To Rebrand is to Evolve, But for Your Business
I have owned a local web design business for a few years, called G Squared Studios, that I would consider relatively successful. I’ve had a steady stream of clients, via word of mouth, or those who have found me via search engines and local directories. I’ve designed logos for plenty of other businesses, but I’ve never been truly happy with my own brand.
It’s not that I haven’t gone through different concepts and reiterations. I’ve just that I’ve never been happy with any of them. I thought about another rebrand, but instead of doing it myself, I decided that I would bring in some help for a fresh perspective and an objective point of view.
I sought out the help of a friend, colleague and fellow local designer, Denver T. Stevens of Denver T. Stevens Creative. He’s been a professional graphic designer for roughly 15 years. One of his specialties is branding and developing a strong brand presence. He is the best one to help G Squared Studios rebrand.
A Dose of Honesty
I’ve branded my own businesses before. Design Crawl was easy, and so was Web Design Fanatic. The issue with G Squared Studio is that I’ve never developed it into a strong brand. I’ve never been happy with the logo. I knew that I had some sort of creative block. It was time I brought in an outside source for a fresh perspective.
It All Starts With The Logo
Without a strong logo, or one that I was happy with, my business was being held back. When you don’t have a strong logo, it makes it tough to develop a strong message of any kind. My last logo was weak. I used Infinity, which is a great modern typeface, but it’s super-thin. That’s terrible for a logo if you don’t combine it with a bold typeface. It gets lost when placed over images or on a dark background. In print, especially over business cards, it was even worse.
My New Logo
Denver T. Stevens presented the new logo concept, with a bold look and great colors. It’s fresh, but versatile. It just works on just about anything. It looks good in black and white, in color, over images, in white over a black background, etc. With a flexible new logo, I’ve been able to develop a strong message.
How It Fits Into My Existing Brand
Not only did Denver T. Stevens create a strong logo, he created one that fit well with my existing brand. It looks great on my existing website, and fits well with my fun, fresh design. It goes well with my existing imagery.
An Example
My goal is to build a far-reaching, strong brand, and to grow the social media following for my local business. The example above is the graphic I posted to Instagram, featuring my new logo and a list of great hashtags.
The results (which are still in progress) are eye-opening. I created a strong graphic and a simple, direct message to accompany it. I posted it at 5:15 Eastern time Saturday, and by 7:00pm, which is just under 2 hours so far, I have received 35 likes and 7 new followers. Keep in mind that this is a fairly new Instagram account whose total follower amount was only 45 before I posted this.
Rebranding Opens Doors to the Future
Now that I have a stronger logo, it opens the doors to more flexibility in the future. I have the ability to adapt the logo to different looks and different marketing materials to extend my reach and build my presence. Branding yourself is a great way to build a name for yourself and build recognition.
What I learned
Even though I am a professional designer, and have been for years, I greatly benefited from bringing in a professional designer to get a fresh perspective. Looking at things in a new light enables me to refocus my business.
Have you been considering a rebrand for your business? I’d love to hear about it, your concerns, thoughts, fears, etc. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the discussion area below.
