A logo rebrand is a chance to reinvent how your brand identity looks and feels. 

Most companies go through a logo rebrand at some point. In some cases, it can take a few weeks and cost a few hundred or thousands. For much larger brands, a rebrand should be carefully considered, and can take months and cost 6 or more figures. 

Getting a logo rebrand right is important. It consumes resources like getting a website designed and built because it’s part of how your company represents itself. 

In this article, we look at what’s involved in successfully rebranding, including some useful best practices. 

What is a logo rebrand? 

A rebrand is a process. It shapes how a company presents itself to the world. In most cases, this goes beyond a new logo. 

A rebrand should involve updating the logo, color schemes, fonts, the website design (user experience), and messaging. It’s important to undertake a message refresh at the same time, especially if your core messaging hasn’t been updated since your last logo was developed. 

Messaging work should be delivered by an experienced writer, someone skilled in creating brands from scratch. The logo, on the other hand, should be worked on by an experienced designer. 

Doing these in-house is rarely the right approach. You need to work with people who don’t know your company. People who aren’t influenced by internal politics or other considerations. Freelancers or agencies are the best partners when going through a rebrand. 

When is the right time for a rebrand? 

For most small and mid-size businesses, a logo and branding are part of what makes a company unique. Your logo should set you apart, alongside your color scheme, unique selling point (USP), and other unique identifiers. 

The longer you’ve been in business, especially if you’ve been going, the more likely you are to need a rebrand. If you started with the same logo ten years ago, then it’s probably time.

Here are a few well-known indicators for judging when a rebrand is needed: 

• Branding feels outdated: the branding, fonts, and color palettes that worked 5 or 10 years ago no longer work. It will feel outdated, the same way that if you look at a logo of a popular brand from over 10 years ago, it feels old, unsuitable for the times. If your logo is older than that, then it will feel even more outdated. A bit of a brand refresh every 5 years usually makes sense, and a new logo every 10+ years.

• You’re now operating in new markets and regions: Companies with an international presence can benefit from reflecting that in their logos. The act of moving into new regions could be a useful time to update the logo or work with new customer groups (ICPs).

• Merging (or recently merged with another company): Merging, whether your company is being acquired or you’ve been bought, is another good reason for a logo refresh. Even if that merger is in the form of a management buyout. Your company is growing. Growth requires a fresh new look, especially if you’ll be scaling further as a result of this merger.

• You’ve recently suffered reputational damage: another reason for a refreshed logo is when your company has. A rebrand can serve as one of several signals that the company is leaving the past behind, learning from any mistakes made, and moving in a new direction.

• Launching new products or services: An equally good reason to rebrand is if you’re launching a significant new product or service. Make sure you’ve got some market traction first. Then take another positive step forward by rebranding, and let your innovation shine. 

What to avoid when doing a logo rebrand? 

One of the easiest things to avoid, with a bit of work, seems to be the trap that too many brands fall into: Adopting a flat, plain, easily forgettable look. 

Take a look at what’s been happening to luxury fashion labels since 2017 onwards:

“From 2017 onward, a quiet (and oddly uniform) revolution began to take place in luxury branding. One by one, storied houses like Yves Saint Laurent (now just “Saint Laurent”), Burberry, and Celine stripped their logos of all heritage and flair.

The result? A luxury sector that once stood for individuality now looks like a startup incubator.

Gone were the delicate serifs, calligraphic signatures, or nods to tradition. Instead, we’ve got what can only be described as Fashion Helvetica.”

We can say the same of the tech sector:

Assuming you want to look different from competitors, it’s important that the team or agency doing this work reviews what other brands look like in your sector. 

Looking the same, especially with similar fonts and color schemes, is a disadvantage. Standing out means looking different, so be careful when rebranding to avoid this mistake. 

For example, Rosenbaum Meier Personal Injury Lawyers is a NY-based firm that represents itself well with a modern, refreshing logo. 

