Evolution of a Logo: LiVegan
Fit-Driven Vegan Athletic Clothing
Mona Chmeis had an idea. Because she’s vegan and respects the life of any living, breathing animal, she noticed a gap in the vegan clothing marketing. There aren’t many places that sell vegan clothing and even fewer sell it exclusively. Then, she noticed an even larger gap and overlooked segment of the market…vegan athletic-wear. Mona created LiVegan to provide a safe apparel shopping experience for vegans.
The Redesign
Mona created the initial logo herself. Some elements were smart, but the execution overall was off. How and why would we change it?
One element that Mona was set on keeping was that the V and E serve double duty. This was a smart design decision. VE is part of Live and Vegan, showing that our lives are our choices. I absolutely respect that.
The very first thing that stood out for me and needed to be changed was the color. For a bloodless company, pink is too close to red. Pink, a color in the red family, cannot be used because of this association with blood. Plus, she needed a color palette that would be active and appealing to both men and women. I used the neon green, which is also very close to a neon yellow, to play up vegetation (and the sun) as the primary source of nourishment for vegans. Gray was to mimic the color of pavement, cement, and steel where athletes may be working out since most vegans live in urban areas. Additionally, the gray color is more masculine while the neon green/yellow is more feminine.
Second, the block elements were too rigid for clothing that needs to move with the body. The logo needed to have some kind of motion to it. But, I chose to keep her block design element to help the VE serve double duty. Plus, it was a good idea that needed to be acknowledged and remain out of respect for Mona’s initial vision of the logo. (We don’t throw everything out for redesigns unless it’s absolutely necessary.) It just needed to be used in a way that assisted the message and purpose of the brand.
Next, the original font used was hard to read. It was also too stereotypical of a gym, the military, etc. being stenciled. For this reason, it was way too outdated, and far too masculine for the vegan community, which is largely female. The new font needed to be more feminine and precise, with some sharp edges, to mimic the precision of skilled athletes.
The paw from the original design was kept and made a little more prominent in the redesign with more deliberate placement.
Finally, the font and the block element were slanted to the right to create forward motion. Again, this motion aspect must be a key element for this athletic brand.
In the end the redesigned LiVegan logo conveys the right message for its brand. The new logo has movement, an appropriate color palette, and fonts that are easily legible.