iTunes

I liked the old iTunes logo. It showed a simple CD with a shining musical note ahead of it. It got the point across, it was easily recognizable and related to the product, and it just looked good. But then the switch was made to the odd, flat-looking blue bubble with the note inside of it. The whole thing looks unoriginal and boring. It’s more like the Mac logos of the past, without the sleek and modern appeal.

Travel Wisconsin

When people think of Wisconsin they tend to think of two things: cheese and “That 70′s Show.” Perhaps the state wanted to get away from that image and so it decided to put a guy doing a cartwheel on the logo. Or is that a handstand? Maybe it’s some kind of acrobatic feat not suited for a grown man who doesn’t fight crime by night. The slogan is also incredibly cheesy (pardon the pun) and makes me less likely to ever visit Wisconsin.

Blackwater (Xe)

You probably know about Blackwater thanks to the major controversy of its involvement in hiring mercenaries out to businesses in Iraq. It gained a worldwide reputation for violence against civilians and is one of the most hatred corporations around the globe. So its image change was totally necessary. But it changed its name to Xe (pronounced “zee”), which makes no sense on a vocal or visual level. Plus, the logo looks more like it applies to a Xerox company.

Animal Planet

The old Animal Planet logo was close to perfect, if a little bulky. There was an animal (the elephant). There was a planet (the earth). It was done all in white and green for a nice, natural look. So there is some question as to why it chose to change it in the first place, much less to ugly green letters with a pointless, sideways “M.” It looks like it was made by a junior high student in the Paint program in a computer studies class.

Tropicana

Tropicana has been famous for its quirky logo for generations. Featuring an orange with a straw shoved in, the image is great and iconic. So what pushed the company to make the stupid choice to modernize the container with a picture of a glass of orange juice and a sideways logo? We may never know, but it admits it was a mistake. While most consumers don’t care that much when a container or logo changes, this time sales actually took a hit. That is what drove the company to go back to the classic design just months after releasing the new one.

Capital One

The swish art used in logos hasn’t been cool since the ’80s, and some might say it wasn’t even cool then. But that didn’t stop Capital One from using it in its new logo design, which is still being plastered on everything today. It looks corny, like it slapped on a boomerang and made it shiny in a desperate attempt to look more modern – like a middle-aged uncle who turns his baseball cap backwards as he jokes with your friends about being “hip.”

WGN America

The original logo for this TV network wasn’t good. It looked slapped together and boring, and the colors were bland. While the makeover was definitely needed, did it have to replace it with something that looked like it had been yanked from the 1960s logo for “Dark Shadows”? It is creepy and irrelevant – unless you apply it to the slogan, which is “TV You Can’t Ignore.” That is, at least, true. It is impossible to ignore that stupid logo.

Euronews

I liked the old logo. It is a slightly overdone concept for European news networks, but it works. The colors could have been changed and the font updated, and it would have been fine. But what did it do instead? Put a white dot on a dull, gray background with the name of the network oddly spaced in a strange typographic setting below it. This is beyond bad, especially if it was going for a nice, minimalist logo design. It looks like an unfinished concept drawing, as though the designer stopped half way through and just said, “You know what? Screw it – good enough. It’s happy hour at the bar down the street.”

London Olympics

I don’t know how to describe this, but I can happily say I am not the only one. No one seems to know what this is supposed to be, and it will surely go down in history as one of the absolute worst logos in history. Not only are the colors horrendous, but the shapes are incomprehensible. What are those supposed to be – random geometrics? It looks like someone has put their shot on a bench, and a woman representing the Olympics has bent down to shine it. Or maybe kiss it.

MasterCard

MasterCard had a classic logo that everyone knew. It was easy to recognize, was well made and utilized colors that are really difficult to correctly place to great effect. Its new attempt was not so good. The same colors are provided in bubbles at the top, with shades in between melding and making an ugly, faded look. The gray and prominence of the font is weak and looks kind of stupid. Also, does it matter that it is worldwide? If it is available in your country, you will get a “preapproved” notice at least three times a week. It will know you are global.

