Staples logo redesign: before-and-after evaluation

The short answer

A fair before-and-after evaluation of the Staples logo redesign compares two specific pieces of artwork: the mark the office-supply retailer used before its update and the identity that replaced it. The source material for this article includes no copies of either version, no official brand guidelines, no announcement date and no statement from the company or any design agency. This article therefore makes no claims about what changed in the letterforms, colours or symbol. It explains what a credible comparison needs to establish and how the quality of the vector files you work from affects that judgement.

Pin down which two logos you are comparing

Many versions of a large retailer's logo circulate online, including regional variants, signage adaptations, sub-brand lockups and unofficial redraws. Before you judge the redesign, confirm which artwork is the earlier mark and which is the current one, ideally from the company's own brand or press materials. If you judge from an unverified copy, you may end up critiquing a fan recreation or an outdated file rather than the actual redesign.

Criteria for a before-and-after comparison

• Legibility of the wordmark at small sizes and at a distance
• How the symbol, if any, works without the wordmark, such as in an app icon or favicon
• Colour behaviour: on-screen, in print, in single-colour and in reversed versions
• Simplicity of the shapes and how cleanly they reproduce in embroidery, signage and low-resolution displays
• Consistency with the rest of the identity system, including typography and layout rules
• Recognisability: whether the new mark keeps enough of the old one to remain familiar

These are editorial criteria, not test results. They have not been applied to verified Staples artwork here. Any verdict on whether the redesign improves on the original needs the actual files and, ideally, the company's stated goals for the change.

Why the file type affects the comparison

A side-by-side comparison is only as reliable as the artwork behind it. True vector artwork stores the logo as paths and curves, so you can inspect curve quality, spacing and construction at any scale. Two common lookalikes give much less to work with. One is an embedded raster image, a bitmap placed inside a vector container. The other is a raster preview, the flat thumbnail many download pages display. A file ending in SVG, AI, EPS or PDF can still contain only a pasted bitmap, so an extension or filename alone does not prove the file has editable paths.

• Open the file in a vector editor and switch to an outline or wireframe view. Real paths appear as outlines, while an embedded image appears as a single box.
• Zoom in closely. Pixelation or soft edges suggest raster content.
• Check the layers or object panel for image objects.
• Check whether the lettering is live text that depends on an installed font or has been converted to outlines.
• Compare the before and after files in the same format, so differences in rendering are not mistaken for design changes.

Downloading a logo is not permission to modify it

The Staples name and logo are trademarks. A website that lets you download a logo file does not grant you rights to alter the artwork, use it commercially or imply endorsement. Any typeface in the logo may also be licensed separately. Showing the marks for commentary and comparison is a different situation from editing them or using them in your own materials. For anything beyond critique, check the owner's brand usage terms or get legal advice.

Gaps in this assessment

• No verified copies of the earlier or current Staples logo were supplied.
• No date, official rationale or designer attribution for the redesign was supplied.
• No vector files were inspected, so no claims are made about path construction or file quality.
• No usage or licensing terms from the trademark owner were supplied.