Right now, somewhere in Belgium, a beer is being poured with a label bearing a symbol older than the printing press. Older than Columbus reaching America. Older than almost anything you’ve learned about in a history class.
While the rest of the world is busy chasing next quarter’s trend, there are brands that have been using the exact same mark for centuries. Not years. Centuries.
Welcome back to BRAND:NEW. I’m Donovan. Let’s take a look at the logos that never died. And more importantly, let’s figure out why.
Here’s the thesis before we get into any examples. Longevity isn’t luck. It’s not an old company that just never got around to updating its look. It’s a choice, defending against internal and external pressures to modernize.
And there isn’t just one way to do this. There are two, really. There’s total preservation, where you refuse to touch anything, ever. Or a disciplined refinement, where a symbol survives, and the execution around it just evolves.
Let’s start with total preservation, because it’s the purest example there is.
Twinings Tea was founded in 1706 by Thomas Twining. Their logo, the lion crest and the classic serif wordmark, was created in 1787, and it has never been altered. That makes it the oldest logo in the world in continuous, unaltered use. For context, 1787 was two years before George Washington took his first oath of office as president.
Why has nobody ever touched it? Because tea as a product is built entirely on tradition and trust. A logo that has never wavered reflects the brand’s promise. Untouched consistency is the product pitch.
Another classic. Heinz, 1869. More specifically, Heinz Tomato Ketchup. The tomato plant symbol on that label has survived through every single redesign since.
Why? Because that symbol ties the brand directly back to the one claim that matters to a customer. Real tomatoes, real ingredients, nothing synthetic. Touch that symbol, and you’re undermining the one promise the whole brand is built on. That’s another example of how brand consistency builds trust.
Now, another really interesting one. Stella Artois is a seasonal Christmas beer that became so popular that it took over the whole brand.
The Stella Artois logo has changed roughly ten times since the 1300s, but the core symbols have survived every single revision. The original mark was just the horn. Then the star was added, and everything else was built around them.
Over six centuries, the brewery changed hands, changed owners, changed its entire name, and the company that exists today shares almost no DNA with the one that started it in 1366. But the horn survived every single change. That symbol outlived the company that made it, and that is true brand consistency.
Now let’s look at a contrasting case, one that flips the argument in a useful direction. John Deere.
The leaping deer first appeared in 1876, and it has been redesigned repeatedly over more than a century. The antlers changed, the details were simplified, and even the deer’s stance and direction shifted. The most recent version actually repositions it to the start of its leap instead of the end, which feels more forward-moving.
So this isn’t a never-been-touched brand story like Twinings. Yet the John Deere logo remains iconic and instantly recognizable. The deer is ever-present, as is the green and gold. And the idea it represents — quality, forward motion, agricultural heritage — never left. Everything around that core idea was allowed to modernize as needed.
And that’s the real lesson here. Longevity doesn’t always mean freezing your logo in amber for 200 years. It means identifying the one thing that truly carries your brand’s meaning and protecting it fiercely while letting everything else evolve around it.
Here’s what ties all four of those together. And it circles back to our trends episode. Twinings, Heinz, Stella Artois, John Deere. None of them share a single design trend across their lifespan. Not one shared decade, not one shared style movement. Serifs came and went. Minimalism came and went. Skeuomorphism came and went, and unfortunately came back again.
What these four brands share isn’t a style. It’s restraint. They do share the four traits that define a lasting logo: simplicity, memorability, longevity, and versatility. None of those four words describes trendy.
A trend lasts a season. These logos lasted centuries. The difference? Discipline.
Next episode, we look at the cost of a website design and wrap up a chapter on the subject.
That’s it for this episode of BRAND:NEW. Thank you for spending a few minutes with me. I don’t take your time for granted. If this helped you, share it with a business owner who needs it. And if you’ve got 10 seconds, please leave a rating. It would really mean the world to me.
I’m Donovan. This has been BRAND:NEW. I’ll see you in the next episode.
Right now, somewhere in Belgium, a beer is being poured with a label bearing a symbol older than the printing press. Older than Columbus reaching America. Older than almost anything you learned about in a history class.
