3 Reasons your Brand Identity should Evolve

Your business is your baby. You have put the blood, sweat and tears into it. But how do you know if your logo is strong or is deterring away potential clients? Below you will find 3 reasons your brand may need a refresh.

1. 

To freshen your brand’s stale or tired look.
This is the most common reason for wanting and needing a brand refresh. What was on trend then, may not be on trend now or as appealing to the new generations. One example of a large company known is Olive Garden. The goal for Olive Garden’s new logo was to regain momentum in their brand. Their old font’s and graphic aesthetic were outdated and filled with many textures in the mark making it hard to implement on different platforms. Olive Garden chose to update their logo to me more on trend and simplify their logo by updating the script to one that is not as handwritten and cleaned up the amount of colors the logo had. Whether you like the new logo mark or not, it is easy to say that the new logo is a step towards marketing to new customers.

3. 

To remove elements that make your brand hard to apply.

Gradients can be great if applied minimally as an added punch but should be used with caution.
The gradients of the 80’s and 90’s are back! One popular element that is getting added back to a lot of new logos are gradients but with more subtlety. Gradients look great on screen but don’t always print well. Especially if you are printing with a set number of colors to use like 2. Gradients also do not translate as cleanly on promotional items or embroidery in clothing prints. This is something to definitely be aware of. Many logos that were created in the 80s and 90s were created without as many variations as we do today. Today, if you go to a good designer to create your logo, you should receive many formats that will allow your logo/brand to be completely cohesive on print and digital applications. (Such as full color logo files, 1 color versions, white version, and in some cases small print versions)

And one extra…

4. 

Missing Vector and high-resolution files
Many designers will attest to this as the bane of our existence. Have many times have you, as a designer, requested vector format or high-resolution logo files, only to be provided with a small thumbnail version and asking if you can make this work? Now this may not push you to immediately refresh or change your brand just because you are missing files, but here is something to consider. You should definitely invest the money to having high-resolution vector files of your logo no matter what. This provides you the freedom to implement your brand, without worry, onto digital, print, promotional, clothing and anything else you can think of that suits your company’s values. The places and materials where your brand can be implemented on has continues to increase and along with-it different techniques that require different file types that sometimes JPG or PNG files just don’t provide the printer with the best quality. If your logo is printed badly, if reflects on the values and morals of your company.