Recycling and Redesigning Logos: A Designer's Guide to Refreshing and Rethinking Design

Redesigns are part of every designer’s repertoire, but sometimes getting inspired or motivated to redesign an existing logo can be challenging and cumbersome. The goal of maintaining equity by using existing elements in new ways and combining them with new elements is akin to the task of “recycling” In other words – how do designers improve and recreate identities without throwing out the usable stuff that is makes up the existing brand? Recycling and Redesigning Logos demonstrates the strategies and processes of successful redesigns and shows readers how to build on the equity the brand already retains to create a fresh look. The case studies feature before and afters of the logos and discuss why the redesign was necessary and demonstrate how to reuse, reformat and build on the ingredients, materials and essence that is already there.

Michael Hodgson is the principal and creative director of Ph.D, a Santa Monica-based design firm whose work is executed across a wide range of mediums including environmental graphic design, books, web, print, motion graphics, and as Visual Personalities, Ph.D’s patent-pending blend of branding, logo, and identity.