Five common questions that businesses ask about their brand identity.

Question 1
The alignment check: ‘do we look like us?’

This is the most common question for growing companies. The logo acquired during the startup phase rarely survives the transition to an enterprise business. As organisations mature, leaders often question if their branding matches their current market position, fearing that their current services are being undermined by an aging visual identity.

In this case study Caeli Nova tasked us with updating their visual identity, evolving the brand and defining a comprehensive set of design guidelines, a new website and marketing assets.

Question 2
The consistency check: ‘do we have a system, or just a logo?’

The second question centres on operational consistency, typically raised by marketing directors exhausted by visual chaos. When a brand lacks comprehensive identity guidelines, marketing materials inevitably turn into a patchwork quilt. This leads to internal confusion about why the brand looks one way on the website and completely different in sales documents. Or how to stop different departments from creating ‘rogue’ branding. It happens.

EnQuest’s brand guidelines had not been updated for ten years and needed a refresh to consolidate their visual identity. We reviewed and gathered up all of the brand assets for both internal and external use, and took the new guidelines online.

Question 3
The competitive check: ‘Why do we look like everyone else?’

Market pressure drives the third question. There’s a tendency to drift toward a ‘safe’ brand aesthetic (usually standard blues and sans-serif fonts) but this can too easily make a business blend in with others. Leaders start to ask why they look like everyone else and whether their visual identity positions them as the ‘safe choice’ or the ’risky’ one. If you realise that you’re starting to look like everyone else, and you want to create some stand-out, it’s time to reevaluate.

When Living Map briefed us, they wanted to energise their brand with an update and a refresh. This included a change to the logo, underpinned with a bold new colour palette and striking visual assets.

Question 4
The performance check: ‘Is this actually working?’

Business leaders view brand design as an investment, often asking questions about performance and ROI. They ask if branding is positively or negatively affecting engagement and conversion rates. Using tools and AI, we can measure the impact of brand identity through a combination of behavioural analytics, data and clicks – making measurable adjustments to maintain and improve hard-earned brand equity.

Question 5
The subjective check: ‘Does this feel right?’

The final question is the hardest to answer because it’s intangible, relying on ‘gut feel’ rather than data. As we all know, gut feelings are often the indicators when we know deep down that something’s not quite right. Some companies worry that they don’t look friendly enough. Others worry that they look too busy, or lack energy. But the most pervasive question of all is “Does this feel right?” (If you’re asking that, you likely already know the answer.)

When 1Life asked us to tackle their new brand styling, their brief was simple: “Make people smile”. Job done.