strategies that shaped these iconic symbols. By deconstructing these real-world examples, we learn the secrets of memorability, emotional connection, and brand differentiation.

It’s like discovering a treasure chest of inspiration that guides us in crafting logos that truly make an impact in the constantly evolving brand industry.

Logo Design: Case Studies and Fundamentals

Logo design is the process of creating a visual symbol that represents a company or brand. It involves combining colors, shapes, and text strategically to convey a distinctive and memorable identity. The key to a successful logo lies in its simplicity, memorability, and versatility. It should have a distinct look, be easily recognizable, and work well in different sizes and formats.

The colors and shapes are carefully selected to convey the brand’s essence. A successful logo stands out, making a lasting impression and effectively representing the brand’s identity and values. Join us in unraveling the elements contributing to their success and gaining valuable insights into the art of deconstructing impactful logos.

Logo Design Case Study 1: Spotify

Spotify is a Swedish audio streaming platform that has revolutionized the music industry by offering a legal and convenient alternative to music piracy. Spotify’s logo is a simple, user-friendly design with a groovy sound wave and circular badge. It symbolizes growth, harmony, and freshness.

Spotify’s logo features a sound wave at its heart, showcasing the platform’s diverse range of sounds and reinforcing its comprehensive audio experience. Spotify’s logo is a true reflection of its modern and dynamic brand identity. It perfectly aligns with their innovative music streaming approach and their constant strive to be at the cutting edge of technology.

Logo Design Case Study 2: Pinterest

Pinterest is a social media platform that helps users discover and save ideas for various interests. Its goal is to ignite creativity and preserve ideas. Pinterest’s logo is a combination of a “P” and a pin, with a clean and recognizable design and a bold red color representing passion and excitement.

The pin element emphasizes curating and organizing ideas. The stylized “P” represents the brand’s initial and resembles a pin, representing the act of pinning or saving visual content on the platform. Pinterest’s logo promotes creativity and accessibility. Its simplicity adds to its user-friendliness. The logo combines the letter “P” with a pin for instant recognition and reinforces the brand’s identity.

Logo Design Case Study 3: Chanel

Chanel is a prestigious fashion brand known for sophistication and style, offering clothing, accessories, perfumes, and beauty products. Established in 1910. You’ve probably seen those interlocked, mirrored double “C” letters before, right?

That’s the Chanel logo or “Coco Chanel monogram.” It’s a really clean and stylish design. Fun fact: those interlocking Cs stand for Coco Chanel’s initials. This logo has become a symbol of pure luxury, sophistication, and that classic Chanel vibe.

Among luxury fashion users, 89% recognize the Chanel logo

The logo design features interlocking “C” letters for balance and timelessness, with a clean and bold typeface for a modern look. The Chanel logo represents elegance and luxury, embodying the brand’s dedication to sophistication and opulence. It has become a symbol of high fashion and impeccable style.

The logo exudes simplicity and balance, making it relevant and captivating throughout various periods. It is instantly recognizable and stands as a prestigious symbol of excellence and superior craftsmanship.

Logo Design Case Study 4: SpaceX

Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, intending to make space travel more affordable and pave the way for humans to settle on Mars. The logo of SpaceX showcases a cool octagonal star with a swoosh that goes beyond it. It’s a super modern and forward-thinking design. With its sleek lines and futuristic look, it perfectly represents the company’s dedication to innovation and exploring space.

SpaceX’s logo features an octagonal star and swoosh, symbolizing the company’s focus on space exploration and technology, with clean and sleek lines. SpaceX’s logo represents their dedication to space exploration and their influential position in the industry, with a sleek and modern design appealing to younger audiences.

Logo Design Case Study 5: Ferrari

Enzo Ferrari founded Ferrari in 1939 as a luxury sports car manufacturer known for its high-performance vehicles and distinctive red hues. The logo of Ferrari features a horse in a yellow shield, drawing inspiration from an Italian pilot’s emblem. It represents good luck and pays homage to Modena.

The design of Ferrari’s high-performance vehicles features a horse, symbolizing power, speed, and grace. The yellow shield represents Italian heritage and Modena. With its clean and sleek lines, the design adds a modern touch to the classic look, showcasing Ferrari’s dedication to blending tradition with innovation.

Logo Design Case Study 6: Starbucks

Starbucks, which was founded in 1971 in Seattle, Washington, is a coffeehouse chain that is renowned worldwide. It is famous for its high-quality coffee and cozy environment, making it one of the most recognized and influential coffee brands globally. Drawing inspiration from a 16th-century Norse woodcut, Starbucks’ logo presents a siren with two tails enclosed within a green circle.

Starbucks’ logo is crucial to its brand identity. Its simple design resonates globally and symbolizes its strong brand recognition. The use of green colors and ethical practices highlight their dedication to social responsibility and sustainability. Starbucks’ twin-tailed siren symbolizes the charm and quality of their coffee, enclosed in a green circle to promote eco-friendliness and ethical sourcing.

Logo Design Case Study 7: FedEx

Frederick W. Smith founded FedEx in 1971, establishing it as a renowned courier delivery service company headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. It has built a strong reputation for its reliable and efficient express shipping services, catering to both international and domestic delivery needs.

The FedEx logo has remained unchanged since its creation in 1994

The FedEx logo showcases the company’s name in a vibrant combination of purple and orange. Purple signifies sophistication and reliability, while orange represents energy and enthusiasm. The space between “E” and “x” creates an arrow, symbolizing the company’s fast and precise nature, improving legibility, and strengthening the brand’s reputation. The logo’s simplicity and cleverness also make it highly recognizable on a global scale, contributing to FedEx’s strong brand recognition.

Logo Design Case Study 8: Coca Cola

Coca-Cola, established in 1886 by John Stith Pemberton, is a global beverage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s famous for being one of the most renowned and easily identifiable brands worldwide, particularly for its leading product, Coca-Cola, a fizzy soda.

When you see the scripted letters of “Coca-Cola,” you can’t help but feel a warm and friendly connection. The bold red color not only catches your eye but also represents the lively and thrilling nature of the Coca-Cola brand. And of course, the contour bottle silhouette is an essential part of the logo, giving the brand its unmistakable visual identity.

The Coca-Cola logo is recognized by a staggering 94% of the world’s population

The Coca-Cola logo is an iconic symbol that everyone knows, regardless of their culture or language. Its timeless design evokes feelings of joy, refreshment, and the shared enjoyment of a Coca-Cola beverage. By using this logo consistently over the years, Coca-Cola has created a strong and enduring brand identity.

Logo Design Case Study 9: Nike

Back in 1964, Nike started its journey as Blue Ribbon Sports before rebranding itself in 1971. Now headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, Nike has become a major player in the athletic footwear and apparel market. The company’s catchy slogan, “Just Do It,” and the iconic swoosh logo have become symbols of its success and recognition worldwide.

In 1971, a graphic design student named Carolyn Davidson created Nike’s famous swoosh, a cool checkmark-like design that serves as the brand’s logo. This swoosh symbolizes speed, movement, and the wing of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. It perfectly captures the essence of the brand, representing athleticism, determination, and triumph. Nike’s swoosh symbolizes movement and greatness, with the brand name displayed in a bold font.

Nike paid just $35 for its first “swoosh” logo

When you see the Nike logo, you immediately think of excellence in sports and the determination to reach your goals. It’s famous everywhere and plays a big part in making Nike a global leader in sportswear. The logo gets even more attention because famous athletes support it, showing that it’s connected to achievements in various sports.

Logo Design Case Study 10: Lacoste

Lacoste, a French brand established in 1933 by René Lacoste, a tennis player and André Gillier, is famous for its top-notch apparel, shoes, and accessories. Their iconic polo shirts, adorned with the legendary crocodile logo, are particularly renowned.

Paying tribute to René Lacoste’s media-given nickname, “The Crocodile,” Lacoste’s logo prominently features the green crocodile. This iconic logo was one of the pioneers in the fashion industry, instantly recognizable worldwide. It represents sophistication, opulence, and a strong association with the game of tennis.

Lacoste’s products have a recognizable green crocodile embroidered logo and clean, bold lettering, adding to their minimalist and sophisticated design.

The crocodile logo is a symbol of Lacoste’s tennis and sportsmanship, representing style, luxury, and high standards. It’s a globally recognized emblem that upholds the brand’s reputation as timeless and iconic. It symbolizes athletic grace and excellence.

Identifying Common Elements among Successful Logos

• Simplicity : Most of these logos are simple, with clean and uncluttered designs that make them easy to recognize.
• Iconic Imagery : Many logos have famous symbols or images, like the crocodile in Lacoste or the swoosh in Nike, which helps people remember the brand right away.
• Distinctive Color Palette : These logos have a consistent and unique color scheme that helps people easily recognize the brand. For instance, Coca-Cola is known for its iconic red color, while FedEx stands out with its combination of purple and orange.

Trends in Contemporary Logo Design

• Minimalism : Many brands, like Spotify and Chanel, have adopted a minimalist approach to their logos. This design choice reflects the current trend of embracing simplicity and clarity.
• Versatility : Nike and Starbucks logos are incredibly versatile, effortlessly adapting to different contexts and highlighting a contemporary approach to logo design.
• Hidden Elements : The clever utilization of negative space, like the hidden arrow in the FedEx logo, showcases a modern design trend.

The Role of Innovation and Uniqueness

• Innovative Concepts : SpaceX’s sleek and modern logo represents innovation in the aerospace industry, aligning with the company’s cutting-edge technology.
• Brand Storytelling : The Chanel logo is like a tale, showcasing intertwined double “C”s that represent grace, refinement, and everlasting style.
• Unique Symbols : Ferrari’s iconic prancing horse and Starbucks’ famous mermaid are special symbols that add to the individuality of their brands.

