Train logo redesigns.

[cr767055]

Designers out there, which railway franchise logos do you think are the worst? And why? What would you do to make them look better, or even more modern?

I'm gonna be posting my rebrand of the Govia Thameslink Railway family tomorrow, so feel free to post your own rebrands too!

 

[popeter45]

C2C's logo feels pretty bland so would love to see now designs for that
also NI railways logo could do with a be of material design

 

[cr767055]

C2C's logo feels pretty bland so would love to see now designs for that
also NI railways logo could do with a be of material design

Totally agree with both those points. The c2c font looks terrible, and NI Railways logo just is bad, the entire thing. The font and the colour just looks terrible. I think Translink just needs a rebrand and that will translate to NI Railways.

 

[Flinn Reed]

I actually don't mind the existing GTR logos - however ThamesLink and Great Northern need their own liveries to match the logos and branding. I also think Southern's livery needs the colours to be updated to match the modified logo.

Cross Country is a logo that I think could be improved, as well as ScotRail, Transport for Wales and Greater Anglia. Maybe Southeastern too?

 

[Flange Squeal]

Avanti West Coast. I know its new, but it's also a high-speed mainline train service.... represented by a wonky triangle that looks like something done in MS Paint!

 

[Clansman]

Cross Country is a logo that I think could be improved, as well as ScotRail

Cross Country and ScotRail are two of the most established and cosistent brands of TOC in the UK. What's to be improved or changed?

 

[cr767055]

I actually don't mind the existing GTR logos - however ThamesLink and Great Northern need their own liveries to match the logos and branding. I also think Southern's livery needs the colours to be updated to match the modified logo.

Cross Country is a logo that I think could be improved, as well as ScotRail, Transport for Wales and Greater Anglia. Maybe Southeastern too?

I think the only issue with the GTR logos it the consistency between their brands. ThamesLink, Great Northern and Southern have totally different logos. It might be better to just pick a design and go with that across their whole family.

Southeastern might be a fun one to redesign, I'll take a look at redoing that one today. It is certainly a bit dated. Maybe CrossCountry and ScotRail's logo should be more flat and not so 3D. ScotRail's font isn't too good either.

 

[cr767055]

I did a bit of redesigning of the Southeastern logo. It certainly isn't the best work I've ever done, but it was just a quite concept, I've attached two ideas I had::

 

[43096]

I actually don't mind the existing GTR logos - however ThamesLink and Great Northern need their own liveries to match the logos and branding. I also think Southern's livery needs the colours to be updated to match the modified logo.

Cross Country is a logo that I think could be improved, as well as ScotRail, Transport for Wales and Greater Anglia. Maybe Southeastern too?

GTR is inconsistent. Once they'd gone down the grey livery with the 365s and Desiro Cities, they should have gone with a standard logo and livery, just varying the colours by operating division. So Great Northern would have the blue logo/blue doors, Thameslink pink logo/pink doors, Southern green logo/green doors, GatEx red logo/red doors. Consistent, but differentiates the sub-brands.

 

[Clansman]

Maybe CrossCountry and ScotRail's logo should be more flat and not so 3aD. ScotRail's font isn't too good either.

What would be sought in changing well established, recognisable railway logos (or in Scotland, at least)? ScotRail is as recognisable and effective in Scotland as Virgin is in England. Good brands are a result of good marketing and a consistent product. Very seldom do you need to change that. ScotRail and Cross Country are credits to that. Unless there is something to improve, why change it?

 

[xotGD]

Virgin Crosscountry is a strong brand.

That's their problem.

 

[YorksLad12]

A strong brand has to work across many formats these days, including digital. What works on the side of a unit doesn't work so well as a website favicon. I use TOC logos on my patronage figures map; Southern I had to just use the centre dot for, Avanti disappears into nothing and some like LNER get truncated. Chiltern was impossible until recently. SE, C2C and TPE are three of the best.

And that's before we get to tone of voice, fonts, etc.

 

[fgwrich]

GTR is inconsistent. Once they'd gone down the grey livery with the 365s and Desiro Cities, they should have gone with a standard logo and livery, just varying the colours by operating division. So Great Northern would have the blue logo/blue doors, Thameslink pink logo/pink doors, Southern green logo/green doors, GatEx red logo/red doors. Consistent, but differentiates the sub-brands.

Agree with you there. The recent new livery for 377111 certainly would, in my eyes, form the perfect base for a new set of livery schemes for the whole of GTR TSGN. It looked fresh and still felt Southern-y enough, but would equally work perfectly with the colours changed for the other's - Great Northern, Gat Ex etc...

As for any others, They would, somewhat unsurprisingly, have to include some of the First Group TOC's. I would ditch Hull Trains silly pink love heart which looks like it's been scribbled on a piece of paper, plus the still odd and frankly rather pointless 'Ski Chalet' logo of SWR. I know that is supposed to be a representation of the track into Waterloo, but it looks odd and has always sat somewhat awkwardly within the South Western Railway name.

 

[43096]

Agree with you there. The recent new livery for 377111 certainly would, in my eyes, form the perfect base for a new set of livery schemes for the whole of GTR TSGN. It looked fresh and still felt Southern-y enough, but would equally work perfectly with the colours changed for the other's - Great Northern, Gat Ex etc...

As for any others, They would, somewhat unsurprisingly, have to include some of the First Group TOC's. I would ditch Hull Trains silly pink love heart which looks like it's been scribbled on a piece of paper, plus the still odd and frankly rather pointless 'Ski Chalet' logo of SWR. I know that is supposed to be a representation of the track into Waterloo, but it looks odd and has always sat somewhat awkwardly within the South Western Railway name.

Agreed! The SWR logo also reminds of the “pop this conversation out” icon on the top window bar of a Skype conversation window.