5 Signs You Need a New Logo

Have you ever thought about refreshing your logo? One of the hardest things to figure out is timing. "How do I know if my logo isn't as effective as it once was?" "Should I wait until my company is more established before I invest in a new logo?" "People already know our logo; can we really change it?"

Today we'll take a look at the 5 most popular signs it's time to refresh your brand. Does one of these sound a bit too familiar?

1. You're business has changed

If your company’s name is changing, this may be an obvious one. But, what if your business is just making a shift in direction or it's acquiring another business? What if you’re expanding to a new audience? There are countless ways your business can experience a major change, and it might be a sign that you've outgrown your current logo.

Be sure to reevaluate your logo and brand after big changes like this. If it doesn't represent what your current business is about, it's time to consider rebranding.

2. Your logo is outdated

Even the worlds most successful brands refresh their logo every 10-15 years. Sometimes a logo refresh can be a complete redesign or just subtle tweaks. But, if you’re not a designer, how do you know if your logo is out of date?

One of the easiest ways would be to ask a designer you trust for their honest opinion about your logo. But, if you don't have a designer handy, try comparing your current logo with logos released in the past couple years. What's different stylistically?

Some clear signs of an outdated logo are 3D effects, shadow gradients, more than 2-3 colors and way too much detail. Does your logo have any of those characteristics?

3. Your logo was a do-it-yourself project

A lot of businesses just starting out do pretty much everything themselves to keep expenses down. If you're one of those bootstrappers, way to go! You handled your own bookkeeping and taxes, called your uncle the attorney for free legal advice and created your own logo.

But, as your business has grown and you needed things in place to keep moving smoothly, finding a CPA and an attorney were clear necessities. Does your logo still reflect those bootstrapping days?

Your logo is your company's most recognizable feature. Now that you have some experience under your belt and are going after bigger and better clients, it may be time to get a more professional look that's professionally designed with your audience in mind.

4. It's not as appealing as your competition's

Keep your friends close and your "competition" closer.

Just like with any part of business, it's important to keep a close eye on your competitors. If you see them rebranding and building out their marketing, you'll want to stay on top of things so you don't loose your position in the market. Your current client base and growth rate is never guaranteed.

5. It looks too generic or cliche

One of the most important things your logo should do is set you apart from the other options in your industry. But if your photography company features a camera lens as your logo or your construction company features rooftops, it will easily fade into the noise of all the similar logos out there.

Some other styles to avoid are the company acronym cut in two by an arc, an acronym in square boxes, the company's name in a circle or abstract people in a circle. Many of these styles tend to flood the crowdsource logo design websites because they are easy to create by simply dropping in a different company name.