New HP Logo: Evaluating the Design Changes

Before you start

This guide is for evaluating the visual changes in the new HP logo. You do not need design software to make a useful first assessment. A high-resolution copy of the old and new marks, a large screen or printed page, and a way to zoom in or display the logo at very small sizes will cover most checks. The review can be done locally with any image viewer, browser, or office application that lets you place two PNG or SVG files side by side.

When you are working from a downloaded file, check that it is the official mark and not a fan recreation or an altered preview. For a factual comparison, use the same file type for both versions where possible, avoid upscaling one side, and display both marks at the same nominal height. If you are checking a logo in a web page, use the page's own assets rather than a screenshot of unknown quality.

Step-by-step instructions

Place the old and new logo side by side at the same height. First compare the overall silhouette: note whether the circular mark, wordmark, letter spacing, or surrounding whitespace changed. Then zoom in and look at the letterforms in the HP monogram and the full wordmark. Identify whether a change is a new shape, a redrawn curve, a different weight, or only a change in presentation such as color or background.

Resize both marks to common use sizes. Start at a comfortable display size and then reduce each logo to around 32 px high, 24 px high, and 16 px high. At each size, check whether the two letters remain distinct, the counters stay open, and fine details disappear at the same rate. This matters because a logo that reads well in a presentation can fail in a browser tab, app icon, or invoice footer.

Check color and contrast. If the new version changes from a light mark to a dark mark, or vice versa, view both on white, near-black, and a mid-tone background. Measure the contrast of the wordmark text against each background if you have a contrast checker available. A redesigned logo can be visually cleaner but less usable if the new color pairing has a lower contrast ratio. Compare small text elements separately from the larger symbol.

Check the output

A useful evaluation should let you name the main change in one sentence: for example, a thinner outline, a tighter monogram, a new wordmark treatment, or a simplified emblem. You should also be able to describe how the change behaves at small sizes and on both light and dark backgrounds. If you export a comparison image, keep the two logos at equal height and preserve the original aspect ratios. SVG is preferable for crisp zooming; PNG is sufficient when both files are exported at the same resolution.

Common problems and next steps

If the new mark looks muddy at small sizes, do not confuse compression artifacts with the design itself. Open the source SVG or a high-resolution PNG and zoom in. A visible staircase on curves is usually a raster artifact; a letterform that closes up because two strokes are now thinner or closer together is a design issue. If you cannot find an official high-resolution file, compare only what is visible at the same reproduction size and note that your review is limited by the available asset rather than attempting to guess missing detail.

If the redesign appears to be only a color or background change, test the mark in monochrome. A logo that depends on a subtle gradient or color difference may reproduce poorly in single-color print, fax-like documents, or small favicons. Converting both versions to solid black on white is a quick way to see whether the new design keeps its identity without color. If the wordmark becomes harder to read, the concern is legibility, not personal preference.