Having a brand is kind of like having curtain bangs…once in a while you need a little touch-up to keep things looking fresh. Whether you’ve been in business a while and are feeling like your look is a bit off or are just looking for a refresh, this post is for you.

Because the reality is, less is often more! If you look at the evolution of popular brand logos like Starbucks, you’ll see that they often get simpler and simpler as time goes on. Part of that is related to the trends in modern design, but simplicity is a cornerstone of timeless design that will be an asset to your brand.

The image below from PBB Creative does a great job of showcasing how even in its simplest state, all of these brand logos are recognizable as the real thing. That helps with the overall memorability of the brand, which bulids customer trust and loyalty.

As a brand, it's important to ensure that your brand's design remains fresh and relevant. Outdated branding can hinder your business's growth and fail to capture the attention of your target audience. In this blog post, we'll guide you through the process of assessing whether your brand design needs a refresh. We'll also provide actionable tips and insights on how to revitalize your design using Canva, a powerful and user-friendly platform for DIY brand design.

Signs of Outdated Brand Design

Fonts

• Legibility Matters: Check if your chosen fonts are easily readable, especially in smaller sizes or on different backgrounds. A general rule of thumb for body copy is 16 pt text. This is such an important part of making your brand easily accessible to all audiences.

• Outdated Font Styles: Avoid using fonts that give your brand an old-fashioned look or lack visual appeal.

• Combat Font Overload: Reduce the number of fonts you use to maintain a clean and cohesive design.

• Be Cautious of Text Effects: Dimension is fun, but use it wisely so you don’t end up with a wordmark that resembles these Word Art designs that probably bring you back to high school.

Colors

• Relevance and Resonance: Evaluate if your brand colors align with current design trends and effectively communicate your brand's message.

• Ditch Outdated Color Combinations: Update your color palette to ensure it reflects contemporary aesthetics and harmonizes with your brand identity.

• Ensure Colors are Accessible: While you’re at it, make sure the colors you’re using for text has enough contrast with the background for maximum legibility. I recommend using a color contrast checker like this one from Coolors.

Logo

• Complexity Check: Assess if your logo appears overly complex or detailed, potentially making it difficult to scale or recognize across different mediums.

• Streamline for Modernization: Simplify your logo by removing unnecessary elements and focusing on a clean, versatile design. In the example above where I showed the WordArt, notice how a lot of the designs rely on gradients and color effects. Reserve fun treatments like that for one-off designs (like using a gradient as a background for a design!) rather than in your logo. A successful logo should be able to be viewed in color and black and white.

• Reflect Current Design Trends: Consider if your logo's design aligns with contemporary aesthetics or feels out of touch with your target audience.

• Ensure Scalability: Test the visibility and clarity of your logo when scaled down to smaller sizes, simplifying intricate details as needed.

You can see how Starbucks applied the changes I mentioned above in their logo iterations over time. The fine detail in the first logo wasn’t very scalable and didn’t have a very modern feel. The addition of the green and simpler shapes in 1987 really energized the brand.

When you hop forward to 1992, the siren has been simplified even further and feels a lot more balanced and impactful than the 1987 version. And in 2011, the ultimate test of brand recognition: removing the additional circular borders, stars, and words to let the siren stand along. This is an excellent evolution that really shows how the core of your brand DNA can be simplified over time to build a brand that’s uniquely you.

Revitalizing Your Brand Design with Canva

Utilizing Canva's Branding Tools

• Explore Canva's Font Library: Discover fonts that align with your brand identity and maintain consistency throughout your designs.

• Harness Canva's Color Palette: Create a custom color palette that reflects your brand's personality and resonates with your target audience.

• Leverage Canva Templates: Customize Canva's extensive collection of templates, ensuring your brand's fonts, colors, and logo are applied consistently.

Establishing Brand Consistency

• Create a Brand Kit: Utilize Canva's Brand Kit feature to store and access your brand's fonts, colors, and logo in one place.

• Maintain Design Cohesion: Ensure that your brand elements are consistently applied across all marketing materials, promoting a unified visual identity.

To thrive in today's competitive landscape, it's essential to assess whether your brand design needs a refresh. By identifying signs of outdated branding and leveraging Canva's powerful tools, you can revitalize your design and create a visually appealing brand that resonates with your audience. 

Conclusion: How to Tell If Your Brand is Outdated

Take control of your brand's visual identity, explore Canva's features, and implement the actionable tips shared in this blog post. Don't let outdated design hold your brand back—start the journey toward a refreshed and captivating brand today with Canva!

By following these steps and utilizing Canva's branding tools, you can confidently evaluate and update your brand design, ensuring it remains relevant, visually appealing, and aligned with your business goals.