“Your brand isn’t your logo.” I hear people say it all the time. If you spend much time in Facebook groups, listening to webinars or reading blogs like these, you’ve probably heard it a million times too.
I’ve noticed that while people accept the notion that their brand isn’t just their logo, logo design is still the thing they are most fixated on. I get it. It’s a quick fix that makes a big impact. You feel like you can’t overhaul everything, but that’s one thing you can control in your business among a host of things you feel like you can’t. The thought of overhauling your whole brand is completely overwhelming, not to mention out of your budget.
This feeling of overwhelm is what leads entrepreneurs to the mindset that they need “just a logo.” Now, don’t get me wrong. I love designing logos and think they are an essential part of your brand platform, but let’s stop that thinking right in its tracks. I know a full brand overhaul can be daunting, time consuming and pricey. Stick with me for a minute, and I’ll explain why I don’t design “just a logo” and why you shouldn’t want that anyway.
rebranding is about more than visuals
Rebranding is a big deal. It’s not like throwing on a new pair of shoes. Not to diminish the power of a great pair of new shoes!
[bctt tweet=”If you treat your brand like a visual accessory, you’ll want to change your look on a whim.” username=”brandingzoo”]
Today you might really love pink, but in a month, aqua might feel like it really speaks to you. Or you stumble across a competitor’s website and want to cry because it’s so beautiful. Maybe you should tweak your brand to incorporate some of those trendy dry brush strokes they are using…or rethink your font choices…or borrow that bright color scheme of theirs…until your brand becomes a hodge podge of someone else’s visual elements.
If you notice yourself having thoughts like that, it’s because you are only thinking about your brand in the visual sense. Logo design trends change, and different looks speak to you at different times in your life, so if you are solely building your brand on a particular look, you’ll outgrow it quickly. And who wants to go through the redesign process all the time? It’s stressful for you and beyond confusing for your customers.
If you think of your brand in a more holistic way and base your visuals on a deeper meaning that connects your values with your audience, your visual brand can have some serious longevity. It will move beyond an accessory that you want to change on a whim and hold deep meaning for you and your audience. Wouldn’t it feel great to know that if you rebrand the right way, it could grow with you instead of popping back up on your endless to-do list again next year?
You are essentially buying one pair of versatile, well-made shoes that can serve you for a very long time instead of an inexpensive pair that needs replacing every season.
If your brand is done right, you should only yearn for a rebrand when you are trying to communicate different values to your audience or changing your audience all together. If those things aren’t changing, a revolving door of logos will just confuse your audience and make your business look unprofessional and flaky.
A rebrand should be a collaborative process
I’ve found over the years that most clients that come to me seeking “just a logo” have a very distinct idea in their head of what they want (or don’t want) and are not interested in doing the deep digging required to build a brand based on strategy. That may be because you’ve already been through the strategy process with another professional, and if that’s the case, then good for you! If you know the look you are going for without knowing your audience, your values and your strategy to bring them together, then your whole concept is purely built on aesthetics. You want a pretty ornament to hang your hat on, not a workhorse logo that will tug at the heart of your ideal client. With that mindset, a logo redesign is not going to produce the results you are hoping for.
A rebrand should make you more confident in your services
The strategy and positioning portion of the brand design process is my very favorite way to connect and really get to know my clients. If you come into the rebranding process just wanting a new logo, you are missing out on such a great opportunity to not only improve the look and feel of your brand but also get major clarity and confidence around what differentiates you from your competition and how to leverage it.
Clarifying the why’s and how’s of the positioning of your brand before design begins is a bonus for both of us. It gives me an opportunity to get to know you, your goals and your business better than I ever could with a superficial conversation about design styles you like. Getting to know you on a deeper level means I am able to provide designs that are on point without loads of revisions. This means less trips to the salon to cover my gray hairs. I call that a win any day!
For you, it means gaining insight into your own business that will propel you forward with renewed energy and passion, knowing you are on the right track. The feedback I get most after a project is surprise at how eye-opening and valuable the workbook and positioning process was when they thought all they needed was design.
In the crafter world, this is a measure twice, cut once process. We do a lot of hard work up front to make sure that we are on the right track before moving forward with design. I can barely sew a button on, but that’s a process I can get behind!
