Making sure your branding elements align after those, “tiny changes.”
Have you ever thought, “let me make this one little change,” only to find yourself with a brand new design 30 minutes later? Maybe it is just me, and actually that is exactly what I did last week on a client’s home page.
Check out this video where I share the whole embarrassing tale…
Spring Spruce Up coffee chat! Today I’m sharing an embarrassing little tale of branding and how lucky I am to have a client like Susie Seals Buck!
Posted by Teresa Schlup, Web Design on Wednesday, 17 April 2019
Video Recap
I had recently helped her design a new business card for an expo she was set to attend, and in the process of doing so we came up with a whole new logo design. Which is gorgeous and a much better representation of her brand. Being the good web designer I immediately update her website with the new logo.
My happy client took her new logo and new design and had her business cards printed. A few days later I was on her site doing some updates and I began to notice how the home page didn’t really flow so well with the new logo design. So I decided to make “one little” change… and 20 minutes my client has a whole new home page.
Slightly embarrassed that I lost creative control I called my client, completely prepared to put everything back to where it belonged. Thankfully this client has always given me creative license and she loved the new home page. But the whole situation got me thinking about branding and how those “tiny little changes” can make a big impact on the image we share with the world.
I know better than this…
I would not typically have changed out a logo I created on the fly so quickly, and I definitely wouldn’t have started designing a new home page in live mode. But we all have those moments were we get caught up in “to-dos” and forget our own best practices.
Having recognizable branding elements helps you be more recognizable to the world. We all know this, and start out our business brand with the best intentions in mind. But over time we all make little tweaks and changes, that if we don’t take a step back and look at our branding as a whole can really make everything look like a huge mess.
So today I wanted to share with you 3 tips to keep your branding elements aligned
1. Changing your logo…
Before you swap out the old for the new take a private look at how your new design looks with the rest of your branding materials. Does it look great on your website. Not just good enough, but truly great. Do the colors of my logo match the colors you use in your branding. Does that font blend well with the fonts used in your website, business printables and other branding materials.
2. Updating photos…
Changing photos on your website is a great way to make updates that keeps your website looking fresh and new without having to do a full redesign. But like with the logo change you want to make sure those new images look great in your website. Do the colors compliment each other or clash? Does the story that image tell connect with the story you are telling on your website? Does it look genuine or a little too posed.
3. Refreshing colors…
Never ever, ever settle for “close enough” colors. I have an organization I have worked with in the past who once upon a time did this and they now have about 30 colors of purple representing their brand. A bit hard to recognize them when their purple is all over the spectrum. Take the time to do a little color matching and identify your signature colors. My favorite resource to do this at is color-hex.com, which shares with you all the technical details of your colors so that you are always matched and never “close enough.”