When your company's brand feels outdated, invisible and no longer reflects the strategy and goals of your organization, it's time to update it.

You've been given the responsibility of leading the process, and the framework for the budget has already been set. But how do you go about doing this in the best possible way and achieving good results?

Let's turn that on its head instead: What should you absolutely not do? In this article, we'll look at which decisions will cost you dearly and yield the least amount of benefit in the process. With this angle, we can help you steer clear of the biggest pitfalls.

Throwing yourself into it

Throw yourself into it with skin and hair. There's no point hesitating. Fonts, colors and design elements can't be that complicated, can they? After all, you know what you like when you see it. You don't need to have a plan for a rebrand, as long as it's new - that's the most important thing, right?

But branding is like driving a car. If you aim for the ditch, you'll end up there. But if you keep your eyes on the road and the horizon, you'll stay on the right track and arrive safely. When it comes to making a change to your brand, it's crucial to have a clear goal in front of you. This goal is the key to success.

There can be many reasons why you want to rebrand. It's important to be clear about your reasons. The reasons will also define the goals to be achieved through the process:

If you've become invisible in the market, drowning among a bunch of similar competitors, the goal is to create differentiation.

If the company has decided to expand its portfolio of offerings, and thus reach a new target group, the current expression may not be suitable for this.

If the brand has slipped a bit and a jumble of expressions have been used externally, it may be time to clean up and do some maintenance.

Whatever the reason, it's essential to define your goals in advance. Setting clear goals gives you a direction to follow throughout the process. These goals act as reference points that prevent you from taking unnecessary detours. Everyone knows that time is money, and avoiding missteps saves both time and frustration.

Being unclear on process

Everyone knows that designers are mind readers. They know what you want, what they need to deliver and what kind of follow-up you need. Isn't that their job, then? You don't need to spend any time creating a project plan with requirements for the deliverables. The agency always has that under control. Haven't they done that before?

When starting a redesign process, it's crucial to understand the importance of clarifying expectations and requirements. As the old saying goes, "You get what you ask for". Being unclear and starting without clear guidelines can lead to confusion and complications.

A clear and detailed brief acts as a roadmap for the redesign process. It gives everyone involved a shared understanding of the project's goals, scope and timeline. Investing time in a thorough brief is an important investment in the success of the project and helps avoid unnecessary challenges.

Defining the deliverables is the first step. What do you expect the redesign project to include? Specify which elements need changes and define what the deliverable should contain. For example, what do you expect from the deliverable?

Get to know the team responsible for the project. Understand who is responsible for different areas. This way, you'll also know who to contact if questions arise and ensure an efficient exchange of information.

Timing is critical. If a date has been set for the launch of the new brand, you can plan backwards from that date. Divide the project into phases and agree on partial deliverables from the agency. This ensures a structured process and ensures that tasks are completed as expected.

Assuming the designers understand you

How hard can it be to make something that is "pretty much the same, just a little cooler. A little more modern"? You're like most people, so it must be easy to understand what you mean when you give feedback?

The term "modern" is a good example of how interpretations can vary. If someone asks you to explain what the term means, the images that pop into your head will be based on your background, personal references and preferences. Another person might have completely different associations. The same goes for the degree of change. Change itself can be experienced very differently, and what someone perceives as a small or large change can vary drastically from person to person.

Even with a thorough brief and insight phase, there is room for many interpretations of the same term. It is therefore essential to clarify what is meant by terms like this.

Just letting the agency do its thing

You know what you like. So why can't the creatives just make 4-5 suggestions and then you choose the best one when it's ready to launch? Maybe with a slightly different color tone? After all, the agency are the experts, right?

Having avoided the initial pitfalls, it seems like everything should go smoothly from here. Your agency's creative team is now deep into the process, working their magic. It can be tempting to let them work undisturbed while you focus on other ongoing tasks and look forward to seeing the results.

It's a common misconception that the visual identity change process is all about what the creatives do in their corner, and that there's a big unveiling later when things are done. Redesigning your visual identity requires you to be involved every step of the way. While a clear objective and brief provides a solid start to the process, it's important not to let go there.

You may want to give the designers time to prepare a good proposal for a rebrand before you meet after the initial phase is done. But it's important to strike a balance, as hours and costs can fly by really quickly. It's better to have shorter intervals between these meetings than to wait too long. At the same time, you need to balance the times so that they don't have a negative impact on the process.

Including the wrong people

People LOVE change, so the more people you involve in the redesign, the better the result. Everyone should have a say! Everyone's opinion on the design expression is valid and it's just silly not to let every decision be made with voting and internal arguments.

Anchoring IS important, but once the design process is underway you need to be very careful not to derail the whole project.

Of course, you can't wait to see the result and show it to your colleagues. It's understandable, everyone needs to support this exciting shift in the company's identity. But getting everyone to agree on a design expression is impossible. Many people are quick to draw in personal tastes and preferences, forgetting that this is about the brand, not personal aesthetics. As the saying goes, "design by large comittée is pretty sh**ty.

For the process to be successful and to arrive at a final solution, it is important not to show draft designs to just anyone. In particular, you should avoid involving people who have neither expertise nor knowledge of the strategy. By all means, don't involve "the keeper's neighbor and cousin".

Decision-makers who have an impact on the brand need to be involved every step of the way. It's essential. If you ignore this, you could experience unpleasant surprises at the end, or even after launch, and end up back at square one. Needless to say, but then everything becomes twice as expensive.

A small group of selected employees who have been given the mandate and trust to drive the process are the ones who must drive and own it. In a company, you usually know who and which roles will have strong opinions about an identity. If they will make a lot of noise and prolong the process, it's better to involve them from the start. Once they are on board, you have strong ambassadors who can influence and engage the entire organization. Everyone involved needs to understand the scope of the task and the goals set in the brief.

Business leaders and decision-makers are often busy people who are difficult to include in all meetings. If they can't participate in all phases, they should be continuously briefed and informed by middle management about key milestones in the process.

Key takeaways

When you're faced with the task of redesigning your brand, it's a complex process that requires careful planning and management. This article has explored the common pitfalls that can crop up along the way and how to avoid them.

Having clear goals and a clear brief is crucial to setting the right course from the start. It helps you avoid the dangerous missteps that can lead to costly delays and frustration.

By maintaining consistent communication with your agency throughout the process, you can ensure you're on the right track and avoid unexpected challenges. Including decision-makers and ensuring their involvement is also critical to achieving consensus and support within the organization.

One last pitfall: Not choosing Mission

Why on earth would you choose Mission? They're far too good and far too nice. They will ask so many good questions about what you want to achieve that it will be impossible to fill the brand with anything other than meaning and direction and all that nonsense, No, physically, it must be possible to get something that just looks a bit nice!

It's important to choose the right agency for your brand. The importance of good chemistry between brand and design agency is actually quite underestimated. After all, we're going in the same direction. So it helps to be confident in each other. Confident enough to challenge in the right way.

At Mission, we can help you redesign and strengthen your brand. Whatever challenges you're facing, we're here to provide you with the expertise and guidance you need to succeed with your brand. Whether you're ready for a complete redesign or just need advice along the way.