9 Of The ‘World’s Worst Logos’ Fixed By Graphic Designer Emanuele Abrate

Published 4 years ago

Emanuele Abrate is a graphic designer from Italy who recently took up an interesting challenge – he decided to give 9 of the ‘world’s worst logos’ complete makeovers. You’ve probably seen some of these logos posted on various meme pages since the dawn of the internet – and the designer finally brought them to the 21st century.

In an interview with Bored Panda, Emanuele said he had the idea for redesigning the logos for a long time, and has been coming across articles about the unclear messages they send for years. He chose 9 logos and tried to figure out how he would approach them if they were really commissioned to him. Emanuele says he found the project both fun and educational as it helps to understand that design is no simply aesthetic but problem solving above all.

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Instituto de Estudos Orientais

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

When it comes this logo, the graphic designer says he wanted to keep the concept unchanged, working on the negative space and enhancing the figure of the pagoda. “The outline has been eliminated to give the logo a fresher and more modern look,” writes Emanuele. “The typography has been aligned with the pictogram to assume greater importance and has been converted into a sans serif to better match the symbol.”

Emanuele believes that the best logos are ones that enter the viewer’s mind through simplicity and manage to “create an effective and coherent visual ecosystem with the brand they represent.”

Kudawara Pharmacy

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

“The problems of this logo are many: poor use of typography, disproportionate elements and last but not least a use of shapes that creates an ambiguous message,” writes the graphic designer. He wanted to delete everything, only keeping the use of the letter K and a similar color palette. “I used simple shapes to build the letter K and give a sense of trust linked to nature. In the negative space you can also see a cross (a distinctive element in the pharmaceutical field),” writes Emanuele.

Fire Prevention Products

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

“This logo suggests that something ‘down there’ is on fire, uh là là!” joked Emanuele. “Not quite the sense of protection one should expect. That’s why I decided to develop a new concept starting from circular shapes that enclose the figure of a flame in the negative space.” He shortened the name with the acronym “FPP” and enclosed it in the form for greater recognition.

The graphic designer said he’s a big fan of the works of Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, and fully agrees with their philosophy as their projects resist the test of time. He says that the best logos should be both simple and unusual while having “an interesting concept and be in line with the company identity which it represents.”

Mama’s Baking

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

“For this logo I wanted to develop a completely new concept, letting myself be inspired by the figure of the mother who cooks with passion: I can imagine her removing the steaming pan from the oven,” writes Emanuele. “So I decided to start from the figure of the oven mitt as an iconic symbol: an oven mitt that joins the figure of the heart to convey the sense of love and passion.”

The Computer Doctors

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

For this logo, the designer decided that nothing can be saved and decided to start completely anew. “The idea behind the new logo was to start from the shape of a monitor to insert a cross in the negative space and at the same time enhance the initial letters C and D,” writes Emanuele.

Clinica Dental San Marcelino

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

“A dentist or a seducer? The logo of this dental practice is quite ambiguous, so I decided to come up with a new, simpler and less descriptive solution,” writes Emanuele. “The letters C and D are arranged to form a smiling face. The clean, rounded lines and the blue colour are intended to convey a sense of confidence and cleanliness.​​​​​​​”

In case you want to learn more about logos and brand design, Emanuele teaches a course called Logo Hero. He also runs an Instagram account called Logofonts where he gives funny makeovers to famous logos.

OGC (Office of Government Commerce)

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

The OGC logo looks pretty innocent at first glance – but it’s when you flip it on its side that it becomes rather… suggestive. “For this reason, I decided to look back at the previous logo to make a restyling that would enhance the letters better, eliminating the outline for a more modern and current look, removing the problem of the ambiguous message,” writes Emanuele.

Safe Place

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

“There is really too much in this logo: shapes inside one shape inside another shape. Also, the main figure instead of conveying confidence appears a little disturbing,” writes the graphic designer. “Ok, let’s do some tidying up, let’s take away everything that is superfluous: the house is the only really evocative element of this logo and so, let’s enhance it!”

Arlington Pediatric Center

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

Image credits: emanueleabrate.com

“The new logo starts from the same concept, but reinterpreting it in such a way as to remove any misunderstandings and give a sense of greater confidence,” writes Emanuele. “The simple and circular shapes make the pictogram more friendly and warm, as well as the smiles of the two characters.” He replaced the typography with “more modern but still institutional sans serif.​​​​​​​”

Aušrys Uptas

One day, this guy just kind of figured - "I spend most of my time on the internet anyway, why not turn it into a profession?" - and he did! Now he not only gets to browse the latest cat videos and fresh memes every day but also shares them with people all over the world, making sure they stay up to date with everything that's trending on the web. Some things that always pique his interest are old technologies, literature and all sorts of odd vintage goodness. So if you find something that's too bizarre not to share, make sure to hit him up!

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brand logos, Emanuele Abrate, good graphic design, graphic design, logo makeovers, logo redesigns, logo remakes, the worst logos ever
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