The Bottom Line

Looking back, when we think about the importance of logo design and the process of breaking it down, it becomes evident that logos have a crucial role in defining and expressing brand identities. As we wrap up this journey, it becomes apparent that logos go beyond just being visual elements—they are influential messengers of brand values and narratives.

The process of deconstruction offers valuable lessons on simplicity, symbolism, and adaptability, giving businesses a roadmap to create impactful logos that connect with their target audience. Essentially, a thoughtfully designed logo is a foundation for brand recognition, leaving a memorable mark on consumers and playing a crucial role in the overall success and identity of a business.

At Logowhistle , we offer tailored logo design services that meet customer’s requirements. Take a look at our logo design packages for more options and details. Curious about how to choose the right design tools for your logo creation? Visit our LogoWhistle FAQ section for expert guidance. The logo design journey is a creative one, and we’d love to be a part of it. If you have any questions, ideas or need professional design services, please contact us at +1 (201).918.4295. Let’s create a remarkable logo that truly represents your brand.

Disclaimer: All the images used in the article were taken from the internet. None of the above images are owned by LogoWhistle.

Related Posts

Evolution Of Logos Over Time – Transforming Brand Identity

Nature-Inspired Logo Designs for a Fresh Brand Image

The Role of Logo Design in UX/UI

Logo Design Approaches Across Industries

17 Logo Design Case Studies

Although there are a lot of quality tutorials available for designing logos, case studies from real-world projects can prove to be even more valuable as a learning resource. Case studies are excellent for showing more of the entire process, the steps that are involved, and putting it into the context of a specific client.

In this post we’ll point you towards 17 logo design case studies that will give you an in-depth look at the process of logo or identity design.

Logo Design Process and Walkthrough for Vivid Ways

Henri Ehrhart Brand Identity Design

Logo Design Project Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Vissumo Brand Identity Design

Giacom Brand Identity Design

Logo Design Process for Just Creative Design’s Award Winning Logo

Logo Design Case Study – JMR Insurance Group

Berthier Associates Brand Identity Design

Logo Design Case Study – Victory Marketing Agency

Hilcon Brand Identity Design

A-List Blogging Bootcamps Identity Design

Tammy Lenski Brand Identity Design

Identity Design Process for Butterfield Photography

The Philadelphia History Museum

Komplett Fitness Brand Identity Design

Logo Design Case Study – Bayfront Bistro

Logo Design Process for FITUCCI

For more on logos please see:

• Top 10 Sources of Logo Design Inspiration
• Logo Design Toolbox: 60+ Resources for Logo Design
• 50 Clever, Creative Logos
• 35 Type Based Logos
• Showcase of Logos with Folds

35 Portfolio Websites that are Sure to Inspire

Showcase of double-sided business cards.

Very insightful post. It’s amazing how much work is put into a single element. That’s why I get so frustrated when a client tells me to “whip up a logo” in an hour or two. sigh…

Excellent article. Logo design has always been something I wanted to really work on – this is just another great article to add to the toolbox. myNiteLife Rocks…

Great list guys…I always love case studies b/c they let you the behind the scenes stuff that goes into creating something. I will definitely be checking these out!

Great post! I love to see the published logo case studies but don’t always catch each one that crops up via twitter etc so it’s good to have a collection. I’ll be looking through these. I’m not brave enough to post one of my own from start to finish!

Always nice to see how other designers work. An additional resource for logo design processes is Processed Identity, (processedidentity.com) a community driven site dedicated to the creative process.

Thanks Steven

Thanks for these. I really like these posts showing the process of people create logos. Always interesting.

Thanks for including my logo in the list! I’m thrilled with the logo David Airey designed for me and get constant positive feedback about it.

These provide an interesting perspective into the design process. Nice post.

some of the great logo designs with case studies. you can take many inspiration and how the other designer work. excellent post

Great perspective into the design and logo process.

Great article. I’ve never been good at logo design but these case studies are definitely going to be a good read and give me a better idea about the process of designing a logo. Thanks for sharing.

Really nice list, guys! I’m doing my final project at college about brading, and the post was really useful 😀 Congratulations for the site!

Perfect work.

The persons that create this designs are just EXPERTS 🙂

Logo design is so difficult, you need to put a lot of effort in whilst making the design seem like its effortless. The devil is in the detail, if you look closely at any of these great logos there are many small subtle details making up the designs, there is much to learn by taking a closer look!

These are really sleek and simple looking logos which have been well thought out and the target audience and brand have been considered.

Thanks for these resources. So many great logos, and it’s always good to see some thought processes.

nice article, thanks for sharing

These are great examples for inspiration. The liquid illustration for Vividways is great.

they are good ideas all.

I just required to thank you for an awesome internet site about a topic We have had an curiosity in for any extended time now. I are actually lurking and examining the feedback avidly so just desired to express my thanks for offering me with some quite very good examining materials.

These are very interesting studies. I will keep these in mind if i ever change my logo, or work on creating a logo for someone else.

Thank you for providing this logos. It is SOOOOOOO difficult to find a good logo. A friend of mine just is working on a new logo for a new project. Hard work!

Nice Case-Study … we will see what kind of results we can took of it for our company

Thank for the logos, great help for logo designers.

Well written article, well investigated and useful for me in the future.I am so glad you took the time and effort to write this posting. Will be back soon.

Some of those logos are not good at all.

Tasty like a spoonful of honey… I agree with Mark though some are a bit whack. The top three are my top three.

your article was great.the quality of tutorials for designing logos are very necessary. the studies case from real-world projects can prove to more valuable as a learning resource.

Wow – just perfect place to find really good inspirations. I’m impressed.

Great collection of logo design inspiration. The liquid illustration for Vividways is I think the best looking logo. But I’ve noticed most of the company logos have white backgrounds, maybe it’s more effective? I’m not really sure, there must be reason behind it, or maybe just plain coincidence.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Case Studies

A deep dive into all the world’s most famous logos; how they started, changed, and where they are today.

[email protected]

Rebrand Case Study: More Than Just a New Logo

When a simple logo refresh turned into a full-scale rebrand process, Toptal designer Rehan Saiyed took inspiration from ancient concepts of the number three—and a colorful parrot.

By Rehan Saiyed

Rehan is a multidisciplinary designer who specializes in branding, UX, and customer experience design. Past clients include Target, Volkswagen, and the Commercial Bank of Qatar. He’s won more than 45 awards, and his work has appeared in international design publications.

Previous Role

PREVIOUSLY AT

When I was invited to discuss a logo refresh with the leadership of the Victoria branch of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA), we didn’t know it at the time, but a much bigger transformation was in store. What began as a discussion about designing a single asset for one division led to a comprehensive rebranding framework for the entire organization.

IPAA is Australia’s professional association for civil servants and others working toward the public good in the nonprofit and academic sectors. The parent organization has one branch for each of Australia’s eight territorial divisions. IPAA’s core mission requires communicating effectively about events and services that support their members’ work in civil service.

One of my favorite parts of any project is digging in to discover what is and isn’t working. It’s always enlightening to learn about challenges from those who interact with the brand every day. In this case, taking the time to acquire a deep understanding of the brand enabled me to bring IPAA’s entire visual identity into the future.

How a Logo Refresh Led to a Full Rebrand

When I first met with IPAA leaders, there was no question that the organization needed a new logo. The existing one was dated and didn’t make the dynamic, forward-thinking impression that IPAA leadership wanted. There were functional issues as well: For instance, the logotype became illegible when sized for smaller applications such as favicons and social media avatars.

However, my initial meeting about modernizing the logo led to wider discussions about brand architecture and cohesion across eight territorial divisions. Subsequent brand discovery workshops with leaders at the other branches revealed significant inconsistencies in IPAA’s visual identity and brand positioning.

The branches worked independently of each other, and each had come to use different typefaces, colors, and communication styles across their respective platforms. This resulted in poor visual cohesion and made it impossible for IPAA to define its subbrands and offerings in a clear, intuitive way.

I realized that simply updating IPAA Victoria’s logo would only exacerbate the confusion. What IPAA needed was a new brand ecosystem—an integrated framework of names, symbols, colors, and typography, and a visual vocabulary for the master brand and its subbrands to provide a consistent look and feel for all print, digital, and physical touchpoints. IPAA leadership agreed. Ultimately our collaboration resulted in a cohesive brand identity for the entire organization, for everything from business cards to interior design.

A Meaningful Logo

A logo is typically the most recognizable brand asset for an organization, so it was essential that I bring IPAA’s up to standard. I created a bespoke logotype (the acronym IPAA) that conveyed strength, unity, and longevity. I wanted it to be inherently powerful and serve as a master brand on which the entire visual identity would be anchored.

The two capital A’s in the logotype were designed to mimic triangles. I built horizontal and vertical iterations for digital and print deliverables as well as an icon iteration (the triangulated “A” with the acronym beneath it) for platforms that require a subtle brand presence, like a mobile app.

The triangle nods to progress in a number of ways. Early philosophers and scientists recognized the number three as an expression of a complete cycle—past, present, and future. An upward-pointing triangle visually signals a positive, upward trajectory and a solid foundation. The three points of the triangle are also a subtle homage to the three points in IPAA’s mission statement: to promote good governance; encourage excellence in the provision of public services across Australia; and contribute to the development of public policy and management practices that will enhance the performance of the public sector.

While some may not read this much into it, I firmly believe incorporating such symbolism is integral to great design.

The Right Typeface

While few will consciously notice a great typeface, they will certainly notice a bad one. Choosing the right typeface is among the key identifiers for a brand, and it helps build familiarity and trust.

