Today’s challenge in Darren Rowse’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge is focused around writing a post and the task is to write a “list post”.

The reason for writing a “list post” is because they have always been a popular and effective technique among bloggers wanting to write content that gets spread from one person to the next. Just look at pages like the front page of Digg, TweetMeme and Delicious and you’ll see that many of the ‘hottest’ content on the web at any given time is written in this style.

So for my task, I really enjoy reading “list posts” on sites like Six Revisions and Best Web Gallery. So i decided to go revisit some companies that I know have been working hard on serious rebranding over the last year or two.

I decided to focus especially on companies that have published a redesigned logo/website recently, and compile those findings into a best of “list post” for this task. I believe strongly that a redesign can be worth its weight in gold if you get it right. There is a thin line between freshening up your design, and taking a step backwards with a redesign.  Sometimes a redesign can be subtle and simple, and other times it can be a huge re-vamp of a company and it’s goals. So without further ado, here is a look at some of my favorite recent re-designs (in no particular order):

01. AT&T

This is an ideal example of how a subtle upgrade can make a huge difference.

02. BP

A completely different direction and modern feel. A huge improvement!

03. Sprint

Looking at the old sprint logo it’s obvious a re-design was needed.

04. Adobe

Adobe has come a long way in a short time, I like the way things are going.

05. Mozilla Firefox

A name change, and a great leap forward. Time really is a healer.

06. Mailchimp

I dare you to find a better looking mascot. A huge improvement, but a much needed one I must say, the new chimp really does have that “cute-factor.”

07. Walmart

A more modern feel to a logo which was showing its age.

08. Holiday Inn

I might actually be open to staying at Holiday Inn’s again after seeing this new look.

09. Amazon

For an online store like Amazon the old logo didn’t really fit. The updated version looks better in both web and print.

10. HP

I’ve not actually seen this used anywhere but adverts. But I really like it!