Could your brand use a change? An industry rule of thumb is to update a brand every five years, but instead of creating an entirely new brand maybe you could use a refresh! In this video our Lead Design Consultant, Robert Wasiluk, gives advice to bring new life to any brand. Check out the video to hear Robert’s five creative branding tips.
If you prefer to read this content, the video transcript is below.
Your team is hinting that your logo and overall look could use a change. But what if you just updated everything a few years ago?
An industry rule of thumb is to update your brand every five years. Instead of a whole new brand, you might just need a re-fresh!
Here are 5 elements of a visual brand re-fresh that can make a huge difference in your firm’s or association’s first impression.
- Inspiration – Whenever you do a brand refresh, look at fonts, colors, inspirational imagery and words. They can give you direction for updating your visual branding. Also look at your competition. You still want your refreshed brand to be unique.
- Logo Usage – Look at the different formats of your current brand identity, and how they are used, to make sure a revised logo will fit those specific uses. Does your refreshed logo need to look good in an email signature, but also on a t-shirt? Test it out.
- Color Palette – Sometimes your current color palette is limited or out of date. By adding complementary colors to your primary color palette, you get an instant refresh!
- Brand Style Guide – Do you have a style guide? Sometimes your style guide can point to options for refreshed logo uses, additional approved fonts or colors, and even new photo imagery.
- Identity Kit – You want to save your refreshed brand identify in a variety of file formats. This makes it easier to send a .jpg or a vector .eps file to a vendor for an ad or to your webmaster. Create presentation templates and digital forms with your refreshed logo, so that everyone is using it consistently.
Once your brand is refreshed, use this opportunity to include your internal team and promote it to the public. Share your new look on social posts or host an old stationery shredding party! Everyone loves a makeover.