I selected the Open Sans family for digital communications and Frutiger Next Pro and Futura STD as the primary typeface for print products. Prior to the rebrand, IPAA had used an inconsistent mix of Arial and Times New Roman. I chose the new typefaces because they provide good readability and gray value , which make the text more pleasing to look at and legible at different sizes across all touchpoints.

Territorial Distinctions Inspired by Nature

IPAA has eight territory divisions from the Northern Territory to Tasmania. To establish a visual identity for each, I developed a color palette that reflects the diversity and beauty of Australia. I spent considerable time looking at nature, plants and animals for inspiration, and ultimately settled on the rosella, a type of parrot native to Australia.

The rosella’s feather formations of vibrant red and gold, vivid blues and greens, and shades of gray, white, and black are quite stunning to see up close, inspiring a striking yet balanced color palette. Each territory was assigned its own color and signature secondary accent color.

Brand Architecture and Hierarchy

IPAA’s brand architecture enables the organization to segment messaging and services so that each target audience hears what it needs to hear. It was vital to follow a clear brand hierarchy when presenting IPAA alongside its products and services so the master brand was never compromised.

Each tier represents a level in the hierarchy. The pictured logo lockup—a standardized combination of a logo with other brand elements—shows the partitions for the master IPAA brand, the territorial branch acronym (ACT), the service category (soft gold, for conferences), the conference’s main headline (“Thinking Differently”), and the conference’s subhead (“Building Trust”). Hewing to this template keeps the visual identity intuitive and coherent.

Strict guidelines were set to maintain the integrity of the tiers in the hierarchy across all events and services.

A Clear, Friendly Voice

A uniform brand voice was also instituted to ensure that messaging was disseminated consistently. IPAA’s house style requires all communications to be straightforward and accessible; motivational and imaginative; relatable and engaging; and reflective of its dedication to its members. These principles boiled down to four overarching qualities: clear, inspiring, human, and committed.

In practice, that means all copy should be structured in a hierarchical way, with the most important information prioritized and additional detail disclosed as needed. It should be distinctive—free of clichés and timeworn jargon. It should also be approachable, using everyday language instead of formal legal or academic prose.

For example, the preview text for a story on the IPAA website reads: “The vast majority of public servants behave respectfully and civilly to their colleagues. But surveys show bullying is significantly more widespread than codes of conduct or workers’ compensation claims suggest. Dr. Gordon de Brouwer explores bullying and harassment in public sector workplaces across Australia.” While research communications can take on a dry tone, this text signals that the article will clarify a thorny issue that is likely to impact the majority of IPAA’s members.

Bold Black-and-white Photography

I chose a black-and-white photographic style for digital and print communications that is simple, bold, and iconic. The monochromatic images contrast nicely against the color palette, creating visual balance and hierarchy on the page or screen. The images themselves relate symbolically to the content and reflect IPAA’s dynamic but reliable brand personality.

Together with the typeface, color palette, and logomark, the photographic style provides a cohesive and compelling aesthetic that is not only beautiful but effective in its mission to communicate and inspire. This visual effect is used across digital and print platforms as well as in headers for social media accounts.

Workspaces That Inspire and Promote Brand Identity

The IPAA’s Victoria office is a significant touchpoint not only for members and visitors, but also for employees. The visual aesthetic of an office space sends a message about your brand identity to anyone who enters. As a multidisciplinary designer, I also have experience in architectural design , and this allowed me to create a new space that communicates the organization’s values to visitors while meeting the needs of employees.

Because the existing space was relatively small for the number of employees using it, it was a challenge to make it look spacious, organized, and uncluttered. I opted for an open-office arrangement with most of the employees seated in two central pods to make the space feel lighter and less cramped, while still promoting collaboration.

The walls are painted white to make the space appear larger. To reflect the brand’s forward-looking positioning, the furniture is modern in style, with clean, simple lines in shades of white and gray. Some of the surfaces are textured to create a subtle contrast.

The brand’s primary and secondary territorial colors appear on accent walls, soft furnishings, and tabletop accessories. These colors are used sparingly to keep the space feeling modern and light, but not sterile.

Bold environmental graphics reinforce IPAA’s brand to employees and foster greater connection to the mission. Some visuals feature signature IPAA slogans and concepts, including “The Cultural Instigator,” “Leadership with IPAA,” and “Innovate with IPAA.” Other graphics feature black-and-white photography of work by emerging Aboriginal artists.

Protecting the Brand

I created a style guide to maintain the integrity of logos and wordmarks for all uses. It was my role as a designer to define what deliverables IPAA would need across all customer journey touchpoints. The style guide included examples of every deliverable, from grid comps to final comps.

I even designed a bespoke 3D trophy to replace the simple etched plaques the organization used to present for achievement awards. I created the mockups using 3D software—namely, Cinema 4D and Adobe Dimensions with Adobe Illustrator using the Origami plugin.

A Rebranding Success

After eight months of working closely with IPAA leadership, program managers, and marketing teams, the project was complete. My work received great feedback from IPAA’s territorial divisions, and executives were excited about the energy this redesign brought to their work. The process of collaborating to develop the rebrand —all the thought, analysis, and experimentation that went into it—was a powerful team-building exercise for IPAA leadership as well. They emerged from the experience more focused on their mission and better equipped to serve and empower members.

Building a brand ecosystem requires creativity, logic, and persistence. It can be a maddening and complex experience, but also a rewarding one. There were times it took a bit of persuading to get stakeholder buy-in, and there were many late nights spent grappling with how to make all the pieces fit. But at one of our final meetings, an IPAA executive said, “This is a great legacy Rehan is leaving behind.” I was humbled, and it was hard to believe it all started with the simple idea of redesigning a logo.

Further Reading on the Toptal Blog:

• The Dos and Don’ts of a Rebranding Strategy
• How to Define a Brand Voice for Maximum Impact
• Millennial Branding for a Boomer Product: A Branding Case Study
• Brands Still Matter: Brandless Boom to Bust
• Branding Is Dead, CX Design Is King

Understanding the basics

What is the purpose of a rebrand.

A rebrand is a way of reintroducing an organization through its visual identity. In some cases it may be necessary to rebrand a company in order to update an older design that no longer connects with the intended audience. In others, a rebrand may reflect a significant change in a company or product.

What is involved in a rebrand?

The rebrand process is an extensive overhaul of an organization or a product’s entire visual identity. While a new logo may be the most prominent change, a rebranding project touches nearly every part of the business’s physical and virtual presence, including typeface, color, and graphic design.

What makes rebranding successful?

Rebranding success depends on a clear, well-defined strategy that all stakeholders understand. It can be measured by quantitative and qualitative metrics, including brand awareness, digital performance, sales performance, and more.

Rehan Saiyed

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Member since May 24, 2019

About the author

World-class articles, delivered weekly.

By entering your email, you are agreeing to our privacy policy .

Toptal Designers

• Adobe Creative Suite Experts
• Agile Designers
• AI Designers
• Art Direction Experts
• Augmented Reality Designers
• Axure Experts
• Brand Designers
• Creative Directors
• Dashboard Designers
• Digital Product Designers
• E-commerce Website Designers
• Full-Stack Designers
• Information Architecture Experts
• Interactive Designers
• Mobile App Designers
• Mockup Designers
• Presentation Designers
• Prototype Designers
• SaaS Designers
• Sketch Experts
• Squarespace Designers
• User Flow Designers
• User Research Designers
• Virtual Reality Designers
• Visual Designers
• Wireframing Experts
• View More Freelance Designers

Join the Toptal ® community.

• Illustration
• Processes and Tools

Branding Case Study Illustration

Case Study: Tubik. Designing Logo for Design Agency

Case study on logo design: tubik studio logo history. challenges of designing lettering and mascot with many sketches and images to show full creation process..

Creating a logo that is going to become catchy and fast-recognized is a real challenge. We have already told you in detail about the whole path of logo creation in one of our case studies before.

Today’s case study is going to be a little different from the others because this time we are going to share the work we have done for ourselves. So let’s go along the way of memories of Tubik logo creation.

Creation of a logo for a design studio that works on UI/UX, responsive web design, interface animation, logo, and branding design.

Pencil sketching, Adobe Illustrator

The latest version of the symbol and lettermark for Tubik, which you can see today, is actually the third version of the studio logo. Being a design studio, which works not only on UI/UX and RWD but also on logo and branding design, means being attentive and sensitive to the trends of the market and feeling the time for the wind of change. Well, for our studio history this wind brought changes three times.

The first version of such an essential branding element as a logo was created by Sergey Valiukh and Valentyn Khenkin in the form of lettering with the main aim of making the studio name recognizable and easy to remember. It was accomplished according to the trends of that time when skeuomorphism was widely developed. It contained letters of the studio name which were separated from each other and each one had its own visual solution. Therefore, they followed the same style, and simultaneously every letter was a kind of separate visual element being the original form of a letter with its own unique features. After the stage of sketching and processing the result in Adobe Illustrator, two variants were developed: the black-and-white one, in which the greatest accent was put on the unusual form of the letters, and the colorful one, which used a variety of colors. The colored version looked like a set of letters, each made distinct with a different color background.

The first Tubik Studio logo lettering, black and white version

The first Tubik Studio logo lettering, colored version

However, the time was changing, the team of designers was getting stronger, the trends in design were changing even faster. When the name of the studio was already recognized, the designers decided to create a new version that would contain both lettering and the mascot.

It should be said that the studio name has a history and there was a real mascot of the team. Tubik was the name of the dachshund dog belonging to the family of the studio founder and CEO Sergey Valiukh. Therefore, there wasn’t any discussion of what image was going to be used as a mascot. It was decided to be a dog, moreover, the breed had to be as recognizable as possible. So, after the short brainstorming session, the designers agreed upon the round shape for the mascot part of the logo and the lettering being strict and geometric. And since that moment the process of search started. Mostly, the job was done by studio designer Ludmila Shevchenko. She carried out the research of the competition and took into account the actual trends of design as a pitch for studio representation.