What We Can Learn

So, what lessons can be gleaned from the 10 examples above?

• Don’t try too hard to be cutting edge.
• If it seems cheesy to you, it will be cheesy to the viewer.
• Newer is not always better.
• If you have a classic, well-known logo, stick with it.
• Not everything has to be worked into a visual of the name.
• Don’t be random with your design.
• Be careful with how you use colors.
• Bizarre imagery doesn’t work.
• If it looks like it belongs to a different kind of product, don’t use it for yours.

Conclusion

There you have it: 10 of the worst logo redesigns ever and what we can learn from them. What other logo changes do you think went in the wrong direction? Let us know in the comments.

From: http://www.designyourway.net/blog/identity-and-branding/top-10-worst-logo-makeovers-and-lessons-we-can-learn-from-them/

Following is the showcase of 40 Really Creative Logos for Hotels and Restaurants for your Inspiration.

 From our archives – A kid-friendly logo for a water-themed amusement park in Draper, Utah illustrates that even fun logos are serious business.

The logo for Cowabunga Bay Water Park was a cool little project from a few years ago – and I figured it would make a good addition to our ongoing series of case studies, especially with Spring (and then Summer) just around the corner. For what it’s worth, Cowabunga Bay is one of the largest water parks in the world, and boasts as the park centerpiece, the world’s largest tipping bucket, a fact that we’d use in the later stages of the logo design process. The creative brief on this project was fairly straight forward – we were to design a logo that represented the water park, appealed to kids (and their parents) and was to have a fun vibe. Colors were no object, in fact the more the merrier, but the logo had to be adaptable for a wide range of applications – everything from signage, to print advertising, clothing and embroidered goods to traditional business staples. Our designers were given free range throughout the project and started, as with most illustrative logo design projects, with a series of sketches and idea-doodles. In early rounds of concept sketches, we threw around the idea of having a Hawaiian themed character who could be used in various situations and activities.

We played around with adding children to the mix, incorporating the figures alongside the water-slides and tipping bucket. These were nixed in early rounds as being too busy (and would require even more characters added to represent a wider market segment).

The Hawaiian themed character again, this time with a surfboard was considered enough to take to render (below)

The Hawaiian theme was ditched a being too restrictive so we played around with some text only treatments, which were discarded as being too ‘plain’.

And some more.

At this stage, we worked up a graphic representation of the giant tipping bucket (in mid-tip I guess) and worked that design into a series of concepts with appropriate typography selections.

Removing the tipping bucket uprights gave the impression of a water volcano, a neat little graphic touch that would stay with us throughout the remainder of the project.

Here’s a little technical tip too. When using thick outline paths in Illustrator, sometimes the path can get a little carried away (note the ‘W’ in the examples above). That needed to be hand-tweaked and with a few adjustments here and there, we had the final logo for Cowabunga (below).

Even though the logo proper is a fairly complex full-color design, it still needs to be available as a black and white greyscale for instances when color is not available.

For low resolution reproduction and one color printing, we’ll also require a linear version, absent all the tones and gradients of the original. By stripping the logo down to it’s outlines and solid shapes, we’re all set (below).

Even a giant water park needs business cards, so they were on the table as well…

We were also tasked with developing concepts for some of the signage for the various attractions and facilities.

From: http://www.thelogofactory.com/logo_blog/index.php/logo-design-case-study-cowabunga-bay-water-park/

As mentioned, a good logo is distinctive, appropriate, practical, graphic and simple in form, and it conveys the owner’s intended message. You should follow the five principles below to ensure that your design meets all of these criteria:

1. Simple
2. Memorable
3. Timeless
4. Versatile
5. Appropriate

1. Simple

Simplicity makes a logo design easily recognizable, versatile and memorable. Good logos feature something unexpected or unique, without being “overdrawn.”

While in college in the mid-’70s, an instructor introduced me to the K.I.S.S. Principle ¹⁶ of design, which translates as: Keep It Simple, Stupid. It does convey a very important design consideration. Simple logos are often easily recognized, incredibly memorable and the most effective in conveying the requirements of the client.

