Are you ready to rebrand? Not sure? Does the word ‘rebrand’ trigger a racing heart, sweaty palms, a dizzy sense of overwhelm and the desire to run for the hills? Deep in your heart, if this is your response then you probably know that rebranding is on the cards. If your business is growing into more than a hobby, and you know that you’ve outgrown your DIY or budget-friendly visual branding, then rebranding is most likely inevitable. I’ve asked my Hopscotch family what their questions and concerns are when it comes to knowing if they are ready to rebrand, and compiled the top ones here for you.
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One of the hardest parts is that it takes time to get it right, particularly if you’re picky. It’s hard to know how honest to be in the feedback process because sometimes designers miss the mark.
If you find a visual branding designer who truly understands your brand, what you’re aiming to achieve and who you are serving, and why, there should be absolutely no issues. Open and honest communication with your designer of choice is integral to creating a visual brand that aligns with your overall brand strategy. If you’re working with an experienced brand stylist, they should be able to hold your hand through the process, eliciting the information from you that they need to transform your brand values and aims into a visual delight for your audience. Check out this article about choosing your perfect logo designer (it also applies to branding designers).
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Branding is a huge investment and I’m concerned about getting it right. What if after all the work a graphic designer does and you’re still not 100% happy with the outcome? I’m still not clear what I want.
There is quite a hefty trust factor involved in choosing a designer that feels right for your brand. To be honest, your branding designer should be able to guide you through your brand foundation to make sure it is all in alignment. Something to remember is that you’re not designing a visual brand that necessarily reflects what your own tastes are, but rather is appealing to your ideal client for various reasons, some of which include creating a vibe or feeling, creating a sense of trust/connection and sending a clear message about your product or service. Your designer should be able to guide you to create an aesthetic that reflects your brand’s core messaging. Refer to this article for more about choosing the right path for your brand.
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I’m concerned that rebranding my entire business and multiple channels that go along with it is just going to be HUGE… and the can’t be bothered factor kicks in.
There’s a really clear answer to this and I think you already know what it is! The longer you wait, the more your brand grows, the more the tendrils of your current branding sink into the deep, dark depths of all of the different working parts of your biz, the harder and more daunting it will be to rebrand. You’ll know by intuition if your visual branding aligns with your brand values, sings a pretty little lullaby to your ideal clients and has them following along like the Pied Piper. Something I’d recommend is to face this in stages. Break it down into manageable chunks and focus on making over one part of your business at a time. It’s really important to get the foundation right, and everything flows on beautifully from there. If it’s overwhelming for you, I’d also consider hiring a virtual assistant temporarily to help you make all of the changes needed. One other thing to remember: templates are your friend!
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How do you get your mind to settle on a brand (colours, design etc)? My mind changes so much.
Your visual branding experience should include a fair chunk of brand foundation work. Your designer will guide you through the process of choosing a design vibe, colour palette, imagery, fonts etc by eliciting specific information from you and designing your visual brand components with this in mind. This applies to every aspect of visual branding. You absolutely need to be able to trust your chosen brand designer with your biz-baby implicitly. I recommend doing your research before proceeding with any visual design. Here’s some recommendations about choosing the right designer for you.
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Should I use my personal name or business name? And similarly, changing your business name after your business changes direction?
Naming your business often feels like quite a heavy task. There are so many questions that need to be answered! Thankfully I recently called in a pro copywriter, Phillippa Farah from Word Winnow to guide you through the process of naming your business. You can find it here.
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Licensing issues and font licensing
When you download a font (whether free or paid), you should receive an accompanying document with the licensing information. If you don’t, it will be on their website. You can use the search function or contact the seller. Sometimes free fonts stipulate that they are only for personal use, which means you can’t use them for logos or commercial graphics. Having said that, if you have any qualms about a particular font license, simply contact the creator and ask the question. Quite often you may just need to pay a small fee to use the font for commercial purposes.
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What do you need for a logo?
This is an excellent question. Basically, your logo is just one tiny puzzle piece in the branding mountain. You can read all about the purpose of a logo, all the different types of logos and what’s your best bet here.
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What formats should you receive your logo in?
With regards to files, you should always receive an .eps, a .jpeg, a .pdf and a .png in various colour formats and sizes.
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What have you learnt in the course of your own rebranding?
You’ll know when the time is right. I’ve been having stirrings for a while, feeling that my business name didn’t quite align with who I was serving or the precise work that I was doing. It felt so right to move forward. I’ve also learnt that the longer you put it off, the harder it becomes. E.g. the more your audience associates with your current branding, and the larger your brand grows, the more difficult it is to change things over. As long as you’re open and honest with your audience, let them know there’s change happening and make it fun for them. It doesn’t matter if it takes a little while to make the change happen. If it feels right, just go for it or you will regret it. Brand envy is real my friends!
If you have any other questions, drop them in the comments below. I’m happy to answer them for you!
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