So, in the first versions of sketches, the designer did her best to work out as many different variants as possible in order to find the general concept.

The process of working out the concept of the logo

The full set of sketches for different stylistic versions of the logo image

As you can see from the set of sketches shown above, it contains solutions that are stylistically different. There was the option of showing the attempt to combine the image of a dog with the image of starting letter of the studio name (top left corner). Then there were variants trying the whole image of the dog, with its body and legs featuring the idea of movement. Some of them were fully inscribed into the shape of a circle while the others showed the movement of the animal with some elements out of the circle. Also, there were the variants trying the idea to show only the head of a dog in the logo. As you can find in the bottom row, there was the variant with the naturalistic image of the dog’s head. And some variants in a more geometric manner with strict and solid strokes were also developed.

Having discussed all the options and their potential to represent the company among loads of others, be recognizable, catchy, and legible in different sizes, the designers opted for the geometric version of the dog’s head. It corresponded to all the aims and it successfully involved the elements making the breed of the dog clear. When all the details and nuances were agreed-upon, the technical work on the digital version of the logo started.

The lettermark created to be combined with the logo also needed to be solid, geometric, and easy-to-read both big and small.

Digital version of Tubik Studio logo mascot and lettermark

The logo was successfully used by the studio and being clear and simple it corresponded to any cases to be used for. Mostly the studio used a black-and-white version of the logo, allowing coloring only in rare exceptional cases when it was unavoidable.

Following the latest trends of web design and working on loads of tasks for the design and redesign of different websites and applications, the CEO of Tubik Studio Sergey Valiukh also launched the demanding process of the thorough redesign of the studio website. When most decisions for the website were made on UX/UI, styles, color palette, and visual details, it became clear that logo and lettering also needed the redesign. They worked efficiently for the company, however, they didn’t correspond with the general style and concept of the website. Therefore, the third edition of the Tubik logo had to be born.

This time lettering was the first element to be worked out. Tubik Studio designer Arthur Avakyan being already experienced in creating lettermarks for logos got this part of the sophisticated job. The version on which the team stopped was absolutely different from the previous. This time the lettering was smooth and rounded with graceful connections of all the letters into one integral composition. After accepting the general concept and style, the lettering was checked in different colors, sizes, and resolutions to make sure it was legible in any case.

Working out new lettering composition for Tubik Studio logo: from rough sketching to clean digital version

Due to these changes, the mascot logo part also had to be reconsidered. Being very important for the company, these changes brought all the team together in the big brainstorm session where various options and details were discussed by the whole team. It was real teamwork and after that, all the designers worked on various sketches and styles to work out as many variants as possible. Although in search there were interesting solutions reflecting the whole dog image or some new elements such as the dog’s paw trace, in the process the team decided not to change the general idea of using the dog’s head for the mascot representation in the logo.

Brainstorm session at Tubik Studio

There was also the attempt of combining the shapes so that the shape of the dog image reflected the shape of the capital letter T in the lettering.

T-concept of the mascot image

Although this variant was interesting and original, it was somehow losing the elements reflecting the breed. Moreover, testing showed that in smaller sizes, for example, used in the header of the site, it could be even hard to recognize the animal as a dog immediately. The option could be confusing and that didn’t correspond with the company’s aims and wishes. So, the path of the search had to be continued.

Working on the final version, the designer Arthur Avakyan tried different versions of the dog heads. The strokes of the image had to reflect the smooth and graceful character of the lettering so keeping that track, the designer tried variations of shapes and length for noses, ears, and other visual elements. All the variants were tried in colors used as the basic ones for the website.

Trying new variants of the mascot in colors of Tubik Studio site

Finally, having a more or less clear vision, the designer also decided to try the variant which would make the image more dynamic. That’s how the image with the head directed a bit upwards was created.

The dynamic version of the mascot image

The designers of the studio tested the version in different color schemes, sizes and resolutions both separately and together with lettering. Thorough testing showed that this version worked the best that’s why this variant was accepted as the final one.

A new and previous version of the logo in comparison

The final version of the Tubik Studio logo

The process of creating a logo is always highly creative and intensive. The designer has to go through loads of ideas to create the one which would satisfy multiple needs. The creation of the Tubik logo was a result of great teamwork and deep attention to detail. It is always vital to remember that logo is not just the image, it’s a symbolic representation of the company, therefore, its design needs not only inspiration and art, but also research, analysis, hard work, and rigorous testing.

Useful Case Studies

For those, who are interested to see more practical case studies with creative flows for the logo and identity design, here is the set of them.

AppShack. Logo Design for a Digital Agency

LunnScape. Identity Design for a Landscape Company

Binned. Brand Identity Design for Cleaning Service

Reborn. Identity Design for a Restaurant

Andre. Logo Redesign for Landscape Firm

Andre. Corporate Identity Design for Landscape Firm

SwiftyBeaver. Logo for Mac Application

PassFold. Logo for a Mobile App

Ribbet. Logo for an Online Photo Editor

• February 2024
• January 2024
• December 2023
• November 2023
• October 2023
• September 2023
• August 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• February 2022
• January 2022
• December 2021
• November 2021
• October 2021
• September 2021
• August 2021
• February 2021
• January 2021
• December 2020
• November 2020
• October 2020
• September 2020
• August 2020
• February 2020
• January 2020
• December 2019
• November 2019
• October 2019
• September 2019
• August 2019
• February 2019
• January 2019
• December 2018
• November 2018
• October 2018
• September 2018
• August 2018
• February 2018
• January 2018
• December 2017
• November 2017
• October 2017
• September 2017
• August 2017
• February 2017
• January 2017
• December 2016
• November 2016
• October 2016
• September 2016
• August 2016
• February 2016
• January 2016
• December 2015
• November 2015
• October 2015
• September 2015
• August 2015

Welcome to check designs by Tubik on Dribbble and Behance ; explore the gallery of 2D and 3D art by Tubik Arts on Dribbble

Don't want to miss anything?

Get weekly updates on the newest design stories, case studies and tips right in your mailbox.

Home Sweet Home. Strategies of Home Page Design

The article devoted to strategies of home page design boosting usability and making interaction with a website easy and fast.

How to Create Original Flat Illustrations: Designer’s Tips

The article shares helpful tips from Tubik graphic designer about creating original flat illustrations and best practices on developing artistic style and manner.

Animal World: 4 Beautiful Illustration Sets About Wildlife and Pets

A new diverse collection of digital artworks by Tubik illustrators features 4 animal illustration sets in different design styles. Enjoy and get inspired!

Case Study: Bitex. UX Design for Stock Analysis App

UX design sometimes demands non-standard skills and solutions. Our fresh case study shows such a process for a stock mobile app oriented to the Chinese market.

More articles by themes

Let’s collaborate

Want to work on the project together? Contact us and let’s discuss it.

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

A Study of 597 Logos Shows Which Kind Is Most Effective

• Jonathan Luffarelli,
• Mudra Mukesh,
• Ammara Mahmood

Is your logo too simple for its own good?

Great logos help sell products. But what kind of logo is right for your brand? Researchers analyzed 597 companies to answer this question. They discovered descriptive logos (those that include visual design elements that communicate the type of product) more favorably affect consumers’ brand perceptions than nondescriptive ones (logos that are not indicative of the type of product). They also found that descriptive logos are more likely to improve brand performance — unless consumers associate your product with sad or unpleasant things, in which case a nondescriptive logo is probably better.

Imagine you are a marketing manager about to launch a brand called Noxu, which markets jigsaw puzzles. You just received an email from your CEO, asking you to choose between two logos. Your goal is to choose the one that will make the launch more successful. Which logo should you choose: the one on the right or the one on the left?

• JL Jonathan Luffarelli is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Montpellier Business School (France). He studies brand aesthetics, logo design, and brand personality. His work has appeared in premier journals such as the Journal of Marketing Research and Journal of Business Venturing .
• MM Mudra Mukesh is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Westminster Business School in England. Her main research interests are in the area of consumer well-being and social media. Her work has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of Marketing Research and the Journal of Business Venturing .
• AM Ammara Mahmood is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Lazaridis School of Business and Economics in Canada. Her main research interests include exploring the impact of social media marketing and platforms on online content consumption. Her work has been published in leading journals such as  Management Science , the Journal of Marketing Research , and the Journal of Business Venturing.

Partner Center

• Melanie Lang
• Jul 19, 2013

75 Instructive Design Case Studies

• 20 min read
• Inspiration , Web Design , Graphic Design , Case Studies
• Share on Twitter ,  LinkedIn

About The Author

Former Smashing Editor Melanie completed her degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Otago University, and is now freelancer and part-time politician. … More about Melanie ↬

Email Newsletter

Weekly tips on front-end & UX . Trusted by 200,000+ folks.

Not only are case studies a great way to explain the design process of an agency, but they also help designers and developers to learn from each other. Seeing how designers work, create, build and play is great, and furthermore, you can learn how to write a great case study yourself and how to use one to spice up your portfolio .

In this overview of useful case studies, we’ve featured studies that have recounted decisions made about particular design elements, as well as studies of full overhauls and their accompanying technical challenges. Most of them provide interesting insights into failures and successes , stories, workflows and design decisions made and rejected.

We must admit that this post is quite a long one, so we’ve decided to divide it into two parts to make it easier for you to navigate. Now you should be well prepared for a couple of late reading sessions over the next weekends!

