Every organization has a brand. A brand is generally thought of as a promise. That promise is to make good things happen.
A brand is much broader than a logo. The brand is the key message confluence of images, slogans, colors and feelings.
Organizations sometimes underestimate the value of brand equity. Brand equity is basically the name recognition associated with the brand, as well as the trust and confidence placed in the brand.
If a brand is tarnished or out of step with the times, rebranding is often a good idea.
When a group rebrands, to whatever degree the previous branding was positive, the organization will need to rebuild new brand equity. Hopefully the new brand will quickly exceed the value of the old brand.
As the world has seen recently, branding changes can be disruptive to existing institutions.
A case in point is Cracker Barrel. I don’t know if they tried to change the brand or just the logo. Everything they did with the logo was consistent with what you would expect for a modern corporation. They probably did everything right with consultants and surveys, etc. The big mistake that they made was not understanding their new audience. I am sure it was very costly and painful.
When board members think about a brand, they generally think about the logo. Though the logo and colors are just a part of what makes up a brand, the remainder of this article will focus on logos and colors.
A board member may say out of the blue that they don’t like the logo and colors and the organization should rebrand. That might happen at a board retreat. It may be an excellent idea or it may be a very bad idea. For sure it will cost money, and there are risks.
There is, of course, the cost of the rebranding process, but also the cost of changing websites and promotional merchandise. A logo change by itself can be very expensive when you take everything into account.
Logo changes will, however, build engagement because changing the logo and colors is something that everybody wants to weigh in on.
Often when the subject of logo design comes up, somebody says “let’s have a contest.” Unless the contest is among professional graphic designers, it will most likely result in failure. If you’re going to redesign a logo, have somebody do it who knows what they’re doing.
Decades ago, before the invention of digital printing, organizations tended to have logos that were bold and solid colors. The solid colors were required because much of the printing that was done was two color – black and another primary color. Banners used to be made using cut vinyl. The font selections were extremely limited.
Today there are ways to have gradient images, as well as colors that are more unusual. There are scores of fonts to choose from. The question is should a group go with some of the newer ways of approaching logos?
There is no right or wrong answer here, but my preference is still to advise groups to go with solid highly visible colors, not necessarily primary. I also advise against gradients, screens. I recommend timeless and simple, bold fonts, with legibility being a big factor.
I also recommend one or two colors in addition to black. Colors should be clearly visible on a black or white background. Pale colors or yellow are not generally good choices except perhaps for accents.
Some organizations like to have merchandise with their logo. A well designed logo will look good on a black or white background in full color or in white on a dark background or black on a colored background.
Merchandise doesn’t generally come in non-standard colors. If your organization wants to have everyone, for example, wear a certain color on a certain day, it helps if that color is one that is readily available to all. Both of these considerations reinforce the value of mainstream solid colors.
My best advice is don’t jump into a rebranding or logo redesign without considering the cost vs the benefit.
