Logo, Wordmark and Brand Identity

Sometimes brands need a new look, style or refresh from an outdated trend. Other times, they need the works – an entire facelift. More and more, brands are relying on simplicity and cleanliness to keep identities timeless – eliminating the need for those dramatic facelifts and leaning more on a quick refresh here and there.

Take a look at a few brands who have gone refresh vs. facelift:

REFRESH —————————————————————

Source: Proctor & Gamble new logo by the numbers.

While we are not displaying the moon illustration that dates back to the 1850’s, for the past 70 years, Proctor & Gamble has maintained a refresh mentality – updating font and graphics as design trends change and technology advances.  Its simplistic design keeps it timeless and recognizable.

Social media photo app Instagram decided to refresh its wordmark from a stock font it used since its inception in 2010. Now, without changing drastically, Instagram has its own refreshed and personalized font that is cleaner, smoother – and perhaps most importantly, not stock.

FACELIFT—————————————————————

Just this week, Mall of America announced its new logo and identity, which is a prime example of a complete face lift. Touting it as a revitalization, the Mall of America is reinventing its identity and shedding its traditional red, white and blue.  If I had to sum it up in one simple word… FUN. Now, let’s see Mall of America create some videos on Vine to play with the ribbon!

What do you think of the changes above? Do they solve a problem? Improve a brand’s identity?