When Is a New Brand Identity just a Visual Refresh? - Part 3

Visual Refresh


Pros

• Unlike a brand identity, a visual refresh doesn't have to represent anything.  It can just be a fun, abstract, exciting design that attracts attention.  This makes it easier for design teams to create ideas and appeal to audiences.
• Advertising, design and branding blogs and magazines love to talk about the latest logo alterations.  A visual refresh is a great way to garner some free press.  This can be handy if your brand is losing relevancy and needs some attention.
• Since your visual design affects your packaging, a visual refresh is a quick, easy way to attract new attention on the store shelf.  Shoppers are always caught off guard by packaging they don't recognize and will give your product a second glance, which is a huge win.
• A visual refresh gives you the opportunity to always be modern.  As you will see in our case study below, your brand can constantly update its look to prevent looking outdated or obsolete.
• Similarly, your brand can refresh itself to find a look that resonates better with your audience.
• Finally, a visual refresh can be executed against a brand identity.  You can update the art styles used in your current brand identity to strengthen the appearance of the brand without losing the connection to your brand's positioning and value statement.

Cons

• The con of an abstract design is that it can be too abstract.  If your brand's look confuses your audience then they'll lose interest.
• The same can happen on the store shelf.  If your customer is confused and doesn't recognize your product they are more likely to purchase a competitive product.
• Obviously this can get expensive.  Creating a brand identity that fully reflects your brand and appeals to your audience the first time is much more cost efficient then consistently updating every five to ten years.
• If changing your look and using snappy visuals is the only way you can build awareness and interest in your product, your brand is probably a commodity item.  You may want to consider how you can position your brand to offer a unique benefit from your competition.

Case Study: Pepsi

Pepsi is a classic example of a brand who's visual identity mostly relies on visual appeal and not on a symbolic expression of the brand's positioning in the market.  The logo started as pure script, integrated a visual element that reflected what industry it operated in, and has since then shifted that element into something most people would no longer associate with a bottle cap.  As a legacy brand, Pepsi has the fortunate position of never needing to educate its audience about the product.  Everyone knows what Pepsi is.  So instead it can use its visual identity to create a sort of personality or lifestyle statement - light hearted, laid back, young, hip.  This is backed by one of Pepsi's old taglines, "The taste of a generation."  Pepsi needs to continually refresh its visual scheme to reflect a style that resonates with the youth of the generation.  For its current logo, the current trend of minimalism is blatantly apparent.

Image courtesy of Scarletbits.com