How to do a logo rebrand successfully? 8 best practice guidelines 

1. Know what your “why” is before rebranding1. Know what your “why” is before rebranding

• Start with “why”, which is actually several “whys”, including  but not limited to: 
• Why do we need a logo rebrand? Make sure you’ve got one or more good reasons for undertaking this first (see the list above)
• Why and what needs to change? Have an idea, but have a designer, branding consultant, or agency shape the process. Don’t go into a rebrand with a fixed idea of exactly how you want it to look. 
• How do we want to portray ourselves? 
• What message does our branding want to share with the world, and in particular, our ideal customers and target audience? 

Those are a good starting point. But this is an iterative process, so there’s more work to do next. 

2. Make sure your logo aligns with your ICPs

Your logo needs to make a visual connection with your ideal customer profiles (ICPs). 

In other words, your clients and customers. The people that every business depends on. 

A logo is a visual connection to your ICPs. Logos are designed to visually convey your company’s values, USP, and strengths. 

For example, one of the best Houston truck accident law firms, Baumgartner Law Firm, has a logo that suits its brand well. 

Business Insurance USA is in an industry where its logo matters, and it works well for its practice by being professional yet unique. 

3. Align with your core values and brand purpose 

Branding is as much about purpose and values as it is colors and fonts. 

Make sure this new branding aligns with your core values and brand purpose. Work with a designer who understands the psychological significance of color and how people respond to certain colors. 

Make sure every aspect fits with the brand you’ve already got and the goals you’ve got for the business. 

This might also involve a website redesign. Or certainly, upgrading some of the colors and visuals throughout your website. For those with a WordPress website, customizing your theme is one of the most effective ways to implement a smooth and quick rebrand. 

4. Aim for simplicity (but avoid bland, and looking the same as everyone else)

Overly complex logos aren’t really fashionable anymore. As we can see from the simple versions of fashion and tech logos further up this article. 

However, you don’t want to go so simple that your brand disappears. Don’t oversimplify your logo; otherwise, you risk being bland, easy to forget, and looking identical to every other brand in your sector. 

For example, a logo is rarely the deciding factor in the legal world, but a well-designed logo does help when choosing the best criminal defense attorney in LA. 

5. Think multi-channel versatility 

A logo rebrand is not just a JPG, PNG, or other file format in a few different versions. Doing a rebrand properly means your new logo is equipped for: 

• Digital, especially your website 
• Every social channel 
• Any documents the logo is going to be on
• Print, especially if you use print sales materials and business cards 
• Banners and stands, especially if you attend events, expos, and shows 
• Even digital adverts, and any print ones (if you do that)
• Vehicle designs (again, if you have any)

Your new logo and branding need to be versatile and able to be used across everything you want and need your branding on. 

6. Invest as much time and money as needed (without overdoing it: think back to “why”)

A logo redesign doesn’t have to be time-consuming or expensive. However, because your logo is an important part of your brand identity, don’t do it on the cheap, either. 

Avoid “race to the bottom” designers on marketplaces, and stay clear of anything AI-generated. 

Work with a professional designer. Someone who understands everything that needs to go into and come out of a redesign. They need to provide you with a complete set of brand guidelines, not just a JPG in a few different formats. 

A logo redesign needs to reflect the strength and values of the company it represents. 

Like the Zehl & Associates logo: crisp, clean, and clear. 

7. Retain brand equity 

A rebrand doesn’t mean you need to throw away your entire brand identity. For many brands, this is a chance to refresh how you look and feel. 

Refresh, but don’t change everything completely. Even if it’s only in the color scheme, keep some of the old logo’s brand equity as you move forward with the new one. 

SEO and, now, GEO marketing are integral parts of any rebrand exercise. If you don’t want or can’t do this in-house, take a look at some of the options for the best SEO firms for lawyers. 

Don’t forget web hosting when rebranding, especially if you’re changing your business name and, therefore, website address. You’ll need to ensure that redirections are handled correctly to avoid losing search rankings and web traffic. 

8. Look to the future 

Alongside retaining brand equity, you equally need to look to the future. A rebrand is a bridge. Moving from how your company used to look to the outside to how you want it to look. 

A successful rebrand crosses that bridge. Transforming your brand into something more modern, innovative, and forward-looking. 

Key takeaways: Logo rebrands 

• Logo rebrands are about much more than simple logos 
• A rebrand is a chance to refresh and upgrade your entire visual and messaging identity 
• Make sure the new branding aligns with everything important, especially your ICPs.