Illustration, Graphics And Logo Design

“ Illustrator Full Spectrum Spirograph ,” Veerle Pieters Pieters talks about her experimentation process with spirographs, inspired by the work of Andy Gilmore.

“ The Design Process of my Infographic About Women Cycling for Grinta! ,” Veerle Pieters Pieters shares her experience of the design process behind the infographic on women’s cycling that she produced for Grinta magazine.

“ A Systematic Approach to Logo Design ,” Adham Dannaway Icon design can be time-consuming. Dannaway shows how to systematically approach a new logo design.

“ (Re)building a Simplified Firefox Logo ,” Sean Martell Learn how Firefox’s logo was simplified to better fit its extended usage beyond a desktop web browser.

“ Five Details ,” Jon Hicks Jon Hicks shares the design process behind the Five Details Logo, including the design and choice of typography.

“ Iconfinder Logo ,” SoftFacade SoftFacade completely reimagined Iconfinder’s existing identity and came up with a shiny and modern robot character. View the detailed design process.

“The Great Gatsby” Like Minded Studio collaborated on the branding of “The Great Gatsby“. The aim was to develop a bespoke Deco styled logo reflective of the roaring 20s and Fitzgerald’s masterpiece. They also created a display typeface to acompany the main branding. Additionally read more about it following this link.

“ Whitney Graphic Identity ,” Experimental Jetset In this case study of the Whitney Museum of Art’s logo, Experimental Jetset discusses the impact that a responsive logo can have on branding.

“My ‘Tour de France’ posters,” Veerle Pieters Pieters created posters for the 100th edition of the Tour of France. She mainly used the French landscape which she had used for the ‘Tour de France Infographic’ as a starting point.

“ Designing Type Systems ,” Peter Bil’ak To create truly useful designs, typographers need to examine not only how characters relate to each other within a style, but also how different styles relate to each other within a family. Peter Bil’ak discusses how to achieve this.

“ Novel Constructions: The Making of a Typeface ,” Christopher Dunst Dunst shares the process behind the creation of the “Novel” typeface.

“ The Development of the Signage Typeface Wayfinding Sans Pro ,” Ralf Herrmann Herrmann describes the development of the Wayfinding Sans Pro, a signage typeface that can be read from a long distance.

“ The Making of FF Tundra ,” Ludwig Übele Übele shares the process behing making the FF Tundra typeface, which was highly inspired by nature.

“ The Making of Magasin ,” Laura Meseguer Meseguer writes how she created Magasin, a typefaces inspired by fluid handwriting.

“Type Study” series, Adobe Typekit Typekit features a whole series of case studies of typography:

• “ Hi-DPI Web Typography ,” David Demaree
• “ Typographic Hierarchy ,” Frank Chimero
• “ Pairing Typefaces ,” Aura Seltzer
• “ Sizing the Legible Letter ,” Ethan Marcotte
• “ Stereo-Typography ,” Dan Mall
• “ Choosing Fallback Fonts ,” Josh Brewer
• “ Techniques for Using Novelty Fonts ,” Meagan Fisher

“ Social Login Buttons Aren’t Worth It ,” MailChimp Social login buttons are used by many apps today. MailChimp shares its own experience and considerations in using social login buttons.

“Usability in Icons,” Peter Steen Høgenhaug Icons are used to illustrate a particular function, anything from information to actions. This article explains what needs to be considered when designing them.

“iOS Icon Design: A Designer’s Exploration,” iOS icon design is not only difficult, but requires a lot of experimentation. David Killoy shares his experience of designing the icon for his note-taking app Notorious.

“ The Making of Octicons ,” GitHub Octicons is a icon font made by GitHub. Five designers collaborated on the project, and they share how they built Octicons and what they learned along the way.

“ Designing Facebook Home ,” Julie Zhuo On May 8th, the designers behind Facebook Home (Justin Stahl, Francis Luu, Joey Flynn and Mac Tyler) presented a behind-the-scenes look at their work at the Bluxome Street Winery for a small crowd.

Advertising, Promotion And E-Commerce

“ How to Make Your Own App Promo Cards ,” Mike Swanson Swanson was inspired by Starbuck’s promo cards for giving away free apps and decided to make his own for an upcoming event. Learn how you can do one, too!

“ The Art of Launching an App ,” John Casey You’ve made your first app! Now what? This study covers some tactics and lessons learned during one process of launching an app.

“ How to Launch Anything ,” Nathan Barry Barry has launched five products in fewer than nine months. Read about the strategy that helped him generate over $200,000 in revenue from online products, starting from scratch.

“ Selling My E-Book on Amazon ,” Jonathan Snook Several people predicted that 2013 would be the year of self-publishing. Snook shares insight into his eBook sales on Amazon.

“ Increase Online Sales on Your Ecommerce Website ,” Headscape increased sales on Wiltshire Farmfoods’ e-commerce website by over 10,000% in only five years. What makes it even more special, the target audience is over 50 years old. Paul Boag shares his experience.

“ Twitter Promoted Tweets ,” MailChimp MailChimp has made use of Twitter’s promoted tweets and shares insight into this experience.

Redesigning Elements And Features

“ Visual Exploration Behind Signal vs. Noise ,” Mig Reyes 37signals share the process behind making its blog special. This study is about how the company visualized noise and styled its blog categories in a unique way.

“ Reinventing Our Default Profile Pictures ,” Jamie Jamie talks about the process of finding the right default profile pictures for the 37signals website. It’s a great new approach to a very basic element.

“ Login Screen Design: Behind the Scenes ,” Simon Tabor Good UX is not just about the main content, but also about little details such as log-in (and error) pages. GoSquared shares how it made its log-in experience exceptional.

“ Save for Later ,” Brian Groudan All browsers support two functions: searching and revisiting. Groudan worked closely with Mozilla’s user experience researchers and designers to rethink how Firefox could better offer “saving for later” functionality in the browser.

“A Closer Look at Zoom,” FiftyThree FiftyThree shares the design process behind the new zoom feature in its Paper app.

“Reinventing the Investment Calculator ,” Alex Bendiken Drawing from the book Money for Something , Alex Bendiken built a tool that lets users experiment and create a unique investment plan. It’s a UX study in turning a boring financial calculator into something you’d actually want to use.

“ Getting Down to Business ,” Teenhan+Lax The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper of record. It serves millions of readers everyday with in-depth journalism and informed comment. Learn how Teenhan+Lax helped refresh and enrich the way users experience and engage with the news today.

“ Olympics: User Experience and Design ,” Nick Haley Nick Haley shares the BBC’s design process of delivering the Olympics across desktop, tablet, mobile and connected TV.

“ How We Built the Responsive Olympics Site ,” Matt Clark Matt Clark writes about MSN UK’s approach to delivering the Olympics digitally, from the brief to the finished design.

“ The Anatomy Of A Successful Logo Redesign ,” Belinda Lanks Lanks summarizes how Jessica Hische had freshened up the new logo for MailChimp with a slight facelift. The new logo now looks new and fresh — more refined but just as playful.

“ What I Want Out of Facebook ,” Keenan Cummings Cummings explains why Facebook fails him and what he wants to get out of it that would make it useful for his personal life.

“ In Praise of Lost Time ,” Dan Hill Dan Hill talks about Facebook’s Timeline as an exemplary bit of interaction design that does little to advance the timeline formally. Yet it might alter the nature of human memory itself.

“Designing the new, fully responsive Wired.co.uk article pages,” Javier Ghaemi This article is about redesigning the Wired.co.uk article website to provide a more content-first and immersive experience.

Complete (Re)branding And (Re)design

“How to Approach a Responsive Design,” Tito Bottitta This article shows the design process behind The Boston Globe’s website, one of the most famous examples of responsive designs. Read about how Upstatement approached its first responsive design.

“Responsive Design Case Study,” Matt Berridge This case study outlines the entire process of constructing the South Tees Hospitals’ website, a large responsive design containing over a thousand pages.

“ Rebuilding a University Homepage to Be Responsive. Twice. In Less Than a Year ,” Erik Runyon This slideshow discusses how and why Notre Dame University’s home page was rebuilt twice in less than a year. You will find a recording of the talk below the slides.

“Yes, You Really Can Make Complex Web Apps Responsive,” Daniel Wearne Wearne shares his experience in creating Adioso’s web app, a complex yet accessible project. He covers the framework, responsive mixins, tables and future challenges.

“Designing a New Playground Brand,” Ryan Bannon This case study shows the design process of Playground’s new brand. It covers the logo, overall website and vector animation process, as well as the core values and personality of the company. The extensive study comes in three parts.

“ How House Parties Helped Us Design Potluck ,” Cemre Güngör The team at Potluck describes how it took inspiration from reality to design a “house party on the Internet.”

“ Colorado Identity ,” Berger & Föhr Imagine someone hiring you to define your own identity. Berger & Föhr was hired to help create the new identity and visual brand of Colorado, the place they call home. Have a look at the work and logo they came up with.

“ Building the New Financial Times Web App ,” Wilson Page Page talks about building the Financial Times’ new app, a challenge that many on his team believed to be impossible. He covers device support, fixed-height layouts, truncation, modularization, reusable components, Retina support, native-like scrolling, offline support and the topic of ever-evolving apps.

“ Google Treasure Maps ,” Alex Griendling Griendling writes about the design process behind Google Maps’ treasure mode.

“ Find Your Way to Oz ,” HTML5 Rocks This very detailed case study looks at the “Find Your Way to Oz” demo, a Google Chrome experiment by Disney. It covers sprite sheets, Retina support, 3-D content and more.

“ The Making of the Moscow Metro Map 2.0 ,” Art Lebedev Studio This study is about the design process behind the Moscow Metro map, a complex project that needed to meet the requirements of both Web and print.

