RAW New Logo: Evaluate the Changes Before and After
A measured before-and-after reading of the new RAW logo as vector artwork: what to inspect, what the redesign implies in use, and which claims the files cannot prove.
Contents
What you are evaluating
The subject is the latest RAW identity mark compared with the official mark it replaced. The immediate question is whether the new artwork is a real redesign of the wordmark and lockup, and what those changes mean if you are inspecting, redrawing, archiving or delivering the logo as vector artwork. A before-and-after evaluation is a construction check: geometry, color, proportion, letter outlines and file structure. It is not a license review, and a downloadable preview is not proof that the file contains editable vector paths.
Vector artwork, raster previews and mixed files
What you see on a screen is often a raster preview: a PNG, JPEG, screenshot or flattened export that records pixels, not paths. True vector logo artwork is path-based. Typical delivery formats are SVG, PDF and EPS, but the extension alone does not establish editability. A file named as a vector document can still hold a single embedded bitmap with no Bézier anchors to select. Confirm construction in a vector editor: the letters should resolve to outlined paths or live type, not one placed image. If a “vector” file only shows a rectangular image box, treat it as a raster preview of the mark, not working logo artwork.
A before-and-after checklist
Use the same tests on the previous mark and the new one. The point is to isolate what actually changed in the artwork, separate from marketing stills and fan redraws.
- Geometry: compare overall width-to-height, letter weight, tracking, and how any icon, underline or supporting graphic aligns to the wordmark.
- Color: note whether the new mark is a single fill, a short palette, or a treatment that depends on gradients, glows or photographic texture.
- Path count: inspect whether letters are compound outlines, merged shapes, or a mix of live type and effects.
- Effects that do not survive one-color print: bevels, inner glows, scratches, flares and bitmap overlays in the older mark often drop out when the identity is redrawn as flat vector.
- Lockup: check spacing between RAW and any secondary line, and whether the new version tightened, centered or separated those parts.
- Small-size behavior: the useful test is whether counters, thin joins and decorative cuts still read when the mark is reduced, not how it looks at poster scale.
What the redesign can tell you about construction
Logo development is visible in the paths even when brand statements are absent. A redrawn RAW wordmark that replaces textured or photographic fills with closed shapes is being prepared for reproduction across broadcast, print, embroidery and on-screen bugs. Fewer nodes, simpler joins and consistent stroke-to-fill conversion usually mean the new artwork is meant to scale and to recolor. A version that still relies on embedded images, raster scratches or unexpanded effects is a look-alike of the identity, not a finished vector master.
Readings of the new mark as more aggressive, flatter, more cinematic or more “digital” are visual interpretation. They are not documented design intent. Designer credit, launch date, internal rationale and official before-and-after notes are not established in the source material for this article, so those facts are not stated here.
What the two versions imply in practice
| Check | Previous mark | New mark | Why it matters |
| Master file | Confirm whether the working file is outlined paths or a raster composite | Confirm the same; do not infer paths from the filename | Only path-based artwork can be resized and recolored cleanly |
| Color | Count fills, spot colors and any effects | Count fills and whether effects were flattened | One-color and single-spot jobs fail if the look depends on glow or texture |
| Type | Live font versus outlined lettering | Same check on the new outlines | Outlined type cannot be recovered as a font; live type needs the licensed face |
| Lockup | Wordmark plus any secondary graphic | Note added, removed or realigned parts | Applications that crop or stack the old lockup will not fit the new one automatically |
| Trademark use | Official mark in its then-current form | Official mark in its current form | The current mark is the one that must be matched in new work |
Download, edit and trademark rights
Permission to download a logo file is separate from permission to modify the artwork, to use the fonts inside it, or to apply the trademark. RAW is a protected identity. Holding a vector copy does not authorize a redraw, a color swap, a lockup change or commercial use. If the letters were converted to outlines, you also cannot treat those outlines as a substitute license for the original typeface. For any use beyond private evaluation of the files, the rights come from the trademark owner and from the font licenses, not from the fact that a vector or preview file is in hand.
What this comparison cannot settle
This assessment can tell you how to inspect the new RAW mark against the previous one, how to distinguish vector paths from raster previews, and what those file differences mean for reproduction and editing. It cannot supply an attributable designer, a release date, or an official statement of why the identity changed. Until those records are in view, treat any story about meaning or origin as incomplete, and treat fan vectors and web saves as uncertified copies until the path structure and usage rights are confirmed.