Looking at the "before and after" in design

Often I am hired to redesign or update the logo of a business or organization. One law firm has hired me to recreated their corporate identity three times due to company name changes. Several such projects have ended up in the book Logos Redesigned: How 200 Companies Successfully Changed Their Image, by David E. Carter. From Harper Design International, the volume features great examples of “before and after” identities for 200 companies including professional sports organizations, major corporations, products, restaurants, educational institutions and “mom and pop” businesses. The designs presented include logo recreations from numerous design firms, including Hornall Anderson Design Works, Rickabaugh Graphics, Sayles Graphic Design, Alexander Isley, Inc., Dotzero Design, yours truly and many others. Each identity representation is accompanied by a brief explanation, written by the designers themselves, adding to the reader’s understanding of the visually displayed transition from old to new logo.

If the book has any shortcoming, it is that the reader is left wanting even more information about the projects presented – or additional concept visuals of the process of getting from previous to current identity. Still, the volume is an excellent resource for any identity designer who may need a creative “jumpstart” in taking on the overhaul of a client’s current logo.

Online you will find examples of identity, web and print redesigns on the Creative Latitude site, in a section called GRAPHIC makeovers. Designer Alina Hagen contributes her observations to the submitted design projects. Quite a few of my own redesign efforts, several from the "Logos Redesigned" book, are posted at GRAPHIC makeovers.

© 2005 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

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