A well designed logo should serve you for many years as long as it’s relevant.
It’s more about what your logo represents than keeping up with design trends.
The main reason you might want to consider updating your logo design is to better reflect the evolution of your business, especially if you expand or contract your offering, and therefore change your position in the market.
A major shift in business activity might also demand a name change if your business name happened to include words to describe your key products or services; for example, “bob’s mowing” expands to become “bob’s garden and lawn services”.
You might make some tweaks to the design, colour palette or typeface every few years; though keep in mind that every logo change will mean you have to reprint everything that carries it, from stationery and signage to packaging and Promotional Products & Corporate Gifts.
Of course, if you change business location you’ll need to get some of your brand material refreshed anyway.
Expert Tip:
“How often you update your logo depends on the industry you’re in to some extent. If your customers are looking for the latest trends (e.g.: you sell skateboards) then you’ll want to refresh the branding on a shorter cycle than a business with traditional values (e.g.: you sell tailored clothes or financial products). Sometimes businesses are forced to change by what their competitors are doing, so they don’t look like they’re out of date and out of touch. Sometimes tweaks are needed to adapt a logo design for different mediums, such as mobile phones or video animations.”
Bruce Daly, Art Director, SMARTER BUSINESS IDEAS.
A good guideline is to refresh your logo whenever you change:
- Business direction
- Major offering/s (products/services)
- How your business is positioned in the market
- Your promise to your customers
- Mediums where your logo is used
Designers love opportunities to work up new logo ideas, but stop and think about whether your logo needs a major makeover or just a slight adjustment before you let them unleash their creative energies.
If your original logo was well designed and has performed well for you, then you risk losing a serious amount of brand equity by ditching the old for something new.
Remember that your logo is a symbol of what your business stands for – and what it represents in your customers’ hearts and minds – so a major design change can signal a major change of direction.
That’s ok if you really are changing direction, because it’s important your customers see you’ve grown up, but if you change your logo too frequently, it can look like you don’t know which way you’re going. Worse still, your customers might not come with you.
Most brands subtly evolve as the business grows so review how you’re using your branding regularly, but evolve gradually.
To speak to a qualified designer about the evolution of your brand identity, contact the team at Kwik Kopy today.
