This document outlines a logo re-design project for students. It discusses what logos are, important principles like AIDA and KISS for effective logo design. It provides examples of both successful and unsuccessful logo re-designs. The project requires students to re-design logos for 5 local companies, get feedback from peers and the companies, and present a final revised logo design. The goal is for students to learn how impactful logos are and get real-world feedback on their designs.

1. LOGO RE-DESIGN PROJECT
(200 Points)

2. WHAT IS A LOGO?
• A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises,
organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition.

3. A.I.D.A. PRINCIPLE
• A logo speaks volumes about a
company and its products. It acts like
a trademark and should immediately
trigger a reaction from the viewer.
This is laid out in the AIDA principle:
• A = Attention
• I = Interest
• D = Desire
• A = Action

4. K.I.S.S. PRINCIPLE
• The job of your logo is to communicate what your
business is all about in an instant. But if you try to say
too much in that instant, it's more likely that your
clients and prospects will either not get the message at
all or that they'll get the wrong message—and wind up
pulling the wrong information out of an
overcomplicated logo.
• 1. Keep the brand story that you're telling with your
logo simple and don't try to say too much.
• 2. Keep the design of your logo simple—don't include
too many details in the icon.
• 3. Keep the icon and the name of your company
separate.

5. WHY LOGOS ARE IMPORTANT…
• The logo must catch the attention of
the viewer and create a feeling of
longing for the company’s product. The
aspect of building trust is also
important. A trademark that has never
failed to satisfy will be recommended
to friends and will be preferred over
others.

6. WHAT MAKES A GOOD LOGO?
• The logo must be understood immediately, even by a child. It is often
beneficial to combine a word and design in the logo. The company’s
name is then linked with the logo and makes the viewer instantly
draw the connection to the represented company.

8. • A logo must cater to the company’s target audience. The logo
should evoke the type of company or the type of business. A
producer of toys, for example, will want a more playful logo than
that of a doctor, who would want a more trustworthy, sophisticated
one.

11. • A logo must be designed to fit the style of the current time period. It should only be changed – if
necessary – in wide intervals. If changed, it should never be altered too immensely, since a too
radical change might confuse former customers who could stop buying from the company. In
order to prevent this from occurring, one should plan such changes carefully and never forget the
target audience, who must like the new logo.

12. • A logo is supposed to become a trademark. This is why it is essential to
check, before creating the logo, if another company is using a similar logo
which could confuse customers. If the logo does not exist, it is often a
good idea to apply for a national or international patent or trademark
protection for the logo in order to protect it.

13. LOGO RE-DESIGN FAILS
• If you’re going to change your logo and your target demographic is one of the largest online
communities of designers and artists, you better be prepared to bring your “A” game.
• The new DeviantArt logo does bring an “A” to the game, but the “D” is kind of hard to see, which has
been a point of contention with the design community. Many users claim they can’t even see the “D”.
• But the worst offense is that the new DeviantArt logo looks strikingly similar to the logo for Russian
design studio platzkart.ru. Whether they plagiarized the logo or not is up to you to decide. Either
way, it’s clear that the concept looks much better suited to platzkart.ru than DeviantArt.

14. LOGO RE-DESIGN FAILS
• It’s not like the old Reebok logo was all that special—it always sort of looked like a weird
combination of the Nike Swoosh and the three lines in the Adidas logo. So it makes sense that
Reebok would want to redesign their logo to stand out from the competition.
• But instead, they swapped out one generic-looking logo for another. The new Reebok logo would
look more at home on a bank teller’s polo shirt than it does on a pair of tennis shoes.
Somewhere along the way, Reebok forgot to ask themselves one crucial question: “Would
anybody actually want to wear this on a t-shirt?”

15. LOGO RE-DESIGN FAILS
• Don’t worry if your initial reaction to this logo redesign for AirBnB was to giggle like a 13-year-old boy who just
discovered he could write dirty words on a calculator. It doesn’t matter who you are, what your background is or
where you come from, we can all agree on one thing—the new logo for AirBnB looks kinda dirty.
• We don’t want to be rude, but if you look at it a certain way, it looks like a such-and-such. Look at it a different
way, and it resembles a pair of you-knows-whats. To make matters worse, the logo actually has a name and
origin story. It’s called the “Bélo” and it’s supposed to represent “the universal symbol of belonging.”
• To us, this sounds like a coded message that says, “We wanted our logo to be provocative so that everyone will
talk about it.” Well, mission accomplished. But when people stop talking about it (and they will stop talking
about it), then AirBnB is going to be stuck with a logo that looks like a—you know.

16. LOGO RE-DESIGN WINS
• Remember when Netflix used to be primarily a mail subscription service? Those seem like such
antiquated times now that Netflix is the reigning king of streaming media technology and
original content. And so, a logo update was long overdue to match the company’s new high-tech
direction.
• The old drop shadow design evoked the feeling of movie theaters and was designed to pop out
at the audience when placed over Netflix’s signature red envelopes. The new logo flattens
things out and brings the red color branding to the forefront, injecting new life into the brand’s

17. LOGO RE-DESIGN WINS
• If you’re one of those people who cringes at bad grammar, then the redesigned TGI Fridays logo will
probably drive you insane; the company has dropped the apostrophe and periods from the logo
entirely. It might be incorrect in terms of punctuation, but it does make for a cleaner design. It also
complements a fun brand like TGI Fridays by showing that they don’t “play by the rules.”
• Besides updating the logo’s shape to something a little more sleek and modern, this redesign has
streamlined the font into something more cohesive and simple. The old font face was feeling a bit of
date with its varying letter sizes. The new logo is still friendly and accessible, but also more modern
and legible.

18. LOGO RE-DESIGN WINS
• We love logos with hidden meanings and thanks to this redesign, the Fandango logo is now
much more than meets the eye. The “F” for Fandango has always been a ticket stub, but now
there’s a second letter “F” made from the negative space, creating two interlocking F’s.
• Even apart from the hidden image, this new logo is a big improvement. Not only does it trade
in the dated drop shadow look for a flat design, the wider font and tighter kerning make the
typography look much better.

19. IT’S YOUR TURN NOW…
• When you redesign a logo, look to these examples as object
lessons. Learn to emulate the positives and avoid the horrible
missteps that “re-designers” have already made.
• SEVEN TIPS FOR RE-DESIGNING:
1. Isolate the old logo’s best qualities
2. Look to your brand’s past for ideas (see older logos)
3. Strive for simplicity
4. Focus on the colors that matter most
5. Embrace new trends, but hold on to old traditions
6. Optimize readability
7. Use hidden meanings to add interest

20. LOGO PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
• Project Idea/Description: You will learn about logos and how they influence customers and the public
perception of a company. You will be asked to re-design local company's logos and see what their
opinion is on the re-design and get appropriate feedback/criticism.
• The company will provide real, authentic feedback on what the students submit and why they like
them or not. The whole project is to make you aware how important logos are in the commercial arts
world as we are constantly being inundated by logos and the immediate worth of a product based on
them.
• You are designing 5 re-design logos (proofsheet) of your chosen company from the list I will
provide you
• You will participate in a mid-project peer review critique to provide constructive feedback to
your peers
• You will participate in a conference/feedback meeting with a company representative based on
the initial 5 designs. They will choose their favorite for you to tweak and revise.
• You will present your final revised logo to the company representative and to the class.

21. PROOFSHEET EXAMPLE:
• Create 5 different sketches of your idea (see below for how real
graphic designers show their clients 8 different versions)
• Can be hand drawn and scanned or all done on computer or both

22. Company
Rubric

23. Teacher
Rubric