Logo redesign: when is it time for a new logo?

In short: a logo redesign is due when the logo no longer works at small sizes or in a single colour, when it no longer fits what you offer, or when several versions are circulating. Usually an evolution is enough: the basic idea stays, typeface, proportions and colours are reworked. That preserves recognition. Plan the switch across all advertising media at the same time.

What graphic design achieves overall and how a logo is created is covered in our article professional graphic design. This one is about existing logos and the question of when to touch them. As of October 2026.

Six signs your logo needs reworking

• It is illegible at small sizes. As a social media profile picture, app icon or browser icon, a logo is often only a few millimetres big. Fine lines, small text and details disappear. Google, for example, requires a square image for the icon in search results, the favicon, and recommends at least 48 × 48 pixels. It should be a visual representation of the website's logo (Google Search Central: favicon). A wide logo with a long company name won't fit.
• It only works in colour. As cut film in a shop window, a stamp, an engraving or on a dark vehicle colour, you need a single-colour version. Logos with gradients, shadows or photos often can't be reproduced cleanly that way.
• It no longer fits what you offer. The logo shows a drill, but the business now mainly does planning. Or the name contains a place you left long ago.
• There are several versions. One on the website, a second on the van, a third on the invoice. Usually because it was never decided which applies, or because the original file is missing.
• It looks visibly dated. Typefaces and styles have their time. That alone is no reason to start over, but a reason to take a closer look.
• There is only a pixel image. If you have to hunt for a usable file for every print job, you have a problem a redesign solves at the same time: at the end there are clean vector files for every use.

Evolve or start over?

This is the most important decision. Our rule of thumb: evolve as long as the basic idea holds. Customers have seen your logo for years, on the van, the sign, the invoice. That recognition is an asset you shouldn't give up lightly.

An evolution can mean:

• a clearer, more legible typeface for the company name,
• simplified shapes, no shadows or gradients,
• slightly adjusted colours that look the same on screen, paper and film,
• a separate short mark for small uses, such as the symbol or initials alone,
• defined variants: colour, single colour, light on dark, landscape and portrait.

Starting over pays off when the business has changed fundamentally: a new name, a merger, a new direction, or when the old logo is so little known that hardly any recognition is lost.

Legibility and contrast

An interesting detail from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG): text that is part of a logo or brand name has no contrast requirement there, whereas normal text needs at least 4.5 to 1 (W3C: WCAG 2.2, contrast). That doesn't mean contrast is irrelevant for a logo. On the contrary: a logo that should be recognised on a van from 20 metres or on a phone at thumbnail size needs strong shapes and clear contrast. That is why we always test logos at the sizes and on the backgrounds where they will appear later.

How a logo redesign works

1. Inventory: where does the logo appear? Which versions and files exist?
2. Clarify the goal: what should the logo achieve, what doesn't work today? A short brief is enough.
3. Drafts: two or three directions, from cautious to bolder, always shown in use: on the van, sign, website, business card.
4. Refinement: fine-tuning of typeface and spacing, colours for print, screen and film, all variants.
5. Handover: files in all required formats and a short guide on how to use the logo.
6. Switchover: according to a plan, so that old and new logos don't appear side by side for months.

The switch: think of all places at once

The new logo is quickly finished; the switch takes longer. Make a list of all places: website, favicon, Google profile, social media profiles, email signature, letterhead, business cards, invoice template, sign, shop window, vehicle graphics, workwear, stamps, packaging. Digital places can be switched in a day. For printed matter it is often enough to use up remaining stock. The sign and vehicle are the most visible places and shouldn't wait too long.

What matters is that the same logo appears everywhere at the end. How to keep a look consistent is covered in the article what does a corporate design achieve?

A plumber with three logos

The case is constructed, but typical. A plumbing business founded in the 1990s has a logo with a stylised tap, a colour gradient and the company name in a narrow typeface. The website shows a version without the gradient, the vans an older one with a different blue, the invoices a blurry image. As an Instagram profile picture the name is illegible.

The redesign keeps the tap as the basic idea but simplifies it into a clear shape. The name gets a stronger typeface; the gradient gives way to a single, defined blue. New is a short mark, just the tap, for profile picture and favicon. The vans are switched at the next relettering, the website on the same day. Regular customers recognise the business immediately.

Our view

Many businesses wait too long because they fear losing recognition with a new logo. With a careful evolution that risk is small. The damage from a logo that is illegible on a phone or circulates in three versions is often greater. We design logos and apply them directly to sign, vehicle and website. That way we see early whether a draft works everywhere. More under corporate design & logo.

Checklist: does your logo need a redesign?

• Is it still recognisable as a profile picture and browser icon?
• Is there a single-colour version for film, stamps and engraving?
• Does it still fit your current services and name?
• Is the same version used everywhere?
• Do you have vector files in all required formats?
• If yes to a redesign: is there a list of all places where the logo needs to be switched?

More on this topic: if not just the logo but the whole presence should change, the article rebranding: process, costs, risks helps.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know my logo needs a redesign?

Typical signs: the logo is no longer legible at small sizes, for example as a profile picture or browser icon. It only works in colour, not single-colour on film or a stamp. It shows services you no longer offer. Or several versions exist side by side because it was never decided which one applies.

Should I redo my logo completely or just rework it?

Reworking is usually better: typeface, proportions and colours are modernised, the basic idea stays. That way regular customers still recognise your business. Starting over mainly pays off if the business has changed fundamentally, for example through a new name, a merger or a completely different direction.

What needs to change after a logo redesign?

Everything that carries the logo: website and favicon, Google profile and social media profiles, stationery, email signature, signs, vehicle graphics, workwear, stamps and packaging. A list of all places and a plan for the order in which they are switched over therefore belong to every redesign.