HP’s 2016 Logo Redesign: A Practical Before-and-After Evaluation

The essential answer

HP’s 2016 logo redesign was a simplification of the earlier circular mark. The newer design moves away from the fully enclosed circle treatment associated with the previous identity and presents the “hp” lettering as a more direct, minimal wordmark-style mark. For vector-logo work, the practical takeaway is that this is best treated as a design revision rather than a simple color swap: the lockup, letterforms and surrounding geometry should be checked against the correct version instead of assuming one vector file fits every use.

What the before and after show

The preceding logo relied on a circular device with the lowercase “hp” inside it, often supported by the Hewlett-Packard name. The 2016 direction reduces that framing. In common reproductions, the updated mark keeps the lowercase lettering but treats the surrounding circle less as a containing badge and more as a subtle or optional graphic element. This change is primarily about reducing visual weight at small sizes and creating a cleaner lockup for digital screens, packaging and product surfaces.

Practical points for vector artwork

• Check the version first. A file labeled "HP logo" may contain the older circle badge, the 2016 mark, or a later corporate variant, so confirm the artwork before editing.
• Do not infer editable paths from the filename alone. A file with a vector extension can still contain an embedded raster image or only a raster preview.
• Distinguish the logo artwork from its typefaces. Permission to use a logo is not the same as permission to modify the letterforms or redistribute the font used to create them.
• Match the lockup to the use case. Product, corporate and partner uses may require different approved arrangements, and recoloring without an approved variant can break brand rules.

What to verify when preparing files

In editable vector software, inspect the actual artwork structure rather than relying on the file type. Confirm whether the “hp” lettering is outline artwork or live text, whether the circle is a separate path, and whether there are hidden or locked layers carrying raster content. If the source contains only a placed image, scaling cannot create true outlines. The supplied brief does not include a downloadable reference file, so any claim about a specific asset being fully editable should be verified against the actual file.

Limits of the available evidence

This evaluation is based on the redesign as commonly described and reproduced. The brief does not provide official HP brand guidelines, original vector downloads, measurements or documented export settings. Where this text distinguishes scalable vector artwork from embedded raster content, that distinction is a general file-preparation caution rather than a measurement of any specific supplied asset.