We all know that the beginning of a new year is a time when many make promises to improve themselves. And just as self-improvement is crucial to your personal health and well-being, promises to build and maintain your brand are crucial to a healthy business. Here at Suka, we have designed 4 easy-to-keep promises you can make to yourself (and your brand) to make 2018 your brand’s best year.
I will decide if my brand is built to be aspirational or built for right now.
For some brands, it is best to shoot for the stars. For others, a more practical “on the ground” approach may be appropriate. In the new year, take a step back and find out which path is best for you. Are you speaking for the company you are right now or for the company you want to be 5 years from now? Neither approach is wrong, but it is important to know who you are, who you want to be, and how you can use your brand and messaging most effectively.
I will make sure my logo works well on a variety of digital screens.
Your logo likely appears in a variety of digital environments: on your website, in digital PDFs, in marketing emails, and on social media. And it’s no secret that more and more digital content is being consumed on mobile devices. Logos with small lettering or fine details may look great to you on a big desktop monitor in your office, but they may not be legible to a potential client scanning through your website on a smartphone. A good logo should scale well, looking great on everything from the side of an airplane to the side of the pen.
I will find out which parts of my style guide really matter.
It is natural for your brand’s style guide to evolve and grow over time. You may need to build additional presentation templates for specific purposes or create new report covers for various audiences. It is also natural for this growth to become wild or overwhelming. For most companies, brand bloat goes largely unchecked until nothing can be seen over a tangled and unruly mess. Use this year to clean out your “brand closet,” discarding what is no longer essential and updating what you have to a clean, beautiful presentation. Great brands are always more than the sum of their parts, but only when they have the parts that really matter most.
I will have fun.
We know that not every brand is as fun and playful as companies like Google, Spotify, or Nintendo. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have fun with yours. This year, stretch, push, pull, and squish your brand as much as you can. (Don’t worry, you won’t break it.) Your ideas and work may never see the light of day, but experimentation can be a useful way to find out what your brand is capable of. If you feel as though your brand is stale or in a rut, it is a good sign that you may need a fresh perspective.