Visual identity redesign: when to start and how to get it right

There comes a moment in a company's life when you start apologizing for your image. You warn people before sending a brochure, you redo visuals by hand for a trade show, you avoid showing the website to an important new client. It is usually the sign that it is time to think about a visual identity redesign.

You still have to do it for the right reasons, and in the right way.

The signs it's time for a change

The company has changed, its image hasn't. New offer, new markets, moving upmarket, going international: the identity was created for another stage. It still tells the story of who you were.

The image no longer holds up against the competition. Your competitors have evolved theirs and you suddenly look dated, or interchangeable. With equal service, image is often what makes the difference in a client's mind.

The identity no longer works on today's channels. An overly detailed logo that is illegible on mobile, a typeface with no web version, colors that do not work on screen: an identity designed for paper often suffers in digital.

Nobody applies the same rules. Every document has its own version of the logo, every presentation its own colors. Without a clear system, the brand gets diluted with every new piece.

A merger, a new subsidiary, a new name. Structural changes are natural moments to rethink the overall image.

On the other hand, being tired of your logo is not a good reason. Your teams see the identity every day. Your clients, much less. What feels worn out to you is often, to them, simply familiar.

Evolution or revolution?

Not all redesigns are alike. The first decision is how far to go.

• Evolution keeps the recognizable foundations (a shape, a color, a name) and modernizes them. It is the safest path when the brand is well known and has a loyal clientele.

• Revolution starts almost from scratch. It is justified when the current image is holding you back, when the company is changing profoundly, or when it never really had a built identity.

There is a whole range in between. What matters is knowing what your clients recognize and appreciate today, before deciding to change it.

“A good redesign doesn't make people forget who you were. It finally shows who you've become.”

The steps of a successful redesign

1. Understand before you draw. Interviews with leadership and teams, a look at the competition, listening to a few clients. We look for what must stay, what must change, and why.

2. Set the brand strategy. Who the brand speaks to, what it promises, how it speaks, what makes it different. This foundation guides every creative decision. Without it, you pick a trendy logo and start over three years later.

3. Explore several directions. Two or three contrasting creative directions, shown in real situations: on the website, on social media, on a business card, on signage. You do not judge a logo alone on a white background.

4. Build a complete system. The logo and its variations, palette, typefaces, photo style, iconography, layout grid, editorial tone. It is this system that makes the brand consistent, far more than the logo alone.

5. Write the rules. Clear brand guidelines, usable by your teams and your partners, with concrete examples of what to do and what not to do.

6. Roll out in the right order. The website, social media and sales materials first, because they are what your clients see most. Signage and printed materials next, as they get renewed.

Costly mistakes

Deciding by committee. Everyone adds a preference, and the result ends up displeasing no one, without truly pleasing anyone either.

Following a passing trend. What looks modern today can look dated very quickly. An identity must first be right for your brand.

Forgetting digital. An identity has to work small, in motion, on light and dark backgrounds, in an app icon as well as on a storefront.

Launching without warning. A change of image deserves an explanation, for your clients as much as your teams. Without one, some may not recognize you.

Where to start

Gather all your current materials on a table, physical or virtual: website, social media, presentations, documents, signage. Look at them together. Do they tell the same brand story? Do they tell the story of who you are today?

If the answer is no, now is the right time to talk about it. At ODi7, our identity and branding projects always start with strategy, so the image that comes out is your company's, and not just a reflection of the moment.