We’ve all been there – you’ve got a logo that’s maybe 5ish years old, and it’s really time for a new one. That’s totally natural, and there’s no reason to stress over having to change your brand. Logos, even ones that make the best attempt at being evergreen, will eventually get outdated and that’s just the life cycle of design.
Once you’ve decided you need that new brand approach, though, you’re faced with a decision: do you simply “refresh” your brand (pick a new color or two, maybe pick a new font, but keep the overall vibe of the old logo so it’s clear it’s only a rework) or do you “rebrand” (change everything! Totally new brand! New palette! The new YOU!)
As a brand designer, I’ve received both requests, and each come with their own challenges. The decision, though, is of course based on a few factors, which we’ll cover in this article!
We’ll cover:
When it’s time to consider updating your logo
When you should consider a refresh only
When it’s time to completely rebrand
When is the right time to change your logo / brand?
This boils down to two things: goals and audience.
Business Goals
What are your goals as a business? Ours is to sell site + brand design as a service to new entrepreneurs. Our other goal is to provide continuing support and education to maintain a thriving brand and website. Boom.
More of our nitty-gritty goals include:
Growing our instagram to 500 followers (help us out by following here!)
Growing our newsletter to 200
Selling courses that help our DIY audience enhance their brands and thrive
We realized that our first instagram goal was actually falling short because we didn’t have a cohesive color palette or theme to our business! We recently refreshed our brand in August of 2020 to better achieve this goal!
Brand Audience
You know your personality. You know your wardrobe, your interior design. But do you know your audience’s tastes? Sometimes your personal aesthetic and what your demographic is searching for align and are 1:1, but sometimes not!
Let’s say you wanted to start a brand for beginner-level gardeners. Your personal style is very feminine, with lots of hot pink and chic black pieces. But…is that what your audience will react to? The Bold August brand is somewhat reminiscent of my (Olivia’s) personality.
Okay, you have your goals defined and understand your audience - is it time for a refresh or rebrand?
Refreshing a Brand: Adding Assets, Slightly Tweaking, Refining
Raise a hand if any of the following sound like you:
You have a logo, but don’t know how to use it. You don’t have graphics, colors defined, or fonts, so you struggle with making things on social media or beyond.
You did have a professional do your logo, but it was years ago, or you didn’t feel the process went the way you wanted.
Your logo isn’t readable or is hard to use.
Your colors were trending in 2015, and now they don’t match your audience.
If any of these sound like you, you could benefit from a simple refresh!
A logo refresh could mean spiffing up your logo fonts, adding a fresh color palette, or even having a designer create some nifty “assets” (think patterns, graphics, and icons to support your brand). A refresh is best when your brand is almost meeting your goals and almost works for your audience, but could use a professional eye.
A refresh is for a brand that needs to be enhanced, not reworked.
Brand refreshes are hard for a designer.
We don’t get a clean slate to work with, and we’re having to work with previous emotions and conceptions about the logo. You might love what you have created, but to be frank, it might not be designed well! I only offer a refresh when I think I could work with an icon or help by switching a font up.
Rebranding: When it’s Time to Change it All Up
Raise a hand if any of the following sound like you:
You’ve never had a professional work on your brand.
You built your logo 3+ years ago either by hand or had a “friend” help
Your logo looks like you, but maybe isn’t converting for your brand or doesn’t have the professional appearance needed for a business
You’re considering changing your business name
You’re offering new services and targeting a new audience than you were 3+ years ago
75% of the work I do is a rebrand (or a new brand creation.) Rebranding is easiest for designers because we’re well versed on recent design skills and know what converts. A brand strategist will be able to create a brand from scratch that aligns with your goals AND will reach your audience.
You are worth a rebrand.
If your logo is old or doesn’t even match the services you’re offering, consider investing in that new brand. After all, your brand is the visual first impression for your business. If it’s not exactly what your audience is looking for, you’ll suffer.
Most of the time, when clients try to DIY or user a service like Fiverr or Thumbtack, they’re not thinking their brand is worth the money. Honestly, it absolutely is. A good brand design can be the difference between a clear and organized business and one that looks messy and unprofessional.
If you’re still wondering what you should do, ask a designer. A designer will give you an honest opinion on whether your brand needs a simple uplift or if it’s time to really rework the design.
We offer design services that include a brand refresh and website! Reach out if you think you’re ready to take that jump.