“ Skinny Ties and Responsive eCommerce ,” Brendan Falkowski Read and learn how GravDept redesigned Skinny Ties’ creative and technical direction to propel shopping on every device.

“ The Design Thinking Behind the New Disney.com ,” Bobby Solomon Solomon shares the process of creating a Disney website that is flexible enough to showcase the widest range of offerings imaginable — in other words, a website that can do everything.

“Say Hello to the New ISO,” Andy Clarke Clarke and David Roessli redesigned the website of the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and share their experience.

“ A Responsive Design Case Study ,” David Bushell The redesign of Passenger Focus takes advantage of the Web as an unique medium.

“ BBC News: Responsive Web Design and Mustard ,” Kaelig Deloumeau-Prigent These slides address the core principles and the “cutting the mustard” technique behind the BBC News’ responsive website.

“The Trello Tech Stack,” Brett Kiefer Read the process behind the Trello app, from initial mockup to a solid server and maintainable client.

“ Responsibly Responsive: Developing the Greenbelt Website ,” Rachel Andrew Andrew writes about her front-end design decisions in rebuilding the Greenbelt Festival’s website.

“ The Digital-Physical: On Building Flipboard for iPhone and Finding the Edges of Our Digital Narratives ,” Craig Mod Mod walks through the process of building the Flipboard app for iPhone and of finding the edges of its digital narratives.

“ Page-Flip Effect From 20 Things I Learned ,” Hakim El Hattab This study shows how this team found the best way to achieve the feeling of a real-world book, while leveraging the benefits of the digital realm in areas such as navigation.

“ Six Key Lessons From a Design Legend ,” Kapil Kale The GiftRocket team eventually recruited Mike Kus as a designer. This article shows why that decision took their website to the next level.

“ Breaking The Rules: A UX Case Study ,” Laura Klein Klein shows how she broke all rules to create the great UX for Outright.

“ 7 UX Considerations When Designing Lens Hawk ,” Christian Holst Lens Hawk is a massive DSLR lens database. This article shares seven UX considerations that were made in its design process.

“ The Story of the New Microsoft.com ,” Nishant Kothary Kothary shares his insight into making Microsoft’s new website. Also, check out Trent Walton’s perspective on the redesign .

“Behind the Scenes of the New Kippt,” Gannon Burgett This interview about the work behind the new Kippt app covers the redesign process, the design principles and problems that the team faced, insights into the new era of web app design, and where Kippt will head in the future.

“ Crayola: Free the ‘What If’ ,” Daniel Mall Dan Mall has put together a case study of the creation of the new Crayola application for kids.

“Campus Quad iPhone App,” Soft Facade Soft Facade covers every aspects of the design process behind its Campus Quad app.

“How to Make a Vesper: Design,” Vesper Learn how the Vesper app was designed and made.

“ Betting on a Fully Responsive Web Application ,” 14islands Read about how 14islands took the web app for Kambi, a sports-betting service, to the next level.

“AMMO Rack App Design Critique,” Alexander Komarov An interesting study of the feedback process that improved the AMMO Rack app.

“ Walking Through the Design Process ,” Ian Storm Taylor Taylor walks you through the design process of Segment.io, including the progression of mockups in Photoshop.

“ Music Video ‘Lights’: The Latest WebGL Sensation ,” Carlos Ulloa Interactive studio HelloEnjoy built a mind-blowing 3-D music video for Ellie Goulding’s song “Lights.” Creative director Carlos Ulloa explains why the team chose WebGL and how it created various immersive graphic effects.

“Designing for Designers,” Kyle Meyer Designing for other designers is different than working for regular clients. Kyle Meyer shares his experience.

“ Adapting to a Responsive Design ,” Matt Gibson Cyber-Duck abandoned its separate mobile website and created a new responsive design.

“ Grids, Flexibility and Responsiveness ,” Laura Kalbag Kalbag shares her thoughts on the redesign of her own website, including her choice of typefaces.

“ Making of Typespiration ,” Rafal Tomal Rafal Tomal built Typespiration as a side project. Learn about the process from initial idea to finished WordPress website.

“ Case Studies ,” Fi Design firm Fi has integrated case studies into its portfolio. The studies are very interactive and beautifully designed. Here are four of them:

• “Is This The Future of The Airline Website?”
• “The Story of Ramayana: Brought to Life by Google Chrome”
• “Sony: Connected World”
• “USAToday.com: Redesigning One of America’s Most Popular News Sites”

Content And Storytelling

“ Step-By-Step Landing Page Copywriting ,” Nathan Barry The process of writing great copy for a landing page is covered step by step.

“ The Art Of Storytelling Around An App ,” John Casey This case study is about the art of storytelling in the app “The House That Went on Strike.”

“Rethinking the Case Study,” Christopher Butler Butler explains what case studies are for and what a great one looks like, and he lays out a practical plan for writing one.

“ Retiring The Portfolio Screenshot ,” James Young You’ve probably noticed that portfolios nowadays are packed with detailed analysis, rather than screenshots. Take yours to the next level and learn how to create an amazing portfolio (such as the ones featured in this post).

“Responsibly Leveraging Advanced Web Features,” Ryan Heap Heap tells us about his full responsive redesign of Travois, a consulting firm focused on housing and economic development. The study includes topics such as progressive enhancement, responsive and responsible Web design, SVG, and the HTML5 History API.

“ My Notes on Writing an E-Book ,” Jonathan Snook Several people have suggested that 2013 is the year of self-publishing. Jonathan Snook shares his process of writing and digital publishing.

Technical Challenges And Solutions

“ Beating Borders: The Bane of Responsive Layout ,” Joshua Johnson Responsive design often requires setting widths in percentages. This is easy enough, until borders are thrown into the mix.

“ How We Improved Page Speed by Cleaning CSS, HTML and Images ,” Lara Swanson Page-loading time is a big part of the user experience. Dyn shows how it improved it simply by cleaning up the CSS, HTML and images.

“ Mein Honig – Brand Identity ,” Thomas Lichtblau “My Honey makes people and bees happy. And if they are happy, nature is happy too.” This simple yet beautiful statement belongs to Mein Honig (My Honey), a personal project of Thomas Lichtblau from Austria. Thomas shares fascinating insights about a production, banding and packaging process in which he only used colorless, organic and traditional tools and materials.

“Front-End Performance Case Study: GitHub,” JP Castro Castro analyzes the front-end performance of GitHub and shares his findings.

“ iPad to Windows Store App ,” Bart Claeys and Qixing Zheng This case study helps designers and developers who are familiar with iOS to reimagine their apps using design principles for Windows Store apps. Translate common UI and UX patterns found in iPad apps to Windows 8 apps.

“ Behind the Scenes of Mad Manimation ,” Anthony Calzadilla Here is the process behing the Mad Manimation, an HTML- and CSS-based animation of the introduction to the Mad Men TV show.

“ Embedding Canvas and SVG Charts in Emails ,” Thomas Fuchs Learn how to use embedded canvas and SVG charts in email.

“ Scaling Pinterest From 0 to 10s of Billions of Page Views a Month in Two Years ,” Todd Hoff This case study traces the evolution of Pinterest’s architecture, which was scaling fast, with a lot of incorrect choices made along the way

“ How We Built a Photoshop Extension With HTML, CSS and JS ,” Brian Reavis Creative Market’s extension is a Backbone.js Web app that lives inside of Photoshop. The team can update it without the user having to install an update. How does that work? Read up on it!

“ Batch Processing Millions and Millions of Images ,” Mike Brittain Etsy wanted to redesign a few of its major sections and had to rescale over 135 million images in order to do it.

“ Making 100,000 Stars ,” Michael Chang Chang writes about 100,000 Stars, an experience for Chrome that was built with Three.js and CSS3D.

“ Mastering the Application Cache Manifest for Offline Web Apps and Performance ,” Julien Nicault Nicault, who work on Cinémur, a new social film app, describes how to use AppCache to improve performance and enable offline usage of Web apps

“ Harvey: A Second Face for Your JavaScript ,” Joschka Kintscher Responsive design often requires drastic UI changes. This study shows how to execute parts of your JavaScript depending on the device’s type and screen size.

“ Our First Node.js App: Backbone on the Client and Server ,” Spike Brehm The team at Airbnb has been curious about Node.js for a long time, but used it only for odds and ends. See how they used it on a production-scale project.

“ Making a 60fps Mobile App ,” Paul Lewis Paul Lewis shows you how to make a mobile app that has 60fps at all times, does one thing really well, has offline support and a flat UI.

“ The Making of the Interactive Treehouse Ad ,” Chris Coyier Treehouse is the primary sponsor of CSS-Tricks, and this case study looks at its interactive ad using jQuery.

“ Improve Mobile Support With Server-Side-Enhanced Responsive Design ,” Jon Arne Sæterås This is an analysis of the process of finding the right mix between server-side and client-side logic for adaptive Web design.

“Designing an Instant Interface,” Luke Wroblewski Wroblewski shows how to design the instant interface used for the real-time views, real-time notifications and real-time comments on Bagcheck’s website.

“ Lessons in Website Security Anti-Patterns by Tesco ,” Troy Hunt Hunt looks closely at the many simple security errors Tesco makes, analyzing how he would apply basic security principles to remedy them.

“ Refactoring >14,000 Lines of CSS Into Sass ,” Eugene Fedorenko Beanstalk is a mature product whose CSS grew accordingly to 5 files, 14,211 lines and 290 KB of code. Learn how the team rebuilt its style sheets into something cleaner and easier to maintain.

“Refinder: Test-Driven Development,” Maciej Pasternacki These slides show how test-driven development enabled Gnowsis to reimplement Refinder’s basic data model.

