Design once.

Adapt often

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As designers we're always keen to work on the development of a new logo or brand for clients, but did you know that we also get excited about a brand refresh? For those of you who might not know the difference, here’s a brief overview.

Refresh vs. Redesign

A brand refresh gives your brand a new look and feel but retains many of its core elements. It might involve small stylistic changes usually to a logo whereby a different colour, tweaked message or modern update is applied. Essentially, a brand refresh will enable you to connect better with a new audience or align with a changing marketplace. It preserves the integrity of the existing brand while making it more relevant to a wider audience.

A brand redesign is a complete overhaul of your brand’s image. It very often involves creating a completely new logo, strapline, messaging and visuals where there have been major changes to the core purpose, values or ownership, types of products or services. Essentially a brand redesign will enable you to appeal to a drastically different audience, help you to re-establish yourself or create fresh new associations for your audience.

A brand refresh… preserves the integrity of the existing brand while making it more relevant to a wider audience.

Changing the way your logo looks

One example of a logo refresh is the project we carried out for Libby Langley, who specialises in creating social media strategies for small businesses. Libby’s existing logo previously incorporated the colour green. This was a nod to the agency she had previously founded. However, she no longer felt that she needed to have this historical association.

Overall, Libby liked her existing logo but felt it needed to be updated. She wanted to keep the LL in some form and not throw out all the current elements, except perhaps the colour green. In fact, she was quite keen to stress that what she was after was “a duster, rather than a deep clean!” This is a phrase that we absolutely love. (Have a feeling it might crop up again in the future when we’re discussing rebrands or refreshes with other clients!)

Libby's existing logo prior to our involvement

The new logo after our 'brand refresh' project

Evolving the brand

We worked on a range of evolutions, some of which were closer to Libby’s existing logo as well as a selection of more radical designs. In addition, we created full colour versions with a blend of her three favoured colours, as well as single colour versions that could be used as standalone icons.

Libby was happy with our options and selected one straightaway. The before and after pictures clearly highlight the logo improvements, which mainly consist of the following:

Incorporation of a new strapline

Use of a circle rather than a square

Combination of new colours

Unsure about whether you need a brand refresh or a rebrand? Choose a creative partner who will take the time to understand what you want to achieve and then work with you to get the right results.

Individual icons created as part of brand refresh project

Individual icons created as part of brand refresh project

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