The design of the logo of any brand is a powerful weapon that strongly affects its longevity. A brand can either flourish to great heights or else get completely ruined due to a mere logo. This is because the logo has the power to deliver a strong impression, be it good or bad, about the brand.
In the logos of all well-known brands, from Apple to Samsung to Nike, there’s something very meaningful yet simple behind them. But on the other hand, the logos of certain brands totally misinterpret the idea, sometimes even becoming a joke among people, and eventually resulting in the downfall of the brand.
Emanuele Abrate, an Italian graphic designer, is well aware of how harmful certain logos can be. Be it an unclear or wrong message, wrong typography, or simply a meaningless design, these are the exact issues that Emanuele wanted to fix in his latest project. He named this interesting challenge “The worst logos ever, redesigned.” Emanuele picked 9 logos he thought would create a disaster in the long run and interpreted them in his own, unique way, and he certainly did justice to all of them.
#1 Instituto de Estudos Orientais
In an interview with Bored Panda, Emanuele openly discussed the reasons for selecting these 9 logos, and in what areas they needed improvement. “I was trying to figure out how I would approach them if they were really commissioned to me,” stated Emanuele. He believes that the best logos have an incredible ability to create an effective and coherent visual ecosystem with the representing brand. The results he gained are both fun and educational, showing that designs are not only about aesthetics but rather about problem-solving.
Regarding the above logo, Emanuele wanted to convey an ambiguous message while enhancing the pagoda figure, and he gave the logo a fresh, modern look by eliminating the old-fashioned outline.
#2 Kudawara Pharmacy
In Emanuele’s opinion, some of the problems associated with this logo are poor typography usage and disproportionate elements. He fully changed the logo by only keeping the K as a letter mark, and built the letter K using simple shapes, including a green color leaf-like structure that gives a feeling of trust linked to nature. Also, a cross that is a significant element in the medical field is seen in the middle.
#3 Fire Prevention Products
Anyone can see that the original logo doesn’t hold the expected sense of safety. With this logo, Emanuele has developed a new concept where a figure of a flame is enclosing the letters FPP, and this provides the logo with great recognition.
#4 Mama’s Baking
For this particular brand, Emanuele created a completely fresh logo inspired by a loving mother who cooks passionately. When looking closely, we can see that the logo is comprised of an oven mitt joined with a heart.
#5 The Computer Doctors
According to Emanuele, this is one of those designs that cannot be saved by anything. He attempted to combine technology with health care, by inserting a cross within a rectangle that represents a monitor.
#6 Clinical Dental San Marcelino
Anyone who sees this logo is sure to misunderstand it. Emanuele said that this logo was so unclear and that he used a much simpler design. He arranged C and D letters in the shape of a smiling face and used white and blue colors to convey confidence and cleanliness.
#7 OGC (Office of Government Commerce)
At a glance, nothing looks wrong with the original one. But considering what we can see when it is turned around, it’s definitely not a suitable logo for a government agency. This is why Emanuele modernized it by enhancing the letters and eliminating the outline.
#8 Safe Place
The original logo had just too many elements in it. What Emanuele did was taking the only relevant element, which is the house, and enhancing it.
#9 Arlington Pediatric Center
Although the concept is pretty much the same, the redesigned logo conveys more confidence. The simple circular shapes make the logo very friendly and warm.
Currently, Emanuele teaches a brand and logo designing course called “Logo Hero.” It educates learners on everything that a professional designer should know. Also on his Instagram page Logofonts, he reveals what kind of fonts popular logos are using.
Image credits – emanueleabrate.com
Reading, creative writing, poetry writing, and language learning have been my passions since I was young. I have won many Japanese and Chinese language competitions, and many national-level creative writing, art & oratory competitions too. I am still schooling, and passed my O/Levels with distinction passes for English Literature, Japanese, and English. I have also completed my Certificate of Human Resource Management.
