Sony asked the public to redesign its logo in 1981. It didn't work out.

Once upon a time, Sony decided that its now-iconic logo was due for a redesign. The year was 1981, and Sony was on the cusp of a revolution -- the first Walkman was released just 18 months earlier. What better time to redesign a logo dating from the '50s? But the company didn't enlist a design team to come up with a new logo. No, Sony decided to make the redesign a public spectacle. It launched the so-called "Sony International Logotype Design Contest," and took in nearly 30,000 submissions from...