You may be surprised to learn that many of the logos which feature highly in our daily lives today were, in fact, designed over 100 years ago. A new book from Taschen called Logo Beginnings collates our most historic logos and explores the ways that they have been tweaked rather than redesigned over the years retaining the elements we’ve come to know and love whilst staying relevant. Which leads us to ask, what could we refresh for you in 2022 (making yet another unintentional new year rhyme)?
The beginnings
The book, written by Jen Müller, examines over 6000 logos, dating from as early as the mid-19th Century. It examines how the logos of the brands that still influence us today – Rolex, Louis Vuitton, BMW to give just a few examples – can be traced back over 100 years. Marcomedia was established over ten years ago, which compared to 100 years is a relatively short time frame. But even in that time, we have refreshed our branding on several occasions. Obviously, being a design studio it’s important that we look current. Although, ironically, we are usually so busy helping other brands look good there is little time left to work on our own image (this is the case for design agencies of all sizes – we know because we’ve helped some of them with their branding too)!
The middle
You might be planning to refresh your branding because now feels like the right time – or perhaps you’ve been inspired by some design, print or web campaign you’ve seen recently. If you’re not sure whether your branding needs tweaking or even if you have no plans to change it – it might be worth doing a little competitor research to see how you measure up. This doesn’t have to be time-consuming and could be as simple as just googling your services and spending a few moments browsing what comes up.
Not the end
If you decide that it is time for an update to your image, then it doesn’t have to be a big change and you certainly don’t have to reinvent the wheel. If the Logo Beginnings book teaches us anything it’s that great brands evolve over a long period of time. A pop of colour here, new typography there, simplifications and small changes to design can make all the difference. And shouting about your new look is a perfect excuse to engage with your target markets too. But the second lesson from this book is that it is never ‘the end’ when it comes to branding. The best way to ensure your branding stays up to date is to never think of it as ‘finished’ but to always think of it as evolving – just as your business is.
If you’re ready for a refreshing start to this year, we’re ready with the refreshments! Talk to our team of design, print and web experts on 0208 590 0922 or email us at info@marcomedia.co.uk