As a branding photographer, I preach that your brand foundation starts with who you are. The imagery that your business communicates with is one of the main influences of how your audience perceives your brand. Sometimes we need to change things up with a rebrand or a branding refresh.
Importance of Keeping Your Brand Up to Date
It’s been a few years since I had my brand identity done and my website updated. Ashley over at Monarch Design Co. did an amazing job on my logos, colours, and fonts and I still love them to this day.
As we grow personally, oftentimes so do our businesses – and it’s important that we have an up to date image of our brand. That includes images, messaging, typography, graphics, and logos. I’ve learned and grown a lot as a photographer and a business owner in the last two years. Even though I loved my branding, I knew that we needed to make some slight adjustments for it to reflect my current self. So, it was time for Ariana del Mundo photography to have a little branding refresh!
Rebrand vs Refresh
What is the difference between a rebrand and a refresh? It mostly depends on how much is going to be changed from the old to the new branding.
A rebrand is a comprehensive overhaul of your business’s identity. Many times there are fundamental changes that have been made like changing your target audience, or brand mission. When you make changes to your brand’s foundations, it is usually appropriate to overhaul your visual elements such as logos, colours, typography, website, and brand photos.
A brand refresh is usually more subtle. Often times you will “update” rather than “change” your logo. I loved the core design and feeling of my old logo. Alex made some adjustments like updating the typography, and changing my name from all capitals to title case. It was really important to me to keep the sun and stars motif. Alex kept the same idea but changed the position of the sun. We also decided to move from an oval shape to an arch for the main logo.
How Do I know if I need a Rebrand or a Refresh?
knowing if you need a full rebrand or a refresh, it really boils down to how much change your business has gone through (or will go through). Do a full reevaluation of your brand from top to bottom. Has your “why” changed dramatically? Has your aesthetic preferences changed? Do you have a new target audience? Have to shifted the way you do business? In general, if your core values, brand goals, target audience, and business direction have largely remain unchanged, you probably need a brand refresh. If you know that you will be making some major changes in your business, I would probably recommend a full rebrand. If your business does not yet have a brand identity (logos, brand colours, fonts, etc) then you would fall under the rebrand category.
New Branding Means Updated Photos
whichever route you decide to go (rebrand vs refresh), you will most likely also want updated branding photos. This is especially important if you will be updating your website with a refreshed colour palette. If your old branding photos are based off of your previous branding, they may look out of place. But don’t worry, that’s where I come in! Before we do your branding shoot, we’ll make sure we’ve done the proper planning. I’ll ensure that with good preparation we will make your images and branding stand out together!
If you’re ready for some updated branding photos, feel free to get in touch with me. If you need to do a rebrand or refresh first, you can contact my hubs Alex over at Hiraya Creative Co.!
