5 Signs You Need a New Visual Identity (or Rebranding)!

Have you ever paused to consider the first impression your visual communication makes on your client? Does it suggest a product is cheap? Expensive? Does it convey boredom? Have you truly reflected on how others interpret your company's image?

We know these are many questions, but when we apply Design Thinking to grow our businesses, questions are the very tool that helps us better understand a problem!

Elevate Your Presence: Assessing Your Visual Communication's First Impression

Have you ever paused to consider the first impression your visual communication makes on your client? Does it suggest a product is cheap? Expensive? Does it convey boredom? Have you truly reflected on how others interpret your company's image?

We know these are many questions, but when we apply Design Thinking to grow our businesses, questions are the very tool that helps us better understand a problem!

Let's start a quick self-assessment!

Step into Your Client's Shoes

Imagine yourself in your customer's place. Picture yourself selling your product or service to yourself, utilizing all the visual "tools" you currently have.

1. Would you purchase from yourself? Why or why not?

2. How much would you willingly pay for your own product or service? (Be candid!)

   
   

Seek Your Client's Perspective

A highly insightful tip is to genuinely ask a current client for their honest opinion on your visual identity.

1. What is the first word that comes to mind when your client sees your brand (colors, logo, overall identity)? Does it reflect amateurism? Handmade quality? Being a beginner? A "backyard" operation?

Depending on the response, it might be time to strategically rethink your visual approach.

1) Your Visuals Are Stuck in the Past

If your visual identity is sitting stagnant at the end of the 2000s—complete with those "strange," low-resolution 3D effects and peculiar colors—I regret to inform you: it is outdated, and it is high time for a "glow up!".

Do you know what clients think when they see this? One word: neglect.

A business is much like a person (we call it a legal entity for a reason!).

Imagine if your company were a person trying to make a sale while dressed shabbily, appearing untidy, and wearing clothes that utterly clash. Odd, isn't it? Remember, this is your livelihood!

If you’ve been working in this field for years, you need to invest strategically to keep your business profitable.

2) Your Image Doesn't Align With Your Offerings

Picture a lingerie company with a logo in candy colors, or a bakery with a logo in shades of black and red. Which one is the bakery? And which one is the adult store?

If you have changed the style of products you sell but remain in the same industry, a redesign is essential. (If you are unsure what a redesign entails, we have a helpful post about it here.)

3) You Are Embarrassed to Display Your Logo

If you feel ashamed to show your logo to someone, how will people ever discover you exist?

The logo is the key image associated with your company; therefore, it must be displayed wherever possible so people can remember, remember, and remember it again.

Remember this key fact: the human brain, especially the adult brain, memorizes through repetition! 

So, showcase that logo, friend, but ensure you have a professional visual identity to back it up.

4) Your Logo Is Generic

One day, you decide it is time to create a visual identity for your company. So, you visit one of those freelance design sites offering logos for a minimal fee, or you pop into a local printing shop and simply buy a logo.

At the time, you feel you’ve secured a great deal—finally, your business has its own unique drawing! However, you quickly look around and start seeing thousands of logos similar to yours on the street, social media, and everywhere else.

Even worse, the logo is utterly unremarkable.

In short: it possesses absolutely no visual identity. "Visual Identity" is self-explanatory. It brings a distinct identity to your company. If your logo is generic, you have no identity. It’s that simple.

5) Your Visual Identity Lacks a Branding Strategy

Do you truly understand what Branding is? (If you wish to delve deeper, read the post I wrote here about the art of transforming companies into enduring brands.)

"Brand" and "Company" are distinctly different concepts, but they must work hand-in-hand. Branding allows you to transform your business into a powerhouse with meaning and originality.

Trust me, having a unique differentiator is one of the most critical elements today. Everyone wants to be an entrepreneur; it is currently en vogue.

There is nothing wrong with that, but the problem lies in doing the exact same thing as everyone else while expecting to build a lasting brand.

Therefore, hire a good designer (I can modestly offer my help!) and create a decent project. Think about the money you invest in fleeting, poorly conceived graphics that could instead be invested in a skilled designer.

These are the tips I consistently share with my clients. It is not always necessary to update your visual identity, but if you do need to, you can count on us whenever we have availability. Send a message on our contact page! I look forward to connecting with you there!

That’s all for now! See you later!