If it ain’t broke… Some of the longest-running brand logos

When creating and maintaining a brand, there is a common belief that you must regularly revise and refresh it every few years. The need to keep it current and evolving with the ever-changing world of design. This belief has proven itself – whether it’s wanting to reach a new audience, break into different sectors, or expand globally – style adjustments to a logo, or even dramatic changes to a brand identity, work wonders.

But amongst these rebrands and refreshes, there is a group of brands that have rarely felt the need to drastically change things up. For them, all it needs is a tweak here and there. Could this be seen as them being lazy, old-fashioned, or just oblivious to the changing world of marketing? Unlikely. For these successful brands, it’s simply a case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

Twinings

Brits enjoying a cup of tea, no matter what the season or time of day, screams English tradition. However, pre 1700 coffee was a more common breakfast beverage for Britons. That is until the Thomas Twining purchased a coffee house at 216 Strand, London in 1706 and created the world’s first tea shop (with the addition of gin, beer and coffee).

The basis of the Twinings logo is the simple, yet traditional typeface. Although it could be seen as old fashioned today, the minimalism of the type has allowed it to withstand over 230 years of change, speaking volumes as to the strength serif font. Only when they received a Royal Warrant form Queen Victoria in 1838 did they introduce the Royal Coat of Arms to the logo. In more recent times, a new arrangement of the logo has been created to sit more comfortably with modern packaging. However, the typeface and identity of the logo stays also exact to it’s original version.

It’s a logo that is timeless, communicating tradition and history in a minimal yet arguably somewhat ornate way. With it’s consumers spanning over 115 countries and having overtaken PG Tips in 2019 as the highest-selling tea in Britain, this logo certainly does not need a makeover anytime soon.

Boots

A staple of the British high street, Boots & Company Ltd was formed in 1883 by Jesse Boot. This introduced the first iteration of the chemist’s logo that we know today – the word Boots takes shape with a hand-drawn cursive font, elongating the ‘t’ and ‘s’ or the word to house the additional words. A logo very representative of the serious, traditional Victorian era, this simple yet soon-to-be instantly recognisable logo would stand strong well into the 1960s.

The psychedelic movement of the 1960s saw colour, contrast and vibrancy burst into the world of graphic design. Boots jumped on this trend – well, kind of. In a very understated way. Their input into the movement was to launch the more commonly used inverted version of the logo, originally housed in a black oval. Very 60s monochrome. However, in the 1980s they added an ever so-subtle pop of colour, changing the black oval to the now synonymous blue.

With the allowance of a few 3D versions and alternating taglines, the blue oval reigned successfully over the Boots brand, creating a subtly eye-catching addition to the high streets and advertisements of the UK up until 2019. It was out with the oval with the logo redrawn to remove the elongation on the ‘t’. With such a subtle change and the success of Boots still being apparent, the Victorian sense of tradition and hand-drawn typography has lent itself to the world of graphic design, both now and nearly 150 years ago.

Levis

Having celebrated their 150^th birthday in 2023, Levis has become the product-embodying brand for denim jeans. The blue jeans with the red tab are linked to quality, the fashion conscious, and quintessential American branding. Opened in 1853, it wasn’t until 1870 when owner Levi Strauss received a request for a pair of strong trousers for a woodcutter. With the addition of metal rivets to the points of strain, such as the pocket corners, the newly riveted trousers were a success. Once the patent was received on 20^th May 1873, the iconic Levi jeans were created.

The look into the Levis logo is a little different, as although they have changed their primary logo dramatically, the original version is still in use across the brand today as a secondary logo. The original logo came from the company’s first official name, 2 Horse Brand. To showcase exactly how strong and dependable the jeans were, what better way than to show it on the label – quite literally. Showing 2 horses pulling a pair of Levi jeans in opposite directions in a failed attempt to rip them apart, an icon of logo design was born.

With such a unique image, it became instantly recognisable allowing consumers to go into a store and ask for the 2 horse jeans. As well as being practical in terms of design, it was also accessible to all with many people of that generation unable to read or didn’t have English as their first language.

The logo took a step back from being the primary brand identity in 1925, when a more minimal approach of a typography-only logo was used to match the introduction of Levi’s trademark in 1928. However, the 2 horse emblem has stayed fixed on the iconic leather patch on the waistband of the jeans, with subtle adaptations to the illustration style over the next almost 100 years.

Johnson & Johnson

Now, this particular brand has only recently had an overhaul in 2023, however, although quite a momentous moment for them, the Johnson & Johnson brand still holds on to it’s logo roots. From 1887 to 2023, it’s safe to say this logo stood the test of time.

The basis of the brand’s famous logo comes from the handwritten signature of co-founder James Wood Johnson. With the first Johnson & Johnson cheque being signed in 1886, including the company name being written similarly, the inspiration for the official logo was born. Although the handwritten element of the logo was kept, it was neatened and adapted to include some larger loops on some of the letters, and connecting the two Johnson words by ampersand.

The Johnson & Johnson logo became the feature of all products, with variations such as ‘Johnson’s Baby’ being produced for individual product types. With the need for different types of logo, the uniformity of the brand logo did begin to wain – some kept to the traditional handwriting style, while others were a little more stylised or adapted. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the company standardised all use of the Johnson & Johnson one to the version we saw until 2023.

Johnson & Johnson has expanded into a huge range of products and solutions worldwide. The decision for the 2023 rebrand came from the company wanting to update it’s brand and unite ‘both its medtech and pharmaceutical segments under the Johnson & Johnson brand name to demonstrate its collective power in healthcare.’

The logo itself remains the same in basic elements however with a modernised approach. Rather than one continual ‘pen stroke’ to the words, they have been separated into individual characters. The aim is for a more personable and contemporary approach, which translates more successfully on to digital formats.

Lindt

Sophistication, elegance and good chocolate, Lindt is a top name for a higher quality, richer sweet treat. The Swiss chocolate manufacturer began its journey in 1845 at Paradeplatz in downtown Zurich. With the original name of Lindt & Sprüngli referring to the merging of the chocolate factories, the logo encapsulates the pairing. As with many of the brands we’ve seen, the Serif font and darker colouring lends itself to the idea of a premium, professional brand. Above the text sits the 2 emblems of a dragon and a star with a moon. Although the second emblem has since been removed through the brands growth, the dragon has kept itself as a firm image of the brand to this day.

The original logo held it’s place for 54 years, until the evolution of the brand in 1899 introduced the brand identity that we know today. The serif font was replaced with a cursive style, lightening the gold shade for an overall lighter feel to the brand. The fluidity of the text with the defined curls on the ‘l’ is said to represent the flow of liquid melted chocolate.

To keep a link to the family that founded Lindt, the dragon, which was an element of the family’s coat of arms, was also reinvented. Lindt explains the dragon as being the emblem of control – it faces towards the flowing letters to hold it back from flowing too far. With this the idea of control also lends itself as advice on hold to enjoy the chocolate. You can indulge in the Lindt chocolate without losing control.

There is beauty in what is essentially a relatively safe logo. With the use of traditional typefaces and imagery, the logo has become timeless and memorable without a need for modernisation throughout its nearly 180 years.