Change is a complicated thing. And as my 82-year-old grandfather continually repeats, "all the good things perpetually change."
But, as someone younger and with an attitude much more capable of going with the flow, I think change is necessary. We update, invigorate, and fix because nothing is perfect. But, it's required to move forward, adapt to the times, and reinspire younger generations. Sure, it can be scary, sometimes annoying, and often a shock to our system, but we need those things to survive. So we need to push beyond what we think is "normal" and what is possible.
And while we don’t want to equate the human experience with a brand's life, redesigns can still be a tricky affair.
It's difficult for brands to redesign because of the capability for consumers to recognize their favorite brands on the shelves—folks have connections with these things, often emotional. It takes time, patience, and a lot of coordination for any agency or designer to tinker and update a VERY known entity. Today we're sharing seven of our recent favorite brand redesigns. While some brands were chosen for their bold overall overhaul, we selected others for their graceful and minimal shifts.
JKR's Refresh For Burger King
It wouldn't be a complete list of redesigns if Burger King didn't make the cut. As one of the most delectable redesigns of the year, the Burger King rebrand focused on making the branding as drool-worthy as the food. Featured in the redesign are bright colors, typography that mimics melty cheese and steamy burgers, and a whole new logo that found inspiration from the past while still thinking of the brand's future. The redesign was complete, rethinking everything from the uniforms, wrappers, colors, typography, logo, dine-in trays, and more. No stone—er, burger—was left unturned.
Pearlfisher Redesigns McDonald's Packaging
Pearlfisher's redesign for McDonald's is minimalistic and straightforward, focusing on fun and bold graphics. Flat illustrations represent the foods within the packaging, and while different, they all work splendidly as a set. The classic red french fry sleeve was the least edited, but they replaced the inner yellow pinstripes with thick golden fry-inspired lines. At the same time, the Egg McMuffin wrappers were incredibly playful, with a yellow yolk sitting in the middle of the all-white wrapper. While it's sleek and modern, this redesign maintained the approachable and enjoyable disposition that we all know and love when it comes to McDonald's.
Coca-Cola Redesigned For First Time Since 2016
Coca-Cola's in-house global design team collaborated with design firm Kenyon Weston on the rebranding for their can design. At first glance, the only noticeable difference is the addition of negative space on the can. However, after closer observation, you'll realize that any additional and unnecessary elements have been stripped away. The redesign took the cans back to their most minimal state and extended upon the brand's "uplifting" metaphor. While a somewhat simple edit and matched with a bit of criticism, sometimes it's the most subtle changes that open the floodgates of critique.
A Modernized Rebrand From Colt 45
Designed by Standard Black, Colt 45's rebrand is classic while still supporting the original branding and packaging design elements. In a genuinely self-aware manner, the intent behind the rebrand was to create a bottle that people would be proud to hold. As a result, the typography dominates the packaging, and the red colt remains on the label's bottom left. One of the most significant edits was removing the shadow behind the logo, which helps the typography feel both more intentional and more meaningful. The classic design elements are still there, just in a more updated fashion.
Panera Brand Refresh From BrandOpus
Tapping into Panera's rich connection with delight and warmth, the redesign focuses on a new logo design. The update features the maternal character holding bread that focuses intently on human connection and removing the square border. That allows the logo to come across in an unconstructed manner in an effortless way because sometimes it's removing minor details that pack the biggest punch. They updated the palette to bring a sense of warmth into the branding, invigorating the colors with a touch of enthusiasm.
Sunhouse Creative Liberates The Pleasure of Magnum
Magnum's brand refresh intends to recapture its distinctiveness by pushing the limits of what it means for a brand to be luxurious, courageous, and confident. The design created by Sunhouse Creative showcases the drool-worthy thick chocolate-covered ice cream in a way that'll make you feel deserving of the most luxurious everything. The whole experience of cracking open a Magnum bar and discovering the ice cream within gets showcased through the new packaging and logo. The new logo is essentially an inverted version of the old, which creates a gold stamp of approval.
JKR's Baskin-Robbins Refresh
Baskin-Robbins was founded in 1945, and with a history as rich as some of the flavors, it was time the brand refreshed for a whole new generation of ice cream lovers. The new campaign concentrates on "Living Flavorfully," and with 31 flavors, the newly clarified logo highlights the easter egg of a "31" within the letters. The new logo is also more dynamic to edit. It serves as a groundwork for customization, as JKR demonstrates with 31 flavors of the logo reflecting some of Baskin-Robbins' most popular offerings. A new typeface was created in collaboration with Face37, replacing the previous font more maturely. Familiar iconography, such as the classic pink spoon, is redesigned and continues the refresh without sacrificing well-known brand characteristics.
