The Best of Rebranding 2025: Hits, Misses, and Lessons
Establishing a brand and designing its identity is one thing. Reinventing a brand and redesigning its identity is something else entirely. Like branding itself, rebranding comes with its own challenges. Only some brands manage to tackle it with ease. Today, we’re looking at the rebranding 2025 landscape – what worked and what didn’t, and the lessons worth taking away.
Looking at brands that changed, understanding what changed and what didn’t, and why can be a productive creative exercise after all! It helps understand the nuances of rebranding. Whether you are working on your brand’s new identity, planning a rebrand soon, or just curious about what shifted in the rebranding 2025 landscape, you are in the right place.
So, are you ready for some rebranding lessons? Let’s go!
Why Rebranding Isn’t as Simple as It Looks
Most brands know why and when to rebrand, but not all of them get it right. The reason behind this is simple – rebranding comes with its own challenges. What are they?
When you create a brand from scratch, you’re telling your story for the first time. People don’t have expectations yet, so they aren’t judging you or making assumptions about your brand. They are not scrutinizing every little detail about your brand. However, rebranding isn’t like that. Your audience already has a picture of who you are, what you stand for, and how you make them feel. So, if your new identity doesn’t match that perception, you risk alienating your audience.
It’s a lot like releasing a movie sequel. When the first film becomes a hit, the team behind it is under a lot of pressure when working on the sequel. There’s already a dedicated fan base with strong opinions and hence expectations from the sequel because they become emotionally invested in the franchise. Those fans can also be the toughest critics. Rebranding works the same way, right?
Then there’s the question of rebranding vs repositioning. They might sound similar, but the differences matter. Knowing which one you’re actually tackling determines what changes and what stays.
Brands that understand these challenges and approach the process with a clear read on their audience are the ones that usually succeed. Others end up facing backlash, losing the trust they once had, and later finding out the hard way that going back isn’t always simple either.
Now it’s time to talk about rebranding 2025 – brands that understood these challenges and evolved this year. And about what worked and what didn’t in each case.
Rebranding 2025: How Top Brands Updated Their Identities – Hits, Misses and Lessons
1. Pepsico
The beverage brand Pepsi underwent a major overhaul a couple of years ago. Now it’s the parent company, Pepsico, that has rebranded. When talking about the rebranding 2025 scenario, especially where brands went through a full redesign, Pepsico is one of the top names.
So, what changed? Almost everything. Notably, the new logo replaces the previous multi-color lined globe icon with a stylized “P” composed of distinct elements, each with a strong meaning.
The image below breaks down the significance of each element in the new design. From representing the brands that belong to the Pepsico company to capturing the essence of what makes the brand unique, the new design is all about crafting a meaningful identity.
Another key detail is that the previously all-caps wordmark is now replaced by a friendlier wordmark in lowercase letters – a more consumer-centric approach.
While the identity has changed, the brand’s focus on consumer-centricity and innovation has not changed. The rebranding here is merely to resonate with the brand’s transformation and highlight its diversity.
Most of the previous Pepsico logos have been built around the Pepsi brand identity. However, this one is different. It works on establishing that the brand is beyond its beverages. This has led to a mixed response to this rebranding project.
KIMP Tips:
- If your company is more than just one product, your brand should communicate the full scope.
- Visual storytelling through colors, fonts, and shapes amplifies the impact of a logo.
2. Eventbrite
Eventbrite’s update was one of the more energetic shifts in the rebranding 2025 landscape. Evolving from its simple wordmark logo, the brand introduced a new identity built around its new abstract logomark called “The Path”.
According to Eventbrite, this custom symbol represents “event journey, from discovery to memory-making”. An additional twist is that just like the journey that the brand offers is customizable, its logomark is also customizable.
To work well with this new logo, the brand’s signature color palette has also become more vibrant, and its design system now includes neon gradients and custom illustrations too.
Eventbrite needed to feel less like a ticketing tool and more like a place where culture happens. The updated identity aligns with their broader product push and works well with their redesigned app that puts personalized recommendations and curated lists front and center.
