Lay’s Logo Change: A Practical Before-and-After Review
A practical review of the Lay’s logo change: what visually changed, how to compare before-and-after versions, and how to check contrast, palette, and file quality for your own logo review.
Before you start
For this review, you need two clean images of the Lay’s logo: one before the change and one after. Use official package photos, brand guideline images, or clear screenshots from a video. The comparison works best when both images show the logo at a similar angle and size, because a large perspective difference can make small type or spacing changes harder to judge.
The review can run locally in your browser. Import the two images into the site’s before/after slider in Logo Lab. The files stay on your device for this comparison; no upload is needed for the visual check. If you plan to sample colors, crop each logo closely so the background does not influence the palette.
Step-by-step instructions
Place the older Lay’s logo on the Before side and the newer logo on the After side. If your images have different dimensions, align the center of the wordmark with the center of the frame. The slider will still work, but the comparison is easier to read when the main ribbon or wordmark occupies a similar area in both images.
Move the slider slowly from left to right and note what changes first. In many packaged-goods logo updates, the most visible differences are color saturation, shadow treatment, and the shape around the wordmark. Pause at the middle point to compare the letterforms without letting the red background dominate your attention.
If your goal is to describe or learn from the change rather than simply view it, save a few labeled notes as you inspect. Note whether the update changed the ribbon curve, the outline width, the highlight position, or the relationship between the brand name and the surrounding shape. These categories are more useful than a general impression such as "looks cleaner."
For a color-focused check, open the Palette & Contrast tool and load the after image. Sample the main red, the yellow band, and the white or cream area if present. Compare the sampled values with the same areas from the before image. If the new red is brighter or deeper, the difference should be visible in both RGB and HSL values.
Keep the comparison reversible. Work on copies, do not overwrite your source images, and avoid editing the logo itself unless you are making a marked practice version. If you want to test how the newer lockup behaves at small sizes, use the Resize tool to create a reduced copy and inspect it separately.
Check the output
A useful result is a side-by-side view in which the slider position can be changed smoothly and the main logo area remains recognizable at fifty percent. You should be able to identify at least one specific visual change: a different outline, a removed shadow, a shifted highlight, a changed typeface, or a measurable color difference.
If you exported a comparison image, check that both logos are present without being cropped at the edges. For color sampling, verify that the palette does not include colors from a table, hand, or background object. Zooming into a low-resolution source can create blur, so treat sampled colors from smooth areas as more reliable than colors from fine edges.
The tools here show visual differences; they do not identify the official design intent or confirm which version is current in every market. Package printing, lighting, and file compression can all shift how a logo appears, so use source images that are as close to the official artwork as possible.
Common problems and next steps
If the two logos look the same when you move the slider, the wrong image may be on one side. A redesigned package can reuse an older front panel in some regions or product sizes, so confirm that both files come from the intended time periods. Try swapping the Before and After positions before concluding that no change is visible.
When the red background seems to hide small changes in the wordmark, switch to the light background option in Mockup Preview or sample only the lettering area. Strong red can make small spacing or weight changes less obvious on screen, especially when the image is small.
If colors look wrong after export, check whether your image has an embedded color profile. Browser-based tools usually work with the values as decoded for display, so a source image with a wide-gamut profile may preview differently in another application. For a visual before-and-after review, this usually matters less than for production color matching.
After identifying the changes, you can apply the same review method to a practice logo. Use the Mockup Preview tool to place your version on a card or screen scene, then compare it with a reference image in the slider. This turns the Lay’s example into a reusable checklist for noticing color, outline, type, and packaging changes.