Design has its rules, but some of the most exciting projects are ones that subvert expectations by abandoning rules completelyor at least the ones were familiar with. Over the years, graphic designers have cleverly reimagined iconic business logos and transformed them into fresh visuals, while still retaining the brands identifiers like the logos color palette, or typography. Though its a new year (and a new decade!), which will almost certainly inspire new frontiers in design and architectural aesthetics, one thing will remain the same: the fun and frivolous phenomenon of remixed logos. Dribbble, the platform for digital designers, recently collected entries from some of its creators who gave famous corporate logos a refresh just for kicks.
Its only right to start with Twitter, as it has become the virtual Oval Office in the past few years. Designer Myles Stockdales take on the platforms omnipresent blue bird mascot is more geometric and bold than Twitters current offering, and features the addition of a small, circular eye. Stockdale also deepened the blue of the websites brand identity (perhaps to get closer to Pantones Classic Blue color of the year selection?) and added sharper edges to the typeface. Given the chaos that laces the Twitter timeline on a daily basis, this harsher, more direct visual language seems fitting.
Apple, a company whose very success was built on brilliant branding, seems like it needs no interference. The design of the brands iconic, partially bitten apple, which stamps every Mac computer, was first designed by Rob Janoff in 1977 as a two-dimensional, rainbow-striped fruit next to the company name. It went through several iterations in the following decades, and now exists as a flat, black silhouette. However, designer Ruslan Babkin decided to take the logo back to its roots by rendering it in technicolor. But he also looks toward the future with his treatment of the apples shape, which has rounder edges and an outline with greater movement, making the logo look like a colorful, speedy blur. His choice to incorporate color in the form of a gradient rather than sharply delineated lines makes the logo feel more modern, to be sure; but theres something clean and sophisticated about the grayscale of Apples brand identity today that gets lost.
Another company whose logo relies on the eye-catching excitement of color is Google. Its logo, a conservative, uppercase G, is synonymous with the search engine. Divided into sections of red, yellow, green, and blue, the logo is not particularly inspiring. So Indonesia-based logo designer Azzacts decision to convert it into a funky lowercase g with the exact same colorblocking, is a welcome revision.
Nike [Image: Rafael Serra]Type designer and lettering artist Rafael Serra used his font-creation skills to give Nike a unique new look. The iconic swoosh shape remains (albeit simplified), but Serra has placed it below lean, capitalized letters that look almost Art Deco. The N, I, and K are forward-leaning and top-heavy, and the E is outfitted with a diamond for its middle line. The refreshingly slim logo is certainly interesting but doesnt quite capture the bold simplicity of Nikes brand, which has long been known for its clean and sleek activewear.
Legendary logos from other companies, from FedEx to Spotify to Burger King, also got updates. To check out the rest of these reimagined logos, visit Dribbble here.
The rest is here:
Designers reimagined the corporate logos for Apple, Twitter, and more - Fast Company