Given the clarity behind the rebranding goals and its peppy identity, the response has been mostly positive.
KIMP Tips:
- For maximum impact, align your product with your brand. In the case of Eventbrite, they didn’t just redesign the logo; they relaunched the app. So, the brand experience and the user experience reinforce each other.
- Considering the evolving marketing trends, ensure that your identity is flexible. For instance, a logomark that adapts to different contexts and gives you longevity.
3. La-Z-Boy
The recliner brand, La-Z-Boy, has updated its identity after two decades. This is among the most well-received rebranding 2025 projects.
So, what changed? Moving away from its professional and minimal wordmark logo that has been in use since 2003, the brand introduced a nostalgic script wordmark, taking cues from its roots, inspired by its 1927 heritage.
The wordmark now feels softer and leans more toward the feeling of comfort that the brand is associated with. It has also adopted a color palette with nature-inspired tones in place of a refined corporate-style identity.
The whole point of the brand rebranding in 2025 was to reflect its shift toward comfort as a lifestyle and wellness proposition, not just a brand associated with “dad chairs”. The fresh script logo reflects this shift.
On the whole, this is among the hits in the rebranding 2025 landscape.
KIMP Tips:
- Leverage brand heritage for a more effective rebrand.
- Align your brand identity with the brand promise. When your brand design reflects what you offer and what makes you unique, your identity becomes hard to replicate.
4. Amazon
When we talk about rebranding in 2025, not all projects are about drastic transformations and major logo redesigns. Some were subtle yet impactful, and Amazon’s rebranding in 2025 is one such. In fact, the transformation was so subtle that not many even noticed the change. But those who noticed appreciated the rebrand for being a thoughtful change to the visual identity system rather than a simple superficial tweak.
So, what changed and what stayed? The signature “smile” has become bolder and warmer with the slightly thicker arrow and the brighter orange.
In addition to this, Amazon has also introduced a new custom, more flexible and versatile typeface called Amazon Logo Sans for its core identity and has replaced its Ember font with Ember Modern to accommodate more languages.
In short, the current identity is easier to scale and is a design system that can grow and evolve with the company, a future-proof option.
KIMP Tips:
- When finalizing your brand elements, consider their applications. The refreshed brand identity of Amazon has introduced cohesiveness among its sub-brands. This ensures that they all feel like part of the whole while also reflecting their own unique identities.
- Rebranding does not always have to be too loud and drastic. Sometimes, the smallest changes made with a clear purpose make a huge impact.
5. Walmart
While subtlety can be a plus in rebranding, that’s not always the case. A good example of this in the rebranding 2025 landscape is the Walmart rebranding. While Amazon’s subtle refresh was welcomed by most, Walmart’s barely noticeable change received mixed responses.
Similar to Amazon’s rebranding, Walmart’s update includes a brighter color palette, which retains the blue-yellow combination that the brand is known for.
One of the notable differences the brand introduced is that it added more meaning to its “Spark” logomark. It no longer appears merely as a part of the logo next to the brand name but also appears in more places, sometimes on its own.
Here again, the brand has introduced a new, contemporary, and more flexible typeface for use across its brand experience.
Overall, the new look feels more modern and refined, no doubt! But the difference has been too small, and not everyone seems to be happy with the change.
KIMP Tips;
- Define the purpose behind your rebrand, and your rebranding will be much more effective. The meaning you add to your story determines whether people welcome your subtle rebranding as intentional restraint or a wasted budget on barely noticeable changes.
- When rebranding, ensure that you retain the core elements of your identity, elements that your customers have gotten attached to. Changing them means becoming unrecognizable.
6. Cracker Barrel
Not all brands pull off a detailed, somewhat complicated logo, but Cracker Barrel is one among the few. Its logo, featuring an illustration of Uncle Herschel, has become an iconic symbol well recognized by its customers. But they recently chose to go minimal, aligning with the trend of many brands opting for flat designs and simpler layouts.
