The Gap Logo That Lasted Six Days
In 2010 Gap replaced a logo it had used for 24 years, then reversed it in under a week. What actually went wrong — and the lesson for any brand considering a refresh.
What we have learned making brands.
Real rebrand case studies, straight buyer guides and the craft decisions behind them. Written by the studio, not outsourced — and no post exists here unless it says something you could not get from the first search result.
How to Choose a Logo Designer (USA & UK, 2026)
What separates a good logo designer from an expensive one: the questions to ask, the deliverables to demand in writing, and four warning signs.
The Seven Types of Logo, and How to Pick One
Wordmarks, lettermarks, pictorial and abstract marks, mascots, emblems and combination marks — what each is good at, and what should decide it.
Logo Design Cost in the UK (2026)
What a logo actually costs in the UK, what changes between £50 and £5,000, and the VAT and trademark fees people forget to budget for.
Logo Design Cost in the USA (2026)
US logo pricing from marketplace to agency, what genuinely changes between tiers, and the USPTO and licensing costs that sit outside the design fee.
Freelancer, Studio or Agency: An Honest Comparison
What each actually gives you, what each is bad at, and how to tell which one your project genuinely needs — with no pretence that bigger is better.
Twelve Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Designer
A checklist you can paste into an enquiry. Every one is answerable in a sentence, and the answers tell you more than any portfolio.
How Long Should a Logo Take?
Realistic timelines by scope, what actually causes delay (it is almost never the drawing), and how to tell fast from rushed.
Six Signs You Have Outgrown Your Logo
Diagnostic tests, not opinions. If none of these apply, your logo is fine and the money is better spent elsewhere.
Branding a Startup on a Budget: What to Buy First
A sequence, not a wish list. What to buy in month one, what can wait until you have customers, and what most startups waste money on.
Restaurant Branding: What You Actually Need
Signage, menus, delivery apps and takeaway packaging each impose different constraints. Design for all four or you will redraw the logo twice.
How to Check a Design Studio Is Real Before You Pay
Six checks that separate a working studio from a reseller — portfolio depth, review distribution, ownership paperwork and reply time. With one studio's own numbers as the worked example.
What 2,604 Reviews Look Like When You Read the Bad Ones
A 4.9 average hides more than it reveals. Reading a studio's one-star and three-star reviews tells you what actually goes wrong — and what the pattern says about how it works.
"Unlimited Revisions" Is Usually Conditional. Here Is What to Ask.
Most unlimited revision promises quietly exclude changing direction, which is the only revision that matters. Four questions that reveal what a studio actually means.
Reply Time Is the Most Underrated Signal When Hiring a Designer
How fast a studio answers your first message predicts more about the project than its portfolio does — and unlike a portfolio, you can measure it before paying anything.
What Clients Actually Commission After the Logo
A studio's portfolio composition reveals what buyers really need. Across 71 published projects, the pattern is clear — and it is not what most people budget for.
Tropicana's Redesign and the Cost of Removing the Obvious
Tropicana's 2009 packaging change is the most cited redesign failure in branding. The useful part is not that it failed — it is exactly which decision caused it.
How Much Does a Logo Design Cost? (2026 Price Guide)
Why logo prices range from nothing to six figures, what you actually get at each level, and how to work out which one your business needs right now.
Who Actually Owns Your Logo?
Paying for a logo does not automatically make it yours in the USA or the UK. What transfers ownership, why it matters for trademarks, and the one document to ask for.
What Airbnb Got Right in 2014 That Gap Got Wrong in 2010
Airbnb replaced its wordmark with an abstract symbol, took days of mockery for it, and the mark is now instantly recognisable. The difference was never the drawing.
Rebrand or Refresh? A Decision Framework
Most businesses that think they need a rebrand need a refresh, and the difference is measured in cost, risk and how much recognition you throw away.
Twitter to X: What It Costs to Abandon a Name
In July 2023 Twitter dropped one of the most recognised names online. Whatever you think of it, it is the clearest lesson in what brand equity is worth.
Logo File Formats: What Each One Is For
AI, EPS, SVG, PDF, PNG, JPG. Which to send a printer, which to send a developer, and why being given only a JPG is a problem you should fix before you need it.
The Jaguar Rebrand and the Difference Between Attention and Approval
Jaguar's 2024 identity change generated enormous online criticism. Whether that means it failed depends entirely on who it was actually for.
Why Logos Fail at Small Sizes (and How to Test Yours)
Most logos are approved at the size they were designed and never checked at the size they are used. Three tests that take five minutes.
What Belongs in a Brand Guidelines Document
Guidelines exist so the next designer, printer or developer does not have to guess. Here is what actually needs to be in them — and what is padding.
What AI Logo Generators Are Actually Good For
Not a defence of designers. A practical account of what generated marks can and cannot do, including the ownership problem that decides it for most businesses.
How to Write a Logo Design Brief (With the Questions That Matter)
The brief decides the outcome more than the designer does. Eight questions to answer, why each one changes the work, and the three things not to put in.
Colour Psychology in Branding Is Mostly Wrong
Blue does not mean trust and red does not mean urgency in any reliable way. What actually determines whether your brand colour works.
When a Mascot Logo Is the Right Call
Mascots get dismissed as unserious, then out-perform minimal marks in the categories where people want to feel something. How to tell if yours is one.
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