Christopher Mollard

User Experience contractor designer researcher developer lead

Allstar Uhlmann shop signage

Re-creating, updating and tweaking the Allstar-Uhlmann logo for new shops

Allstar Uhlmann logo on a shop sign

The narrow version of the new Allstar Uhlmann UK Logo mocked up on a shop sign

Date:

June 2016

Categories:

LogosMarketing

Client:

Allstar Uhlmann UK

Some background

Allstar-Uhlmann changed shop location and needed to create new signs for attract customers - however they only had images and PDFs of the logo (which were unsuitable for scaling up in size or fitting on to new sign boards). I was asked if to could re-create it with some tweaks for improvements as well as putting the logo into a sign design.

The brief

Tweak the current logo to make it cleaner, bolder and more engaging so that when customers are driving by and looking for the shop it stands out and catches their eye.

The old Allstar Uhlmann UK logo

The old Allstar Uhlmann UK Logo

The process

The shop owner wanted to use this opportunity to modernise the logo without looking for a complete re-design - just a few tweaks. He wanted it to be:

  • neater
  • bolder
  • more modern

The end users are shop customers and passers-by (advertising). Working iteratively with the shop owner to create a design he is happy with.

2016 has been the year of flat design and saw many brands (eBay, Google, Microsoft and Netflix to name just a few) re-working their image along 2D lines. There has also been a shift towards wider logos, circles using the magic grid and stepped colour changes (instead of gradients) - all of which are great for inspiration.

The old ebay logo
The new ebay logo

The old (left) and new (right) eBay logos

The old Google logo
The new Google logo

The old (left) and new (right) Google logos

The old Microsoft logo
The new Microsoft logo

The old (left) and new (right) Microsoft logos

The old Netflix logo
The new Netflix logo

The old (left) and new (right) Netflix logos

However as I wasn't looking at a full blown re-design and that the flat design options ticked more of the boxes, I chose to consider the others but only fully explore the flat options.

The outcome

The result of the work saw the following improvements:

  • a wider logo
  • no gradients
  • a secondary version
  • signs and artwork that can be easily created and modified
  • the company now has an Adobe AI file that can be used for future updates

The result of the work is a logo that is more engaging, beautiful and obvious from the road side.

The old Netflix logo
The new Netflix logo

Left: new logo, default. Right: new logo, alternate

The designs below are the artwork that was created specifically for the signs in the shop:

The old Netflix logo

Shop sign, large board

The old Netflix logo

Shop sign, small board

Allstar Uhlmann logo on the shop sign

The wide version of the new Allstar Uhlmann UK Logo on the actual sign, viewed from the road