Signs You Need a New Brand Design, and How to Do It
The most successful brands are the ones constantly reborn. It looks like they just developed their new product, shared a pioneering idea, or started a new branding strategy, their teams are already working on how they could improve even more. They make changes even before it might be necessary.
In some cases, they could start looking for graphic design companies to help them with the new brand design.
If you want your brand to succeed you will need to follow a similar approach. But even if you refuse to accept the need for this cycle, there are points in your business’s life when you can be sure the time for change has come. Let’s see the signs that the brand identity of your products, services, and messages is outdated and how you can resolve the problem.
What is brand design exactly and why is it important?
The brand is the concept that includes all the things your business does and provides. The brand identity system communicates the brand’s personality and conveys what it is passionate about. Visual branding creates the experience and style of the brand that people can fall in love with.
It is crucial to have well-designed and up-to-date branding because people categorize and judge brands by their appearance. To create an accurate impression of the brand’s products’ and services’ experience, you need to pay attention to your branding. Good brand identity helps to reach, touch and call your target audience to action while differentiating your brand from other similar providers on the market.
Therefore brand identity drives sales and can create loyal customers which are every business owners’ greatest dream.
Why is it a big deal if the brand identity design is outdated?
Because brand design is the face of the brand, most people judge it by their first impression. If the design feels outdated, people might assume that the services and products it provides are also lacking some essential modern features. Even if they decide to buy, they might not have the experience leading to the customer loyalty you want so much. Provide an experience and a story along with assuring your targets of your products’ safety and benefits.
Don’t fall for the common misconception of keeping the identity forever. If refreshing or changing your logo are done correctly, you can be sure that good things will follow. If you are not convinced that using the same concepts will do more good than harm, look at major organizations for examples. Major global companies refresh their brands significantly about every 5 years.
Signs that your branding is off
The branding is out-dated
Your brand might need a refresh even if the visual elements remind us of fashion from 5 to 10 years ago, but if the brand logo and graphical solutions are more like a reminder from the 90’s it is time to reach out to a professional.
Understand that first impression, and perception are the reality of marketing and branding. You are selling dreams along with solutions so not all the aspects are tangible and meaningful during the process of decision making. You have to play on these less objective factors to reach customer loyalty and improve the experience.
The branding can be outdated not only in its visuals but also in its verbal messaging. Be sensitive to all groups when creating your campaigns and brand messages. Mindfulness is a crucial tool to reach all groups while avoiding unnecessary conflicts.
Branding is completely different from competitors
You have to find the golden path between matching the field by applying its best practices and differentiating the brand from the competitors. It is important to use signs that show where the brand belongs, so people immediately understand the main goals of the company. Yet it is essential that the brand also differs from its competitors by its unique brand identity.
When functionality, visual effects, and new technical options are already live on your competitors’ website, when the quality and style of the pictures that the biggest companies use are very different and more up to date than yours, it is time for a refresh to catch up with them. While doing so, keep or create the style though that is unique to your messaging.
Up-to-date technical benefits are not available
The purpose of design is to create solutions that support the users’ intentions and make their desires easily accessible. Responsive, mobile-friendly, up-to-date websites are one of these essential tools for today’s successful marketing. Responsiveness is not only supported by Google ranking but it keeps your customers on the site.
Test the technical issues on your website as a new customer. Do you have to zoom in to see texts and buttons? Do you have any issues with opening links or closing pop-up windows? If you experience issues with maneuvering and general comfort in any way, they need to be addressed and fixed by a professional.
Keep up with the times by paying attention to Search Engine Optimization criterias. These rules are made in advance of the users and guide you on the way to creating an easily accessible website that drives sales. Voice search is one of these newest tools for comfort on well-functioning websites.
The brand has made a shift but is it not reflected in the messaging
Change is an essential criteria for survival and improvement but if you have done so, did you also follow through with it in your visual and verbal messaging? If you have a new target audience or a different perspective of what your brand is and what it represents it is time for a refresh or complete change of marketing strategy. Compare what your company provides now to the products and services that it offered at the time when the design was created. If you are feeling a great shift, and opposing ideas, rethink your visual messaging too.
The brand lacks supporting visuals
Visual branding is also a language that should support the statements of the brand. Visuals should not only communicate an idea or feeling, but they can share ideas faster and in a more effective way than the text itself. Use images, illustrations, animations, and infographics to grab the viewers’ attention and have a greater chance of recall. Hire a designer to match these different visual tools to represent your brand’s identity.
Key take away
Don’t wait with redesign until the point when you are embarrassed to hand out your business card. All members of the company feel the need for change when such a thing happens. Outdated design affects employer morale too. Hire a team of designers or an agency to consult with you about the changes they suggest to address. A complete redesign is only recommended when problems appear in all areas mentioned above. But a brand refresh should be done every couple of years to keep up with the times while generating trust and interest.