A refined and distilled identity will also catch the attention of a viewer zipping by signage at 70 miles per hour, on packaging on the crowded shelves of a store, or in any other vehicle used for advertising, marketing and promotion. Remember, the basis of the hugely effective international branding for the world’s largest shoe manufacturer is a very simple graphic swoosh.

— Jeff Fisher ¹⁷

On that note, you may find the history of the Nike logo ¹⁸ quite interesting.

2. Memorable

Following closely on this principle of simplicity is that of memorability. An effective logo design should be memorable, which is achieved by keeping it simple yet appropriate.

Surprising to many, the subject matter of a logo is of relatively little importance, and even appropriateness of content does not always play a significant role.

This does not imply that appropriateness is undesirable. It merely indicates that a one-to-one relationship between a symbol and what it symbolized is very often impossible to achieve and, under certain conditions, objectionable. Ultimately, the only mandate in the design of logos, it seems, is that they be distinctive, memorable, and clear.

— Paul Rand ¹⁹

3. Timeless

An effective logo should be timeless. Will yours stand the test of time? Will it still be effective in 10, 20 or 50 years?

Leave trends to the fashion industry. Trends come and go, and when you’re talking about changing a pair of jeans or buying a new dress, that’s fine, but where your brand identity is concerned, longevity is key. Don’t follow the pack. Stand out.

— David Airey ²⁰

4. Versatile

An effective logo works across a variety of media and applications. For this reason, logos should be designed in vector ²¹ format, to ensure that they scale to any size.

Ask yourself, is your logo still effective if it is printed…

• In one color?
• In reverse color (i.e. light logo on dark background)?
• The size of a postage stamp?
• As large as a billboard?

One way to create a versatile logo is to begin designing in black and white. This allows you to focus on the concept and shape, rather than color ²², which is subjective in nature. Also keep in mind printing costs: the more colors you use, the more expensive it will be for the business over the long term.

I like to work first in black and white to ensure that the logo will look good in its simplest form. Color is very subjective and emotional. This can distract from the overall design – say if you saw your logo in all red, that color may be the first thing that you respond to and not the composition of the design elements. I will not even consider submitting color suggestions to a client for review until they have signed off on a final black and white logo.

— Patrick Winfield ²³

Familiarize yourself with the commercial printing process so that you do not encounter printing problems down the line. Know the difference between the CMYK, Pantone and RGB color systems.

5. Appropriate

How you “position” the logo should be appropriate for its intended audience. For example, a child-like font and color scheme would be appropriate for a logo for a children’s toy store, not so much for a law firm.

A logo doesn’t need to say what a company does. Restaurant logos don’t need to show food, dentist logos don’t need to show teeth, furniture store logos don’t need to show furniture. Just because it’s relevant, doesn’t mean you can’t do better. The Mercedes logo isn’t a car. The Virgin Atlantic logo isn’t an airplane. The Apple logo isn’t a computer. Etc.

— David Airey ²⁴

Should a logo be self-explanatory? It is only by association with a product, a service, a business, or a corporation that a logo takes on any real meaning. It derives its meaning and usefulness from the quality of that which it symbolizes. If a company is second rate, the logo will eventually be perceived as second rate. It is foolhardy to believe that a logo will do its job immediately, before an audience has been properly conditioned.

— Paul Rand

From: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/26/vital-tips-for-effective-logo-design/

Today, March 8th, is International Women’s Day. Google has reimagined its iconic logo into a piece celebrating the big day. To honor the holiday, as HuffPo notes, “Google created a simple, colorful doodle which transforms the ‘G’ into a female gender symbol, the second ‘O’ into a yellow flower and replaces the logo’s regular blue with purple.” (What, no ponies?)

Washington Post reports that that the of today’s holiday is “Empower Rural Women—End Hunger and Poverty.” Locally, women (and rad men!) are protesting the firing of two female Hyatt Santa Clara housekeepers who made waves over degrading cartoon images of skinny white women wearing bikinis, with hotel housekeepers’ faces affixed to the bodies. SF Bay Guardian has more:

On Oct. 14, two weeks after Martha Reyes tore down the pictures, she and Lorena Reyes were fired from their positions as housekeepers at the Hyatt Santa Clara. Both have worked in hotels for more than two decades.The pictures that started it all? Cartoon images of skinny white women wearing bikinis, with the faces of the hotel’s housekeepers tacked on.

