Adobe : Is it time for a logo redesign?

Is it time for a logo redesign?

Hitting refresh on your brand's logo can send your business's growth into hyperdrive with a fresh new identity that sets you apart from a crowded marketplace and draws in new admirers. Done poorly, and a new logo can be one of the riskiest projects marketing and creative teams undertake. For famous success stories, look no further than corporate giants such as Apple, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks, companies with a sixth sense when it comes to balancing the new and fresh with the familiar.

Miss the mark even by a fraction, however, and you may be doing costly cleanup for months - if not years - as you work to regain the trust of customers who are confused, alienated, or otherwise put off by your new design. Plus, if you change your logo too often, you may damage brand awareness by muddying a key component of brand recognition.

Minimize your risks and maximize your rewards associated with a logo refresh by considering each of the following before committing to any significant changes.

Common reasons to update your logo

There are many reasons that businesses change their logos, many of them going far beyond a simple aesthetic decision. Some are proactive, such as anticipating changes in consumer expectations, while others represent reactions to shifts in the marketplace that are already well underway.

Better reflecting brand identity

Maintaining a consistent brand identity is a must in today's rapidly diversifying marketplace. To eliminate unnecessary changes, start by asking yourself why you're itching to update your logo. If the answer is simply that it's been a minute since the last update, consider holding off. Just because you're bored with the logo doesn't mean your audience is, and change for change's sake is a good way to burn through precious creative dollars without actually moving the needle on key business outcomes.

On the other hand, if you believe your current logo no longer reflects your brand's overall identity, strategy, and audience, keep reading - you might be onto something.

Establishing trust

For a business to be successful, customers need to be able to trust it. Low quality designs, insensitive language or imagery, and logos that feel copy and pasted from competitors signal a lack of professionalism and attention to detail in such a way to wound your business's credibility even before someone steps through the door or clicks on your ad. If your logo falls into any of these three categories, a tune-up is likely in order.

Maintaining visibility

A logo is a simple representation of your business that can act as a tool to help customers notice and remember it. Not every logo has to grab consumers by the shoulders. That said, yours should be unique, interesting, and memorable. If it comes up short on any of these three, it's time to go back to the drawing board.

Signs that it's time to refresh your logo

Often, a good time for a logo update is in conjunction with other changes in your business. Logo changes can be used to ensure all elements of your company are adjusted consistently, and a logo change during a larger revamp may be less jarring than if you were to make those changes separately.

Business has expanded

Anytime you penetrate new markets it's key to revisit your logo and consider whether it needs adjustments in order to appeal to your new audience. But beware: It's easy to overcorrect in these instances, especially when there's pressure to perform well among the new target audience. Avoid this impulse by ensuring there is always an advocate for your old audience in the room when a logo redesign is on the table.

New competition has arisen

In the face of new competition, you may feel more pressure to make your business stand apart. A logo redesign can be a good option for making a striking new impression.

You are planning a rebrand

Because your logo should ideally communicate basic information about your business, a full rebrand is perhaps the only time that a logo redesign is almost definitively a good idea. The outside should match the inside, and therefore the logo should change along with any significant shifts in business operations, values, or goals.

Your logo is outdated

In some cases, your logo may simply feel like a relic of a bygone era. While a classic logo can be endearing in some professional contexts, stuffy or dated imagery can project the sense that your business itself is past its prime.

How to update your logo design

Powerful design tools like Photoshop and Illustrator mean anyone with the time and patience has the tools necessary to piece together a compelling new logo. The trick is coming up with the right design.

Updating your logo does not necessarily mean that you have to follow aesthetic trends in your industry or the greater business world. It should, however, reflect the current state of your business and the current mindset of your customers. What this means for your business will depend on your unique circumstances. However, there are some basic steps and rules of thumb that can guide you through the redesign process.

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Define your goals for the redesign

Before you decide what your logo should look like, you should think about why you are redesigning it. Based on your reasons, establish major goals for your redesign, such as "I want to appeal to a younger audience" or "I want my logo to be more noticeable."

Keep a consistent color palette

Color is a powerful tool for evoking moods in your viewers. As you begin, ask yourself what you want viewers to feel when they see your logo. Then, consider how that color or colors might look alongside those already woven into existing customer experiences - from store fronts, to sales enablement materials, to social media ads.

Research and compare fonts

Fonts, like color, provoke moods and impressions in viewers. Even a simple font adjustment can completely alter the feel of your logo, so be sure to take time to make sure you land on the right one through a careful selection process complete with testing.

Consider more than one option.

Developing a new logo involves a lot of back and forth and disagreement. This is a feature, not a bug, as your team works to refine who you really want to speak to with your logo and what you hope to accomplish through a new design. Don't give up - and don't settle.

Question trends before you follow one

If there is a major aesthetic trend in your industry, consider the underlying reason for it before you opt to adopt. Perhaps the trend is a response to shifts in popular culture, or maybe even a simple matter of cost-efficiency. If you understand the basis for the trend, you can pursue it through different means and set yourself apart from your competition.

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