Multiple organisations over the last decade have abandoned logos with shadows, textures, and features in favour of simplified, flat designs. As designers attempt to fit logos into ever-smaller spaces, such as app icons and wearables, this trend mirrors the growing importance placed on mobile-first user experiences. Debranding serves as an example of how fashion can easily influence corporate identities, leaving one to wonder where logo design will go from here.
Several strategic considerations may lead a company to pursue debranding. Debranding is the practice of minimising the use of a company’s name and logo. Some typical instances of why businesses decide to debrand are:
Debranding may help businesses reach a larger audience, which in turn increases the size of their consumer base. Potential consumers who don’t share the brand’s conventional image or values may be won over by watering down the brand’s identity.
To reposition themselves in the market, some businesses choose to debrand. Changing one’s image might mean going from being seen as specialised or exclusive to being more universally appealing.
Saving money on design, advertising, and manufacturing is a nice side effect of streamlining brand features like logos and packaging. Debranding might also lessen the need for vigilant brand police and security measures.
Firms can debrand after a merger or acquisition to establish a single, cohesive brand. This may require consolidating many brands into one recognisable entity.
A corporation may decide to debrand if its ideals, values, or purpose have changed significantly. This may aid in establishing credibility and showing compatibility with emerging norms.
Some businesses would want customers to care more about the product’s quality and features than the company’s name. In sectors where product performance and qualities are valued more highly than brand loyalty, this is a regular occurrence.
Overexposure and misuse of a brand may cause brand fatigue, which causes customers to lose interest in or become sceptical of the brand. Debranding is a strategy that may be used to fight against consumer boredom and attract new customers.
To update their brand image and appeal to a younger demographic, several businesses are debranding. This may need a new corporate logo, slogan, and other graphic elements.
Debranding may help streamline a company’s brand, making it easier to remember. Depending on the situation, this might mean streamlining the brand’s visual identity or merging it with another.
Companies may debrand to remove negative connotations from their names. This may be required if the firm has been the subject of controversy or if its goods have been linked to unfavourable press.
Companies may decide to debrand in countries or marketplaces where they fear their name or emblem may be offensive to the local culture.
Since the size of displays has decreased from desktop computers to smartwatches, there has been a pressing need to streamline mobile user interfaces. Designing user-friendly apps and websites requires an understanding of how people process information visually. Home screen icons and favicons are just 16×16 pixels in size, so logos need to look decent in such a small space.
The history of numerous different types of technology logos demonstrates how size restrictions on UX designs have forced designers to simplify logos. Airbnb invested heavily in creating an “A”-shaped symbol that is responsive across platforms.
Companies may debrand to satisfy regulations if they face legal or regulatory hurdles, such as trademark disputes or branding limits in their industry.
Debranding is not the best move for every business or in every circumstance. While this has its advantages, it also has some disadvantages, such as the requirement for clear and convincing communication to explain the shift to consumers and the possibility of a drop in brand awareness. The decision to debrand or rebrand is a strategic one that must take into account the company’s long-term objectives, the state of the market, and the public’s opinion of the brand.
Some corporations that have dropped their old names in recent times are listed below.
Brand refreshment is a powerful tool for businesses. When executed well, rebranding refreshes a company’s image and reveals how far the brand has come. It also aids in the right placement of items in response to changing customer tastes. When executed incorrectly, the product becomes unrecognisable and obsolete.
Keep in mind that there will always be a need to rebrand since there will be new design trends to adopt and executives that need a “fresh look.” However, to build a strong brand identity, businesses need a strategic plan to support their branding efforts.
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Many car companies are simplifying their logos (which have long been inherently 3-dimensional chrome pieces on the cars themselves) to something that the sensor array for adaptive cruise control/automated emergency braking can be tucked behind. This can be seen with Nissan and VW but not Kia which has been applying their new logo to the forward edge of the hood, a decal over sheetmetal. But in any case it's an industry-specific analog to "prioritizing mobile".