Should You Rebrand?
Your company's brand identity is used as an eye-catching, opinion-forming infographic for potential customers. It's not just about the logo, but about the branding across your company's social media, website, apparel, store-front, etc.
Is it cohesive? Is it recognizable? Does it represent your brand?
While we like to think of creating timeless logos and branding themes, it's inevitable that through changes in society and technology, our brand will need to change. How subtle your changes are depends on what's changed around you and your company. But here are a few questions you can ask yourself before taking the rebrand leap.
Does your brand still tell a story about you?
A neat test for any business is to add your logo or branding to a photograph or quote that represents your values. Does it fit together? If there is a major clash, your logo may not be giving the correct vibe.
Are you streamlining multiple brands into one?
The parent company below, JLG Builds, has two sub companies. These brands all had separate logos, fonts, color schemes, and overall branding. Jack of All Trades was orange, while James L. Graves Construction was blue. Coordinating these brands into similar looks and color schemes helped customers to identify each company as a sub company under the parent company JLG Builds. The burgundy and tan icons were also used throughout social media branding.
Has your target audience or services changed since your brand was created?
If some major changes have happened within your company, it's possible your brand may not reflect those changes, or people may identify your brand with the "old" services. It's a perfect opportunity to rebrand and introduce these new changes within your company at the same time.
Do you just need a refresher?
It's possible that you just need a small change like a fresh font or small illustrative change in order to modernize your logo. Google has changed its iconic font throughout the years while retaining its color scheme, for example. Heart of Phoenix, below, was offering more apparel in recent years, and a fresh logo with a more organic feel would be more attractive on that apparel.
Is there an actual problem with your brand?
Swapping your logo just because you feel like it can leave customers confused. They'll actually begin to lose trust in your brand if it wasn't stable enough in the first place to maintain an identity. Think about the time when users woke up one morning to a completely new Instagram logo and interface. It was not well-received and mocked on the internet. Even The Gap changed their logo silently, which received such bad attention it was reverted back within days. Be sure there's a justification and an announcement if appropriate.
Will you still be recognizable?
If you are looking for a complete overhaul, you're going to face issues with customers recognizing your brand. Mason's Lobster used a prominent lobster in their original logo. As they shifted their branding style by using chalkboards predominantly in their stores, they shifted their logo to match a more stenciled, hand-written look. They kept the same colors and prominent, all-caps "MASON'S" in order to tie the previous branding in with the new branding, remaining easily recognizable.
Rebranding takes a lot of research, testing, and hard work. It also takes a professional designer. Do not take this task on yourself, or trust it to that friend of a friend who knows Photoshop (PS, you should never use Photoshop to design a logo)! This is one service you absolutely need to be done by a professional. Contact Radiant Resolution today for a free quote and see if rebranding is right for your business!