“Managing JavaScript on Responsive Websites,” Jeremy Fields Jeremy Fields of Viget talks about how to manage JavaScript on a website whose interface and functionality changes at different breakpoints.

“ Trimming the Fat ,” Paul Robert Lloyd Lloyd walks through the performance optimizations he made for his website, trimming the page load from 383 to 100 KB. He also shows graphs.

Workflow And Optimization

“ Visual Design Explorations ,” Paul Lloyd Lloyd of Clearleft talks about how to maintain knowledge-sharing and collaboration on a growing team.

“ The Anatomy of an Experience Map ,” Chris Risdon Experience maps are becoming increasingly useful for gaining insight in order to orchestrate service touch points over time and space. This study explains what they are and how to create them.

“The design process of my infographic for the ‘Tour of France’ for Grinta!,” Veerle Pieters Pieters designed an infographic about the Tour of France, and focused mainly on the question, “What does a pro cycling team take with them to the Tour of France?”

“ Turning Small Projects Into Big Profit ,” Jon Savage and Simon Birky Hartmann Ace of Spade discusses how it overhauled its operations and started making a living off of small projects.

“What We’ve Learned About Responsive Design,” Christopher Butler Butler shares what his agency has learned about responsive design, which is to overcome initial fears and focus on what is important.

“The Modular Canvas: A Pragmatic Workflow for Designing Applications,” by Gabriel O’Flaherty-Chan There are some gaps in the way we work; the bigger the project, the more glaring the gaps become. O’Flaherty-Chan looks at a better workflow for designing apps.

“ How We Reduced Our Cancellation Rate by 87.5% ,” Kareem Mayan Kareem Mayan tackles the issue of user cancellations by using a cohort analysis. Learn how he did it.

“ How I Run a Membership Site ,” Justin Tadlock This study looks at how Theme Hybrid handles memberships after registration and payment.

“Post-Implementation, Pre-Launch: A Crucial Checkpoint,” Mindy Wagner Wagner of Viget discusses how to approach the time of post-implementation and pre-launch, a crucial checkpoint that can create a lot of stress for a team.

“ A New Make Mantra: A Statement of Design Intent ,” Mark Boulton Mark Boulton used the CERN redesign project as an occasion to define a new “make” mantra that would help him tackle projects. This single, actionable sentence would guide him through projects.

“ 100 Conversion Optimization Case Studies ,” KISSmetrics Lots of techniques and tactics to optimize your website for better conversions shared by marketers.

Responsive Design

“ Responsive Design and ROI: Observations From the Coalface ,” Chris Berridge Working on the frontline, Berridge share his insights on responsive design and returns on investment.

“ Making Your Site Responsive: Mastering Real-World Constraints ,” Alex Fedorov Listen to how agency Fresh Tilled Soil addressed real-world constraints, such as resources, time and budget, in its responsive design process.

“ Goals, Constraints, and Concept in a Redesign ,” Steven Bradley Some thoughts on the redesign of Vanseo Design.

“ How a Simple Redesign Increased Customer Feedback by 65% ,” James Santilli Customer feedback is the backbone of many Web services. Campaign Monitor analyzed the process behind a simple redesign that increased customer feedback by 65%.

“ More on Apples: Mobile Optimization in Ecommerce ,” Electric Pulp This study analyzes how both mobile and non-mobile conversions went up when Electric Pulp redesigned a website to be responsive.

“How I’m Implementing Responsive Web Design,” Jeff Croft Croft is finally at the point where responsive design feels worth the extra effort. Read about how he got there.

“ Mentoring: The Evaluation ,” Laura Kalbag Freelancers are often offered projects whose budget is below their rate. Laura Kalbag had a fantastic idea on how to transform these kind of projects into a win-win: She decided to mentor a group of students. Such a project would give the students an opportunity to gain valuable experience and help them transition into freelancing, and the client would get good quality work, despite the modest budget. This series of posts describes her experience, from initial idea to launched project.

Further Reading

• Showcase of Case Studies in Design Portfolios
• 15 Impressive Case Studies from Behance
• Improving Smashing Magazine’s Performance: A Case Study
• Powerful Workflow Tips, Tools And Tricks For Web Designers

Smashing Newsletter

Tips on front-end & UX, delivered weekly in your inbox. Just the things you can actually use.

Front-End & UX Workshops, Online

With practical takeaways, live sessions, video recordings and a friendly Q&A.

TypeScript in 50 Lessons

Everything TypeScript, with code walkthroughs and examples. And other printed books.

20 Brilliant Design Case Studies That Neatly Present Brand Identity Concepts

• Articles & Inspiration
• 13 November 2017

21 Comments

Developing a brand identity involves more than just making a logo design. Research into the company’s values is necessary to collect inspiration from which to draw ideas. Concept sketches are then developed into a visual identity that represents the brand, which consists of not just the logomark, but also a complementary colour scheme and typography that provide consistency across the entire brand image. Rather than presenting just the final logo graphic in their portfolios, the designers featured in today’s showcase have produced thorough case studies that completely breakdown their brand designs. See how they neatly present the concept alongside stationery mockups and examples of real life usage.

Vintage Font Bundle Apply 70% Discount Code

Bare Bone Skull Creator Apply 20% Discount Code

Giant Ornament Bundle Over 400 Vector Elements

interastar by Necon

BEUNIT by Ollestudio

Validbox by Motyf Studio

Fortune Step by Sheen Young

BKK Logos by Hidden Characters

Worken Identity by Paola Flores

4Decision by Joy Intermedia

Costella Empreendimentos by Estudio Alice

Wyre Branding by Ramotion

Volusion Brand Identity by Ramotion

Veranda by Marka Network

Annecy by Grapheine

Gaia by Marka Network

Neostalgia by Marka Network

Jalan Surabaya Antique Market

Charly Gusto by Mubien Studio

Palm House by The Seventh Art

Aracely Melendrez Arquitecto by Roberto Melendrez

Extrajet by Alphabet

Origami by Mohammed Mirza

Semet Identity by Mohd Almousa

Subscribe to my newsletter to be the first to hear about new posts

that’s all cool am,azing design process and very talented designer i’ve ever seen.. I hope you to upload tutorial on Youtube about logo process design and brainstorming idea for logo project ? ,. Hope you answer… Thanks :)

Thanks for your feedback/request!

Amazing cases.. Thanks for sharing!!

Glad you liked the examples. Thanks Eduardo

Such amazing talent! Thank you for sharing Chris : )

Thanks for your comment Leandi

They all look fantastic!

Glad you liked the post

Wow! Nice work! I really like it! Keep it up :)

Thank you tauhedul

This goes to show the amount of thought and dedication that is put into designing logos. They’re not just logos but rather the birthchild of a creator.

I like that concept

Amazing, thanks for sharing! I always in a search for something new for my site and sites of my clients

Thanks for your comment Betty

Great examples Chris. The first one, Interastar, reminds me of the E-trade logo.

Glad you liked the examples Michael!

This is one fine article worth bookmarking as a brand design resource. Great designs with fantastic color schemes and top class typography. Thanks a lot for sharing :)

Glad you like the article Davo!

ThanQ for presenting these examples, they helped allot

Ohhh MG you are amazing !! Wonderful, fantastic and beautiful works. Where you studied? Im from Puerto Rico and I did my Master Degree in Pratt institute, my favorite designs are Corporate Identity but a long time I dont work, I really like a lot your Corporate Identity works, my works are junk next to yours. I wich to meet you and see your other works. Continue like that, you’re going to get far away. GOD BLESS YOU.

that is Awesome…! a true brand identity is such like that. This makes your costumes really amazed at your creativity. By the way, who is the mighty designer behind all this,. thanks

Comments are now closed

Join my mailing list and receive a free design resources bundle!

Stay up to date with Spoon Graphics by having new content delivered to your email inbox. As a way to say thanks, you’ll also gain instant access to my free bundle of design resources.

Featured Articles

The Power of a Strong Brand Identity: Definition, Importance, and Key Elements

Brand Personality: Definition, Examples, and How to Define Yours

Personal Branding: Why It Matters

Expert interviews.

Green Design: An Introduction by Sustainable Designer Emma Fanning

Luxury Branding: An Introduction by Philippe Mihailovich

Interview With Ken Segall – the Ad Man Who Placed the ‘i’ in iMac

Follow us on instagram.

thebrandingjournal

Receive our Monthly Newsletter

By checking this box, you confirm that you have read and are agreeing to our terms of use regarding the storage of the data submitted through this form.

3 Simple Steps to Boost Your Personal Brand

Elevating Brand Imagery: Lessons from the Detailed Illustrations of the Paris 2024 Olympics Posters

Boosting Efficiency in Brand Naming: Expert Tips for Agencies and Consultants

Sustainability as the ‘Modern Sacred’: Restoring Marketing to the Position of Power

Learning from the Gap Logo Redesign Fail

Table of Contents

Introducing Gap

Gap is a well-known, well-established clothing and accessories retailer founded in 1969. It stands as one of the largest global specialty retailers due to its popularity amongst a broad demographic of consumers.

In 2010, following slumped sales after the Financial Crisis of 2008, Gap decided to redesign its 20-year longstanding logo, giving rise to the ‘Gapgate’ phenomenon. This article will look at the unfortunate backfiring of this logo redesign, highlighting the lessons that brands ought to learn from this seemingly unexplained rebranding strategy.

The Gap Logo Change

The Old Gap Logo

Gap’s highly recognizable logo, which represented the brand from 1990 to 2010, is a simple dark blue square featuring the ‘Gap’ name in white serif writing. Typically, a brand will undergo a visual rebranding following a significant change in the company’s strategy, which warrants a visual signal for something new within the organization. Therefore, the almost complete upheaval of the original logo in 2010 proved to be a shock felt (and expressed) amongst both consumer and professional communities.