“The pictures were pictures of women in bikinis with our faces pasted on. To be honest, for me as a woman it was—imagine, I’m a mom of five kids and nine grandkids. To be put in that kind of picture is extremely uncomfortable,” Martha told the Guardian.

When they were fired, the sisters were told that they were wasting company time by combining their ten-minute and lunch breaks. But the sisters believe that they were targeted after Martha tore down the pictures—and later, when confronted by a superior who demanded the images back, refused to return them.

The incident, among other questionable behavior, has sparked a rally at the Grand Hyatt in Union Square today.

From: http://sfist.com/2012/03/08/international_womens_day_2012_honor.php

The Windows team officially unveiled the new Windows 8 logo over the weekend, and, unfortunately, I’m just not feeling it. Now, I could just let this go and wait until it sinks in, but what fun would that be? Especially since I’ve not felt something quite this polarizing with Windows since the Longhorn reset. Here is the new logo below, followed by the 5 reasons it doesn’t sit well with me:

1 – Plain Jane: I’m all for simplicity, but I feel like this is just too simple. I understand that this is a complete revision of Windows and that Microsoft wants to showcase both a window (instead of a flag) and Metro (Windows 8’s user interface) in the logo, but all the theory and genius that undoubtedly resides behind the design of this logo has lost its translation to me in the end result.

2 – Wonky: Again, I know that this logo is the fruition of many hours of thought, design, strategy, etc., but when I look at that design above, the word that immediately comes to mind for me is “wonky.” That font style doesn’t really appeal to me, and I would really love to see some depth given to the logo, instead of just the perspective/illusion of a 3D window in 2D space. Then again, maybe I’m just trying to sound smart, who knows?

3 – Triggers my OCD: Have you ever been to someone’s house as a guest and noticed on the wall an off-center picture that you couldn’t do a single thing about? If your answer is “yes,” then you’re probably a freak-a-zoid like me when it comes to straight lines and perfectly-centered everything. And that’s the reaction that the new Windows 8 logo triggers for me — the “OMG, I HAVE TO FIX THAT CROOKED PICTURE!” response. I so desperately want to “fix” that which drives me bonkers when I look at that logo.

4 – Brand recognition: Looking at this image, I can’t help but wonder what happens when Microsoft ditches Metro. Will this logo accurately represent Windows for the next 15-20 years, or will they opt for another change in branding when the need strikes? I hate to think I’m this reactive to something as simple as the rebranding of Windows, but I just don’t see this logo standing the test of time. I liked the flag, personally, however unrelated to “Windows” it might have become over the years.

5 – Visual direction: As a UX friend of mine noted (and I completely agree with), the actual Windows window (that is to say, the new logo sans the “Windows 8″ text) guides my eyes away from “Windows 8.” So, instead of complimenting the “Windows 8″ text and feeling like it’s one big, happy family, this logo feels like there are two separate components simply residing beside one another. It just feels… off.

With that said, I hope this isn’t it. I hope that what we’re seeing is essentially a placeholder — that is, an outline of a logo that will — when finished — be filled with some kind of character and depth. I mean, when I read Pentagram’s post about the logo, as well as Microsoft’s, I feel like I must clarify that I’m speaking my opinion about this logo from the perspective of someone who isn’t a designer.

Having said that, if I have to read all the theory and design principles behind a logo to “get it,” then I’m not so sure it’s a logo I would ever like without such persuasion — and persuasion I don’t feel I should need at that. It’s no secret that I’ve always been a fan of Microsoft’s visual work with Windows, but to be honest, for my personal tastes, the bar was set far too high with Windows Longhorn. I was fine with a flag. Especially the one that never made it:

From： http://www.zdnet.com/blog/seo/5-reasons-i-dislike-the-new-windows-8-logo/4691