5 Ways to Refresh your Brand
Even though most designers, including yours truly, will promote the importance of custom branding for your business, we also understand that it's not always the right time for everyone to take that step.
Whether you’ve just started your company, need to spend your resources on other business needs, or your business is in the middle of transition, there are a variety of reasons it would be better to hold off a bit on investing in custom branding. Waiting until the time is right will help you to make the most out of the process and the end result.
But even if it’s not the right time for a custom solution, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t devote any time or attention to your branding after all, there are many benefits to branding and it’s important for businesses regardless of their size.
The good news is that custom solutions aren’t the only way to streamline your branding— there are still some steps you can take in the meantime!
Here are 5 things you can do right now to help update your branding:
What to Focus On
1. Take a Look at Your Color Palette
Changing your color palette is a great, and relatively easy, way to give your branding a fresh new look.
If you’re using more than 3-4 colors, see if there’s a way to streamline the amount of colors you're using or even the way that you're using each color. Make sure that each color is used intentionally and consistently across all customer touchpoints.
Or maybe it’s time to overhaul your color palette completely! If you’re going this route, make sure you’re choosing colors that best reflect your brand’s values & personality. The colors you use will elicit certain feelings & emotions from your customers, so you want to make sure that is in line with your business goals.
Is the vibe of your company high-energy? Try to add in some brighter colors to bring that energy to life! Promoting a brand that’s more high-end & refined? Use brighter colors sparingly & intentionally and utilize more of a muted palette for the primary colors.
2. Update Your Images
You know the saying, a picture is worth a thousand words…
And even though that saying has become a cliche, the importance of photography has endured (and even grown with the rise of social media). Imagery is a critical element in branding and some of us would make the argument that it's even more impactful than your logo.
Imagery is not only a way to showcase your products, it’s an extremely effective way to connect emotionally with your customers. Like your color palette, different styles of imagery will elicit different emotions and convey a different vibe based on the composition, colors, and styles used.
If your photography is feeling stale, try taking new product shots to better showcase what you’re selling. Maybe that means using a different background than you're currently using, or adding in more (or fewer) photos of people interacting with your product.
And if a custom photoshoot isn’t in your budget quite yet, see if there are any areas in your marketing materials or website where you can make use of new stock photography. Find photos that follow a cohesive look, and evoke that certain *feeling* you’re looking for.
(Pro tip: make sure you’re using properly licensed photos to avoid violating any copyrights! You can’t just use photos you’ve pulled off of Google! Check out paid sites like Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, or Getty Images, or royalty free sites like Pexels or Unsplash).
And don’t overlook another visual element — video! Film your own, or license videos to use on your website or social media for a more engaging and eye-catching experience.
3. Don't Forget Your Fonts
The fonts you use can also have a big impact on your branding, so pairing down the amount of fonts you're using or becoming more intentional about how & when you use each one will help pull things together.
Like colors, fonts can elicit different emotions, so make sure what you're using corresponds with how you want to come across. If you want to be viewed as modern, a handwritten font might not be the best choice and a clean sans serif or an elegant serif might be a better fit for you.
Don’t be afraid to pair fonts together too, as long as they work together and match the tone you’re trying to convey.
You can use more decorative or ornate fonts for headlines or callouts, but long sections of body text should use a font that is easily legible at small point sizes across different devices.
4. Audit your Marketing Materials
Could any of your marketing materials use a refresh? If you’re updating your colors, images, and or fonts, you should make a plan to go through any print materials and your website to update them accordingly. This will ensure that everything has a cohesive look across customer touch points.
If your website needs some work to begin with, try giving it a little facelift by simplifying the layout and updating the content throughout.
Take a look at all of your marketing materials to assess which materials might need to be updated, any that might need to be retired, and identify any gaps in marketing materials you might have, and create new materials.
If you’re business has packaging materials, see if there’s a way to brand them, or update them for a more cohesive branding experience for your customers. If budget allows, don’t be afraid to use custom colors, patterns, logos, etc. on your packaging!
5. Keep it consistent
But most importantly, whatever you are doing, make sure you’re keeping things consistent. And the best way to do that is by creating a brand guideline. (Check out this previous post [INSERT LINK] for our brand guidelines breakdown).
Having a brand guidelines document can help ensure that you, and anyone else in your company, are showing up across all your channels consistently, and correctly.
Small Changes, Big Impact
Even though each of these elements might seem like a small change on their own, they each play a BIG role in your branding and can have a big impact when connecting with your audience!
For those who may be starting from square one, consider using a semi-custom brand kit to get the ball rolling.
Check out the Type A Shop to see our available kits!