Last Updated on April 24, 2025 by Matt Staff
Logos today are all about clean lines, flat design, and minimalist flair, but it wasn’t always that way. Not long ago, big brands weren’t afraid to go bold, weird, and occasionally downright chaotic with their visuals. Think funky fonts, clashing colors, and mascots that looked like they belonged in a Saturday morning cartoon. Back then, logos weren’t just polished marketing tools, they were loud, expressive snapshots of their era. And now, looking back, some of them feel less like corporate identities and more like wild artifacts from a different dimension.
What’s most fascinating is how these designs, once considered cutting-edge, now strike us as almost surreal. The charm is in the over-the-top choices, the fearless experimentation, and the total lack of concern for subtlety. These old-school logos remind us that branding used to have a whole different flavor, one that wasn’t afraid to be fun, flashy, or even a little strange. Here are 20 retro logos that look wild today.
1. Pepsi
Pepsi’s logo has undergone several transformations over the years. Originally featuring a bottle cap design in the 1950s, the brand shifted to the iconic “Pepsi Globe” in 1973. In 2008, the logo was modernized with a lowercase typeface and an off-center globe. Then, in 2023, Pepsi brought back a more symmetrical globe design, echoing the 1973 version.
2. Gatorade
Gatorade’s original logo featured a bold, collegiate-style font. Over time, it adopted a sleeker, more modern design, reflecting its evolution from a sports drink to a global brand.
3. Nike
Nike’s “Swoosh,” created in 1971, has become one of the most recognizable logos globally. Initially accompanied by the “Nike” name, the logo now often stands alone, symbolizing motion and athleticism.
4. Apple
Apple’s logo has transformed from a detailed illustration of Isaac Newton under an apple tree to the sleek, monochromatic apple with a bite taken out.
5. Pizza Hut
The original logo had a little man dressed in yellow. Over the years, it evolved into a simplified hut icon and bold font, capturing fast-casual vibes.
6. Lego
Lego’s first logo, created in 1934, displayed the brand name in a bold black font, accented with white stripes inside the letters. The logo we recognize today was introduced in 1973, featuring a vibrant red square and rounded white lettering that captures the playful and imaginative spirit of the brand.
7. Taco Bell
The Taco Bell logo has been recreated many times. It started as a multi-color font with a little sombrero man as the mascot, and has transformed into the purple bell we see today.
8. Gap
In 2010, Gap unveiled a new logo with a blue gradient square, but it was met with strong public backlash. Within a week, the company reverted to a variation of its original design, underscoring the difficulties that come with rebranding well-known logos.
9. Reebok
Reebok’s earlier logo was widely recognized, but its newer design has been viewed as more generic and corporate in appearance. As a result, many online shoppers have shown a preference for the original emblem.
10. Firefox
Initially launched under the name Phoenix, Firefox’s first logo depicted a fiery red phoenix with blazing wings. Following a trademark conflict, the browser was renamed Mozilla Firefox and introduced a new logo, featuring a fox with a flaming tail encircling a blue globe.
11. Amazon
In 2000, Amazon introduced its famous logo with a smile-shaped arrow going from “A” to “Z,” showing it sells everything from A to Z. The smile also represents happy customers. Since then, the logo has stayed mostly the same and has become a symbol of Amazon’s success in online shopping.
12. Instagram
Instagram started with a detailed, retro camera icon that screamed early smartphone era. In 2016, it shifted to a minimalist, gradient icon, reflecting the app’s modern, creative-focused branding.
13. Microsoft
Microsoft’s original logo in 1975 had a funky disco-era vibe with a groovy font. Over time, it’s evolved into the clean, flat four-color window introduced in 2012, signaling a unified brand across platforms.
14. AT&T
The original Bell System logo was a literal bell inside a circle. Today’s globe logo, introduced in 1983 and modernized in 2005, conveys connectivity and global reach.
15. Starbucks
The original 1971 logo featured a mermaid in brown. It was cleaned up and turned green in the ‘80s, and by 2011, the wording was dropped entirely. The siren now says it all.
16. YouTube
The original “You” in black and “Tube” in a red TV box screamed early web 2.0. It’s since shifted to a flat play-button icon with bold type, perfect for today’s mobile screens.
17. Visa
Visa’s older logos prominently featured its classic blue and gold bar, symbolizing the sky and mountains of California. Modern versions dropped the bar for a cleaner, text-only design.
18. Polaroid
Polaroid’s rainbow-striped logo was a peak ‘70s aesthetic. Modern versions embrace minimalism, but the brand often reverts to its colorful roots for nostalgic appeal.
19. PlayStation
Sony’s original 1994 PlayStation logo was a colorful 3D-looking “P” and “S”. While it’s stayed recognizable, newer iterations go flatter and cleaner, aligned with current design trends.
20. Walmart
Walmart used a bold logo until 2008, when it introduced a friendlier, lowercase wordmark and spark symbol, signaling a more approachable, service-oriented identity.