The New Gap Logo

The old Gap logo disappeared pretty much overnight. It was replaced on October 6, 2010, with a new logo that featured a much smaller dark blue box and the ‘Gap’ name written in bold, black Helvetica font. This new logo was designed by a leading New York based creative agency, Laird and Partners, who holds a solid reputation in the field of branding and communication in the fashion industry. It is estimated to have cost around $100 million. ( 1 )

Gap’s vice president of corporate communications, Bill Chandler, when asked about the change, said, “ We believe this is a more contemporary, modern expression. The only nod to the past is that there’s still a blue box, but it looks forward ”( 2 ). A spokesperson for Gap added that the new logo was intended to signify Gap’s transition from “ classic, American design ” to “ modern, sexy, and cool .” ( 3 )

Gap seems to have embarked on a mission to modernize and rejuvenate the company, along with its sales figures and stock prices. This urge to modernize has been criticized as a “ panic to do something, and quick ”, to fix fallen sales (Baekdal, 2010), with figures showing that same-store sales at the time were down 4%, following a 10% decline the year before ( 4 )

A second consensus was that Gap was simply experiencing “brand fatigue” having kept the same logo in place for over 20 years, the redesign a “ change-for-change’s sake ” (Enderwick, 2014).

How Long did the New Gap Logo Last?

In an embarrassingly quick turnaround, Gap took the decision to revert back to its old 1990 logo after less than one week (on October 12, 2010). The same spokesperson, now backtracking on her original “ modern, sexy and cool ” comment, stated that “ we’ve learned just how much energy there is around our brand, and after much thought, we’ve decided to go back to our iconic blue box logo ” ( 5 ).

A Logo Redesign Failure

Gap’s speedy return to the old logo signifies a failed rebranding strategy. The new logo received almost immediate negative backlash from both consumers and professionals, who were taken aback by the change, which occurred without any prior build-up. The move neither seemed to accompany any other organizational change, for example, in product offering or senior management.

Immediate Consumer Backlash

Consumers quickly took to social media platforms to express their disdain for the new logo. Some critics hailed the new logo for harkening to the brand’s nature (plain and practical) (Baekdal, 2010), but the reaction was negative for the vast majority.

Within just 24 hours, one online blog had generated 2,000 negative comments, a protesting Twitter account (@GapLogo) gathered 5,000 followers, and a “Make your own Gap logo” site went viral, collating almost 14,000 parody logo redesigns ( 6 ).

It is clear that both consumers and branding professionals felt cheated by Gap, who, off their own back, decided to revamp their identity. This visual change which appeared a rather out-of-the-blue act confused and angered the community.

Understanding the Backlash

So why did consumers feel so strongly about the new Gap logo?

Brand Recognition 

Consumers use logos as a key signifier of a brand; it’s often the first thing that comes to mind when a person thinks of or hears a brand name. The logo, therefore, largely contributes to building brand salience. Changing your logo at the drop of a hat causes confusion and risks depleting any brand awareness that has been built. Will customers know that you’re the same brand they’ve always known and loved?

Emotional Connections

Brands often underestimate their emotional impact on consumers, particularly their loyal ones. This emotional bond exists because a brand and its reputation (complete with its recognizable name and logo) have the power to offer a consumer a sense of familiarity and safety about the products they purchase.

Put simply, the logo is a visual indicator of trustworthiness and acts almost as a connection point between the brand and the consumer – consumers know what they are getting behind the logo. The same logic applies between humans – familiar and recognizable faces provide us with a greater sense of safety and trust.

How Gap Handled the Logo Backfire

First: A Crowdsourced Redesign Attempt

In response to the backfire, Gap firstly tried to justify the new logo as a deliberate strategy to crowdsource ideas for a fresh logo. On their Facebook profile page, Gap wrote, “ Thanks for everyone’s input on the new logo! […] We know this logo created a lot of buzz and we’re thrilled to see passionate debates unfolding! So much so we’re asking you to share your designs. We love our version, but we’d like to see other ideas .”

The new logo could have also passed as a clever PR stunt to increase brand strength through online publicity and word of mouth. This idea seems more credible than the unrealistic crowdsourcing claim, especially given that the designers (Laird and Partners) are trusted in the industry and have dealt with many big brands, including Calvin Klein and Juicy Couture. Surely they knew what they were doing?

Second: A Necessary U-Turn

It seems that Gap agrees that the crowdsource excuse was far-fetched. After just six days, Gap reinstated its original 1990 logo. In response to the move, they stated that much had been learnt in the process – “ we are clear that we did not go about this in the right way […] we missed the opportunity to engage with the online community. This wasn’t the right project at the right time for crowd sourcing. There may be a time to evolve our logo, but if and when that time comes, we’ll handle it in a different way ” (Marka Hansen, President of Gap in North America at the time).

This acknowledgment of error over both the need to rebrand and how to go about it has highlighted Gap’s lack of understanding of how brand identity should be maintained and developed. It is clear that consumers are at the heart of any strategic move, particularly when financial results rely almost solely on their purchases. If you upset your customers, you upset your profits.

Luckily for Gap, the speed at which the 360-degree U-turn came meant that many people had not even noticed the change before it had disappeared again, saving Gap the humiliation of a further sales slump.

What Can Brands Learn from Gap’s Mistakes?

This case study has revealed that a company’s logo plays a central role in connecting consumers with brands, and therefore in enhancing brand equity Brand equity represents the value of a brand. It is the difference between the value of a branded product and the value of that product without that brand name attached to it. . Here are four key lessons to learn from Gap’s error in rebranding judgment:

1. Customers Care More Than You Think

As much as we all try not to judge a book by its cover – we all do. The same goes for brands. We often judge a brand based on its logo and aesthetic alone, and Gap has proven that changing your logo can damage the extent to which people are able to recognize and trust you.

Brands must be aware that consumers do not tire of logos as quickly as employees might, for they are exposed to it much less frequently. If you plan to change your logo, it’s a good idea to warn your customers first because they might care more than you think.

2. Your Logo Represents Who You Are

Changing your visual identity has the power to change how consumers perceive you. A logo is often the most efficient way of stating who you are since it is nearly always the first thing (other than the brand name) that consumers come into contact with. Making significant visual changes has the effect of displacing all previously formed brand associations, putting you back at square one in terms of developing your identity.

Rather than eliminating the overall essence of your logo, make small, incremental changes that enable consumers to continue to recognize you in the same way.

3. Make Your Rebranding Strategy Make Sense

As the saying goes, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. Gap at the time of the change showed no indication of faltering brand loyalty or recognition, and although sales had slumped, the logo redesign seemed a little random. A logo refresh is no bad thing, but it must reflect changing organizational realities or a change in brand direction to be successful. Visuals should be the last step in the strategic shift. If your new logo isn’t solving a different problem, you are best to leave it alone because the consequences can be equally as negative as they might be positive.

4. Beware Of Social Media

The internet provides a space for news and opinions to spread like wildfire. Online word of mouth needs to be accounted for and monitored by brands. Adverse reactions can result in a poor reputation for the brand. Negative brand associations can quickly develop and, in turn, can have negative repercussions on your brand equity (and your bottom line).

It is difficult to predict how people will react to a new branding strategy. This case study illustrates the power of a logo to define who you are and to act as a connection point between you and your customers. Making drastic changes to this connection point must be done in line with a wider branding and business strategy. Otherwise, brands risk facing the wrath of consumers whose opinions easily serve to damage their reputation.

• Gap’s Failure Wasn’t the Logo. (2010). Retrieved 31 March 2021, from https://www.baekdal.com/thoughts/gaps-failure-wasnt-the-logo/
• Gap’s logo disaster a lesson for all brands | Adwiz. (2021). Retrieved 31 March 2021, from https://adwizbranding.com/2010/10/gap-logo/
• Gap scraps logo redesign after protests on Facebook and Twitter. (2021). Retrieved 31 March 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/oct/12/gap-logo-redesign
• Weiner, J. (2021). New Gap Logo, Despised Symbol of Corporate Banality, Dead at One Week. Retrieved 31 March 2021, from https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/10/new-gap-logo-despised-symbol-of-corporate-banality-dead-at-one-week
• Why Gap’s logo change failed but Netflix’s didn’t. (2021). Retrieved 31 March 2021, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140722154130-16677-why-gap-s-logo-change-failed-but-netflix-s-doesn-t-t/

Good article. I was never a fan of the old logo. Bit clumsy and old fashioned. I prefer the new one. It looks fresher, sharper but still simple like their products. That’s good but I agree it’s a big shift too far in one go. If they had preempted and teased the audience slowly at first then Less of an impact. Let’s not forget though that some loyal fans of the brand as it stands may jump ship but there are new audiences to be found. So, maybe in time it would level out. Risky but a brand seen to be refreshing itself is no bad thing but, as you rightly say, that needs to be sensitively handled. Thanks for your article. Very informative.

Hi Abigail, nice compilation I still like the old one – it’s classic.

Forgot to mention how the common comment was that it looked cheap and could of been made on MS Paint.

Here we go again. This time it’s Elon futzing around with Twitter trying to rebrand it as X.

Yes indeed! An article about Twitter’s extreme rebrand to X will be published on Monday. We’d love to hear your thoughts about it. Stay tuned :)

The “360-degree U-turn”? 😂

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Receive Monthly Updates – Join Our Inner Circle

Related posts.

From Abstract to Tangible: Why Sustainable Brands Should Embrace Hierophanic Marketing

The Power of Mascots in Elevating Brand Narratives

Why Brands Need to Embrace Hyper-Personalization to Stay Relevant