"Experts on Rebranding: Why Change the Logos of Famous Brands?"

Contents:

• "Island"
• Lamborghini
• "Girlfriend"
• "Yandex Market"

Over the past few months, several well-known brands have unveiled new versions of their logos. We asked specialists from the HSE School of Design for their opinion on these changes.

Head of the HSE School of Design in St. Petersburg, as well as the coordinator of regional campuses and the international programs of this school. Specializes in graphic design, is the founder and editor-in-chief of the publication "Projector".

Curator in the fields of "Communication Design" and "Art Direction" at the School of Design HSE University. Holds a PhD in art history. Art Director at Havas Creative Group Russia.

Lecturer of the Communication Design course at the HSE School of Design, and also the head of the HSE POSTER LAB unit in the Design Laboratory of this university. Specializes in graphic design.

"Ostrovok"

Mitya Kharshak: "Ostrovok" offers limitless possibilities for creating visual games with any round object and evokes delight and an exclamation of "Oh!" This certainly attracts the audience's attention. I believe that with this rebranding, Ostrovok is moving to a new level in visual communications, creating its own unique and memorable communication style—exactly what is needed!

Tatyana Dunaeva: The identity of "Ostrovok" really turned out to be bright and full optimism, which is largely due to the well-chosen palette. The combination of rich green and deep blue evokes associations with travel. I like that the rebranding is based on clear communication. The phrases "Oh!" and "Oh-moments!" feel fresh and creative. You could say the result is a "copyrighted" identity, although, unfortunately, the concept itself is not innovative. We have already observed similar approaches in the advertising campaign "Loooooood salmon", although the message there is slightly different, so comparing these two initiatives would not be entirely correct.

Yuri Gulitov believes that during the rebranding process it is necessary to maintain a connection with the previous logo and style. A complete transformation, in his opinion, does not correspond to the concept of rebranding. In this context, the "Ostrovok" project is essentially a new beginning. It demonstrates a fresh visual style, including the letter "O" with an exclamation mark. This project attracts attention thanks to a clear concept, the right emotions, and integrity.

Lamborghini

Mitya Kharshak: The changes in the graphics were so minimal that the appearance of a new look is not even worth mentioning. The semantic load has not undergone any changes. The bull still looks like an unclear silhouette, overloaded with graphic elements and unsuccessfully integrated into the contours of the shield.

Read also:

The Lamborghini brand has unveiled an updated logo for the first time in two decades.

Tatiana Dunaeva: For organizations with a long history, even minor changes to the logo can become a landmark event, indicating a profound internal transformation of the brand. As far as I know, Lamborghini is going to move towards the electrification of its model range, which is probably the reason for the simplification of the logo, emphasizing the company's environmental focus. It can be assumed that more significant changes will affect the brand's communication strategy.

Yuri Gulitov: Lamborghini has probably successfully carried out the rebranding, making it more relevant. Previously, the logo looked a bit outdated: the golden bull and large lettering created an impression of wealth and luxury. However, now they have made some changes: the color has become cooler, the font is more laconic, the volumetric elements have been removed, and the bull has been slightly reworked. Otherwise, there were no changes, and since it is a well-known brand, it is quite possible that they were afraid of serious consequences from radically changing the old logo.

«Podruzhka»

Mitya Kharshak: In my opinion, the Podruzhka logo has unsuccessful typographic solutions. The descender of the lowercase "d" creates the impression of the beginning of some kind of game, but is not supported by the other lowercase letters - "r" and "u", which could have been a good combination. The second drawback is in the sign, where the double loop tends to hide behind the letter (possibly "e" or "v"). The human eye is designed in such a way that it tries to interpret this element as an alphabetic letter. The old logo, although it looked rather strange, had sincerity and charm, which is completely lacking in the new version, which has radically changed.

Tatyana Dunaeva: Overall, the rebranding made a positive impression on me. The new logo is no longer associated with a children's toy store, but truly reflects the concept of "everyday beauty". Soft pastel tones give the brand a light and fresh feel. Communication layouts now look much cleaner and no longer evoke associations with 1990s advertising. While a pattern-based brand identity isn't anything out of the ordinary from a design perspective, it's more of a versatile solution that appeals to a wide audience and keeps the focus on the product offering.

Read also:

The Podruzhka chain of stores has updated its logo and slogan.

Yuri Gulitov: In the old logo, the font seemed somewhat outdated, and the letter "u" had an element resembling either a bow or a butterfly. In the updated version, both the color palette and the font selection have become more precise. The continuity is obvious—the calligraphic elements remain in place. The butterfly is now highlighted separately, and in it you can see not only a hair tie, but also curlers, and even a curl of hair. The logo has become more concise, cheerful, and light.

Yandex Market

Mitya Kharshak: This is a wonderful solution—it's bright, eye-catching, and stands out from the competition in this crowded market. The logo has every potential to function effectively in visual communication even without the use of a font. For some reason, I get the impression that in the next stage of identity development, the logo will lose its significance compared to the sign.

Tatyana Dunaeva: If the main goal of the Yandex Market rebranding was to increase its visibility among competitors and separate it from services such as Taxi and Food, then it can be argued that in this Success has been achieved in this plan. However, I doubt that a harmonious identity system has been created. Many questions arise regarding the future use of the letter "M" and its transformation into a zigzag lightning bolt. Furthermore, the typography raises certain concerns. Perhaps the style and approach to communication will continue to be refined, but for now it looks somewhat crude and lacks a clear communication concept. Yuri Gulitov expressed his doubts about the need for a rebranding, noting that the ribbon on a yellow background looked more logical and conceptual. Yellow was associated with Yandex, the delivery process, and craft goods, while the zigzag ribbon was reminiscent of scotch tape and packaging tape. It only slightly hinted at the letter "M," while the new version is simply a slanted "M." Furthermore, the newly introduced red hue evokes associations with McDonald's. Overall, the new design creates an impression associated with food products and fast food delivery. As a result, when all the logo elements are arranged in a sequence (the "I" in a circle, the slanted "M" in a circle, and then the word "Market" with the same slanted "M"), stylistic and rhythmic inconsistency arises.

You'll find a lot of fascinating information about design in our Telegram channel. Join us!

Read also:

• "An excellent choice for a brick factory": experts analyze the logos of popular companies.
• "There will always be dissatisfied people": experts analyze the logos of popular brands.
• Ten fresh logos of 2023.
• What is the true role of a logo? In this column, art director Stas Zhitsky shares his thoughts on the importance of nail aesthetics and how this relates to the logos of successful brands.
• How to make a logo