Brand Facelifts in Pictures

Thanks to Forbes, they recently released a fabulous article: “Marketers Have Makeover Madness: Brands get bright new looks in dark times.” They’ve included before & after pictures of branding identities. One of the biggest trends I’m noticing is the use of more white space. If done tastefully, it can be very effective. Here are a few examples of products that have undergone a facelift:

Snapple

Trix Cereal

Check out the changes in the full photo essay at Forbes.com.

Check out this comprehensive photo compilation of more before & after logos of major national brands over at WeFunction.com.

Kraft Foods unveils new Logo

Kraft foods unveiled a new logo on Tuesday, February 17th.

Believe it or not, this new logo is intended for corporate use, meaning the existing Kraft logo shown below will still be used on their product line.

I’m not sure how I feel about the design. While effective logos are simple and should visually convey the mission of the company, I’m not loving this logo. Simply putting “Kraft Foods” in lowercase letters does not mean that the company is modern and hip. As a corporate logo, I think it counters my chosen adjectives for the word “corporate:” grand and macho. Puny, lowercase letters do not work well here. Overall, this new design fails to deliver for its intended use.

If anything, I would have kept the old Kraft logo for corporate use and used the new logo for product use. What are your thoughts?

For a deeper design assessment, check out Brand New’s article.