Freshening up your brand doesn’t have to mean a complete overhaul. Here are five easy ways to refresh your brand without hiring a professional.
Is your brand feeling a little tired? Perhaps you’re finding yourself scrolling through Pinterest or Instagram for brand inspiration a little more often these days?
But here’s the problem.
The idea of going through a total rebrand isn’t in the cards. So what’s a business owner to do?
Have no fear, dear friends.
I’ve rounded up five easy ways YOU (yes, you!) can freshen up your brand visuals and bring a little more excitement into your brand identity.
In This Article
>> What’s the difference between a refresh and a rebrand?
>> How do you know if it’s time for a refresh?
>> Update the image(s) on your website
>> Select a new accent color
>> Update your social media/Pinterest templates
>> Update your font
>> Add a new brand pattern or texture to graphics
>> My number one brand refresh tip
What’s the difference between a refresh and a rebrand?
When we think about the Witt and Company definition of a brand, it’s how people think, feel and act in regards to your business’s identity.
Given this thought, a rebrand is intentionally changing those thoughts, feelings and actions. More often than not, this is done by updating the brand’s strategy, messaging and visuals.
A refresh is more of a quick update, most often to the visuals, while staying within the guidelines of the overall brand strategy, message and identity.
How do you know if it’s time for a refresh?
I’m a big believer in listening to your gut. But on a more tactical level, how does your current brand make you feel? Does it evoke the type of feelings you want people to experience when they come in contact with your brand? And last but not least, are you excited to show up for your brand?
If any of the responses to the above questions are not in line with what you want, it might be time for a refresh.
The benefit of going through a refresh, especially digging into the five updates outlined below, is that it’s a low-cost investment. Both in time and money. So, if you’re really not feelin’ your current brand visuals, why not tweak a few things and see what happens?
This also is a great way to dip your toe into whether or not a full rebrand is your best option. If you freshen up the identity and realize you’re still missing the mark, it’s probably a sign that an entire rebrand would be a good fit for your business.
Refresh idea: Update the image(s) on your website with new brand photography
It’s an obvious one but photos can play such a large role in your overall aesthetic and brand experience, which means the relatively simple task of updating your website images can have a big impact!
Ideally, updating your images would mean getting custom brand photos taken. Mainly because they’ll be 100% your own – meaning you won’t see them somewhere else. However, that’s not always feasible and/or the quickest option. So, stock photos are another way to go.
Here are a few of my favorite sites:
Unsplash (free)
Pixabay (free)
Moyostudio (paid)
Hautestock (paid)
Adobe Stock (paid)
Refresh idea: Select a new accent color
Let me preface this one with a little disclaimer: if you worked with a designer, a lot of thought and care went into creating your brand’s color palette and accent color(s).
When I work with clients, I provide four colors and if we usually stick with one or two as the accent color for the website – this is used for things like buttons, headings, sections, etc. So, when we talk about implementing a new accent color, it’s best to select something from your existing palette.
This can be as simple as changing the background of the call-to-action buttons on your site or the color of your heading text on social media graphics.
I’ll repeat this one more time for the people in the back: Make sure you’re staying within your brand’s color scheme so everything stays cohesive.
Refresh idea: Update your social media/Pinterest templates
As a business owner, there’s a high likelihood you’re hanging out on social media. And whether it’s Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or Twitter, chances are you use some sort of template for sharing your content online.
So let me ask, when was the last time you switched up those social graphics? If you’re cycling through the same three or four templates, it might be time for a change.
This can be as simple or complex as you’d like.
You can start entirely from scratch and create something new, on your own or by hiring it out. You can tweak the placement of text/images/graphics on what you are already working with. Or, you can buy templates on Creative Market or Etsy and update them to stay aligned with your brand. The goal is to understand what’s working and what’s not with the current template and then update accordingly.
Refresh idea: Update your font
Most of the time, when you receive your recommended typography (your heading, subheading, body font), you’ll stick with a certain style of font.
Sidenote: Typeface is the name of the collection (i.e., Roboto) and font is the style within each collection (i.e., weight, widgth and style).
Which means, another easy update is to change the style of the font that you’re using. This does not mean changing the typeface or font family, but rather the style of the font. Especially if you worked with a designer – a lot of thought and care went into deciding that specific typeface.
What this could look like: Update the capitalization and go with all caps or all lowercase. Or, change the weight of the font and go with ultra bold or lightweight for eye-catching contrast. You can even try going from regular to italicized.
Refresh Idea: Add a new brand pattern or texture to graphics
First, I think brand patterns and textures are two of the most underutilized elements of a brand identity. They’re such a great way to accentuate the brand’s personality and really customize the entire aesthetic.
This makes the list because it can be a relatively simple way to refresh your brand. Similar to your brand photos, a brand pattern or texture doesn’t have to be custom. There are some great stock options that you can purchase. Adobe Stock is one of my favorites and they have tons of options to choose from!
My number one brand refresh tip
Breathing a little more life into your brand visuals is not only possible but it can also revive your excitement in showing for your brand. However, the key is to stay aligned with your brand’s overall strategy. Said another way – it’s important to keep the entire experience in mind when you’re updating these various design elements.
For example, if your brand personality is bold, bright and excitable, changing your font style from a bold heading to a light, lowercase font would probably not be the best choice because the change doesn’t align with the desired experience.
And of course, when you’re ready for a full rebrand, we’d love to help you out – learn more about our brand design services here!
Happy branding!
Additional Resources
Think you need more than a refresh? Check out this post on how to know when it’s time to rebrand your business.
Interested in how to incorporate a pattern/texture into your brand? Check out this blog post!
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