Many logos have existed for decades, some for over 100 years. If you take into consideration how much has changed in the past hundred years, it becomes obvious that old logos often do need refurbishment.

Many old logos were designed or commissioned by the companies' founding families. Nowadays, most of these companies are no longer in their possession, or at least not in their full possession. Many of these companies have developed into multinational corporate groups.

Formerly, the logo just had to be relatable to the founding family. Today, a logo or a brand has to meet more criteria. In the course of time, a company's or product's image has become more and more important, and the logo has to convey these aspects to the customer.

Beginning around 1970, there were specialists that integrated the design of a logo into a company's general concept (corporate design, corporate identity).