While the rest of the world is busy chasing next quarter’s trend, there are brands that have been using the exact same mark for centuries. Not years. Centuries. Let’s take a look at the logos that never died and, more importantly, figure out why.
Longevity is a choice, not luck
Here is the thesis before we get into any examples. Longevity isn’t luck. It isn’t an old company that never got around to updating its look. It is a choice, and it means defending against internal and external pressure to modernize.
There isn’t just one way to do this. There are really two. The first is total preservation, where you refuse to touch anything, ever. The second is disciplined refinement, where the symbol survives and only the execution around it evolves.
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The first is total preservation, where you refuse to touch anything, ever. The second is disciplined refinement, where the symbol survives, and only the execution around it evolves.
Twinings: total preservation
Let’s start with total preservation, because it is the purest example there is.
Twinings was founded in 1706 by Thomas Twining. Its logo, the lion crest and the classic serif wordmark, was created in 1787, and it has never been altered. That makes it the oldest logo in the world in continuous, unaltered use. For context, 1787 was two years before George Washington took his first oath of office as president.
Why has nobody ever touched it? Because tea as a product is built entirely on tradition and trust. A logo that has never wavered reflects the brand’s promise. Untouched consistency is the product pitch.
A logo that has never wavered reflects the brand’s promise. Untouched consistency is the product pitch.
Heinz: Protect The One Claim That Matters
Another classic is Heinz, founded in 1869. More specifically, Heinz Tomato Ketchup. The tomato plant symbol on that label has survived every single redesign since.
Why? Because that symbol ties the brand directly back to the one claim that matters to a customer. Real tomatoes, real ingredients, nothing synthetic. Touch that symbol and you undermine the one promise the whole brand is built on. It is another example of how brand consistency builds trust.
Touch that symbol, and you undermine the one promise the whole brand is built on.
Stella Artois: the symbol that outlived the company
Now for a really interesting one. Stella Artois began as a seasonal Christmas beer that became so popular it took over the whole brand.
The Stella Artois logo has changed roughly ten times since the 1300s, but the core symbols have survived every single revision. The original mark was just the horn. Then the star was added, and everything else was built around the two of them.
Over six centuries, the brewery changed hands, changed owners, and changed its entire name. The company that exists today shares almost no DNA with the one that started it in 1366. But the horn survived every single change. That symbol outlived the company that made it, and that is true brand consistency.
That symbol outlived the company that made it, and that is true brand consistency.
John Deere: disciplined refinement
Now let’s look at a contrasting case, one that flips the argument in a useful direction. — —
The John Deere leaping deer first appeared in 1876, and it has been redesigned repeatedly over more than a century. The antlers changed, the details were simplified, and even the deer’s stance and direction shifted. The most recent version repositions the toe at the start rather than at the end, which feels more forward-moving.
So this isn’t a never-been-touched story like Twinings. Yet the John Deere logo remains iconic and instantly recognizable. The deer is ever present, as are the green and gold. And the idea it represents, quality, forward motion, and agricultural heritage, never left. Everything around that core idea was allowed to modernize it.
That is the real lesson here. Longevity doesn’t always mean freezing your logo in amber for 200 years. It means identifying the one thing that actually carries your brand’s meaning and protecting it fiercely, while letting everything else evolve around it.
Longevity doesn’t always mean freezing your logo in amber for 200 years. It means identifying the one thing that actually carries your brand’s meaning and protecting it fiercely, while letting everything else evolve around it.
What ties them together
Here is what Twinings, Heinz, Stella Artois, and John Deere have in common. None of them shares a single design trend across their lifespan. Not one shared decade. Not one shared style movement. Serifs came and went. Minimalism came and went. Skeuomorphism came and went, and unfortunately came back again.
What these four brands share isn’t a style. It’s restraint. They do share the four traits that define a lasting logo:
None of those four words describes trendy.
A trend lasts a season. These logos have lasted centuries. The difference is discipline.
This article accompanies Episode 26 of BRAND:NEW, the branding podcast from Jeff Payne Company.
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