Clearly, among the rebranding 2025 projects, Cracker Barrel’s is one of the biggest flops. When the brand chose to remove the illustration of Uncle Herschel and go with a clean wordmark logo, it did not sit well with its audience. While the brand did preserve its signature color palette and only removed the logomark, the new version lacked character. The brand faced backlash and eventually scrapped the new logo and went back to its old version.
Cracker Barrel’s rebranding story is proof that rebranding without a clear understanding of the audience perception of the brand can be a huge mistake.
KIMP Tips:
- When rebranding feels like the next practical step, take time to understand your audience and evaluate the market. You do not want to remove parts of your brand that feel most special to your audience. In other words, you do not want to risk diluting the emotional connection your brand elements have established with your audience.
- While missteps in rebranding are not uncommon, the way you react to the negative response and how promptly you respond to them count.
7. Philadelphia Museum of Art
Another almost miss in the rebranding 2025 landscape is the shift in brand identity of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (which is now the Philadelphia Art Museum).
The brand underwent a radical shift in its identity, tweaking not just its name but also its logo and other brand elements. The new logo features an illustration of a “griffin” but in a more modern setting.
To align with the change, the brand gave its website a makeover and also introduced a new typeface that looks more “urban” and a fresh color palette that breaks the mold.
Yes, on the surface, it all sounds exciting and exactly what rebranding should look like, but did it work for the Philadelphia Art Museum? Well, not exactly! The brand faced a lot of criticism, especially on social media, and people pointed out a possible disconnect between the brand’s heritage and its newly introduced identity.
The issue here is that the brand chose to go with a disruptive style, one that is not commonly associated with prestigious institutions like this one. While that might seem like a bold move, it does not work in many cases and it turned out to be a risky move here as well.
KIMP Tips:
- When it comes to branding (or rebranding), knowing what works for your brand and opting for a timeless approach is more practical than basing your decisions on trends.
- While the response has been mostly negative, the brand’s decision to bring back its iconic symbol, “griffin” from its logo from the 1930s, is one of the best moves.
FAQs: Rebranding in 2025 and Beyond
From the hits and misses among rebranding 2025 projects, let’s answer a few questions you probably have:
To tackle shifting consumer expectations. Google recently spoke about the change in consumer decision-making process and the rise of 4S behaviors. When discovery and interaction with brands are now different, several brands find their old identities to be outdated to keep up with these changes and hence they rebrand.
Do you think that your brand identity no longer accurately communicates the essence of your brand? Or perhaps your brand has evolved and your brand identity hasn’t? Then, if you choose to stick with your old identity, it leads to consumer confusion. So rebranding will be a practical move.
One of the main reasons behind most rebranding 2025 projects has been establishing visual coherence. Brands now understand that an omnichannel presence is no longer a luxury but an essential. Brands now operate across physical stores, apps, and countless digital platforms. So their visual identity systems (typography, color, iconography) must be flawlessly unified. The goal is to solve fragmentation and ensure a seamless, trustworthy experience at every single touchpoint.
Losing existing users by changing too much or redesigning the whole brand identity without clear reasoning. In a crowded market, familiarity matters, and rebrands that ignore brand equity tend to backfire.
Cleaner typography, bold geometric shapes, flexible logo systems, motion-first design, and simpler, more meaningful color palettes. Many brands also added adaptive layouts to work across AI search results, widgets, and tiny screen surfaces.
Rebranding On Your Mind? Get KIMP!
Rebranding 2025 showed a clear pattern – the brands that won are the ones that understood their audience expectations, respected their history, and had the courage to evolve intentionally. The ones that struggled usually moved too fast, communicated too little, or perhaps even changed for the sake of change.
If you’re planning a refresh of your own, you don’t need to do it alone. A strong identity takes consistency, experimentation, and most importantly, a steady stream of good design, week after week.
If that sounds like something you want, consider signing up for an unlimited design service. You get a creative partner who can support every step of your brand’s evolution, from early concepts to launch.
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