Heritage plays a big part in branding and brand relationships. People recognise and come to love the familiarity they hold with certain logo types, especially those within the consumer market or corporate sectors. However, to maintain relationships with consumers, a brand needs to evolve with it’s audience. Stagnant brands fall to the back of peoples minds, compared to customer-focused brands who adapt and change to the needs of their audience.
Although, too much of a dramatic change, that once close customer might reject the ‘new’ look and distance their commitment with you. Therefore, the difficulty lyes between, enough change to stimulate and engage your audience; whilst not differentiating yourself too much from your roots.
Up-cycling seems to be an ever-growing trend within the fashion industry which graphic designers are taking inspiration from. Turning something old, into something new. First it was the well known Co-operative giant, The Co-op Group retrieving their 1968 logo and bringing it back to life earlier this year. Followed by Natwest restoring a logo design from 1968, and now Kodak bringing back a vintage logo design from 1971.
However, are brands now taking this too far? Designs cheating their way back into the comfort and nostalgia of consumers’ hearts? Kodak’s Chief Marketing Officer, Steven Overman disagrees, “Our goal is to amplify what is already memorable and resonant around the world.
As long as the core values of the brand remain the same, building on the past to create a stronger future should only resonate a good feeling within peoples minds and hearts. The new Co-op logo created a heart warming feeling among people who remembered the old shopping bags and branded goods of a time when the Co-op was king among supermarkets and before the catastrophe of what was to happen Co-op bank. Much like Kodak drawing upon inspiration within their company heritage, developing a smartphone inspired by a camera from the 1940s.
