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Creative Strategy Partners

How These Brands Have Stayed Relevant Throughout Time

By ZAK

Brands rely heavily on their logos and visual representation to make an impression on their audiences. A logo calls forth immediate associations and can align the viewer’s thought process with what the designer intended. This is why so much budget flows to creative design agencies each year to search for the perfect visual identity.

At ZAK, we know the importance of a good logo. But this point is best illustrated when you look back on older iterations of a brand’s visual identity and realise that you barely recognise them. We’ll take a look at some brands that have changed their look significantly over time.

Let’s get started!

Why Do Logos Change?

If logos are crucial to staying in your audience’s memory, why do brands hire creative design agencies time and time again to significantly change their logos?

The simple reason is that design trends change with time, and to keep looking professional and credible, brands need to stay up-to-date with what their customers want to see.

Logo trends change each decade, so it’s not easy to keep up with them. In this decade alone, we’ve seen a significant shift to more straightforward logos with flatter colours. There are now fewer outlines, fewer 3D shapes, and much simpler design language overall. This was spruced up later on with the introduction of colour gradients.

It’s still true today that logos try to cut out all nonessential information. Often, a simple icon is enough to get the message across. A picture can say a thousand words, but it’s the job of Brand strategy agencies in London to make sure it speaks the same language as its audience.

Here are a few examples of how logos have changed throughout the years.

Microsoft

Technology giant Microsoft has been around since 1975, and for PC users, this brand is everywhere. Many of us have a Microsoft account and see the modern logo associated with many tools we use daily. But did you know that the first iteration of their logo didn’t include the famous windows logo at all?

Microsoft always had text-based logos, but it went on an adventurous journey, from thick, bolt lettering to a slanted, almost sporty style. As we know, the logo was introduced in 2012, incorporating Microsoft’s most successful product: Windows.

Apple

Apple is also an exciting logo to talk about. Nowadays, the brand is represented BY a sleek, simple apple icon from which a bite has been taken. It feels fresh, playful, and modern. But the logo didn’t start that way.

In 1976, when the company first found its footing, they actually had an entire placard displaying the whole tree in the garden of Eden, with the apple hanging of one branch. This elaborate emblem was a lot to take in, and Apple realised this quickly.

In 1977, it changed its logo to the apple logo we know today, with rainbow stripes and a text variant of its brand name. The text fell away in 1984, and in 1988, Apple said goodbye to the colour.

We all know how well this logo worked out for them ever since, so it’s no wonder they haven’t changed it in over 30 years!

Burger King

Burger King started its journey in 1957, with a logo that incorporated its mascot. If you ever wondered about the brand’s name, back, then it was a lot more noticeable. The emblem featured a cartoon king with a soft-drink for a sceptre sitting on top of a burger.

Burger King quickly simplified their design language in 1969, where a simple, single-coloured bun sandwiched their brand name. As we know it now, the logo was introduced in 1999, introducing slanted text and the blue swirl that gives the design more energy!

Is Your Logo with The Times?

Technology giant Microsoft has been around since 1975, and for PC users, this brand is everywhere. Many of us have a Microsoft account and see the modern logo associated with many tools we use daily. But did you know that the first iteration of their logo didn’t include the famous windows logo at all?

Microsoft always had text-based logos, but it went on an adventurous journey, from thick, bolt lettering to a slanted, almost sporty style. As we know, the logo was introduced in 2012, incorporating Microsoft’s most successful product: Windows.