The decision to overhaul your look and change your logo is a big one.
Rebranding isn’t just about changing your visuals; it’s tied to changes in who your business is—your values, mission, goals, audience, and all that other good stuff that comes from deep within.
Signs it’s time for a rebrand:
1. You never invested in proper branding to begin with.
Maybe you launched your business without a logo. Or you used an online logo maker, a gig platform like Fiverr, or a family friend who wasn’t a professional designer. All of these solutions are valid starting points for a small business. Sometimes you need to get things off the ground before you can truly hone in on what makes your business unique, and sometimes you don’t have the means to invest in branding right away.
As your business grows, you become more in touch with the personality of your company, and your need for strong visuals grows, too. As you start to make more of an impact on your customers and community, it’s important that your logo and visual brand accurately represent your values and communicate what’s important to you.
2. Your visuals are not consistent.
Using the same family of colors, fonts, and aesthetic styles helps your brand build loyalty. When customers associate certain visuals with your brand, your business becomes more memorable and recognizable.
When your visual style and graphics are all over the place, it’s difficult for customers to pinpoint who you are and what you’re about. Working with a professional on a look that accurately represents your business’s personality helps your business come across professional and trustworthy.
3. You no longer feel aligned with what your brand represents — your values, mission, goals, etc. have changed.
Maybe you had a clear vision of these things when you started your business, but your business journey has taken you in directions you didn’t expect. Sometimes your core values and mission change, and that’s okay! When that happens, it’s important to assess whether or not your current logo, website, and visuals still align with the soul of your company. When they don’t, it can be difficult to present yourself strongly and confidently.
4. Your design is outdated.
Just like clothing goes in and out of fashion, so does design. If your logo is 10-15 years old, consider if it still feels relevant and relatable to your target customers, or if it’s starting to look dated. If the latter, that communicates to your audience that your business and your offerings might be outdated and irrelevant, too.
While it’s important to stand out from the crowd and not follow trends too closely, at the same time you don’t want to fall behind in your industry. Branding that looks modern helps build trust and professionalism.
5. You want to shift to attract a new audience.
Perhaps you’re drawing in customers, but those customers aren’t the best fit for your company. Your logo and branding can communicate a lot. It tells your business’s story through visuals. It lets your customers know what you value and what your purpose is as a company. Ultimately, it resonates with the customers that are the best fit for you and helps you connect with them authentically.
If your design is sending the wrong message, it’s a lot more difficult to reach your ideal audience. Re-examining what you stand for—and investing in design to translate it to strong, stand-out visuals—can result in a shift you need to help your work and your business relationships feel more fulfilling.
Thinking it might be time to make a change?
Questions to ask yourself before rebranding:
Who was your business when you started, and who is it now? How much has that changed? Is who you are now accurately reflected in your current branding?
How much is your audience tied to your current brand? Would a complete overhaul be welcomed by them or off-putting to them?
Does your current brand stand out in your market, and if so, is it for a good reason?
How to invest in a rebrand:
Work with a professional.
Similarly to a new branding project, choose a designer who truly understands the branding process, thinks bigger-picture than just your logo, and even thinks bigger-picture than just design. Choose a designer that can deeply understand your business and goals, and who can strategically create visuals that fit the new direction you’re wishing to take your business in.
Tips for finding the right graphic designer.
Don’t rebrand just to follow trends.
Modernizing doesn’t mean looking exactly like everyone else. If we both had a dollar for every logo that looks like this and this these days, we wouldn’t have to work anymore!
What do you think? Is it time to start your branding journey? Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re curious to hear more about what branding or rebranding might look like for your business. I’m always happy to chat and answer questions!
Whether you’re curious to explore a collaboration, just have a few questions, or simply want to say hello, please get in touch!
Other posts about branding:
These 6 logos are great inspiration for stand-out branding for medical practices, each with a totally different spin.