Most asked question: I'm looking to re-brand

We met with Dave Robinson, Head of Design to understand the best approach to rebranding, to understand what type of freelancer you need, and the kind of questions you should be asking to get the most out of your kick off conversations.

Before you can find the right freelancer, you need to ensure your brief is clear. Firstly, detail the reason for the rebrand. Some reasons for a rebrand can include:

• The current brand image is tired or outdated.
• The company is being renamed or is merging with another company.
• The product range or service offerings are expanding.
• The company is going global and needs a brand to match your ambitions.
• The current brand has negative associations that need eradicating.

To help ensure everything is covered and understood, make sure you have a list of everything that you think needs to be rebranded, as this will help you further understand the type of freelancer you need. For example, if you need something specific like a company video, you may want a freelancer with animation or video editing experience.

Equally, depending on where you are in the process, this may not be decided yet. You may be in the very early stages of a rebrand where you’re still examining the direction to take.  Dave helped us break down the rebrand into three core stages:

• Research and brand audit.
• Positioning of the brand.
• Brand Book.
  

At what stage within the rebrand are you? This will help determine the type of freelancer you hire.

Stage 1 - Research and Brand Audit - Where is the brand now?

Do you know where your brand is now? If you are unsure, you can hire a Brand Strategist or Planner to help understand this. They can conduct competitor analysis which looks at where your brand sits in the market, discuss with you the direction you’re looking to take it, and then work with you to come up with a strategy for the rebrand to ensure it resonates with the existing brand.

Potential questions to ask the freelancer:

Are you comfortable with brand positioning?

Can you use Strategic Positioning Tools and analyse the results?

Stage 2 - Position the Brand - How does the brand 'look' and sound

Do you understand the current brand  positioning and are looking for someone to help define the new brand? This stage is for a Brand Designer, Digital Designer or Graphic Designer.

Potential questions to ask the freelancer:

Can you develop the building blocks of a brand based on our positioning, then design a guidelines brand book, to show how the assests are used?

Can you create assets such as a Logo, typography, colour palette based on strategic positioning?

If animation is required - Can you use After Effects to animate?

Do you also need to consider copy or photography? If so, ask the following question:

Can you write copy or a photography tone of voice?

You may even want to consider engaging a separate or Copywriter to assist with this part of the rebranding process.

Stage 3 - Brand Book

Are you looking to create a brand book? Then an Artworker can help.

Potential questions to ask the freelancer:

Are you comfortable art working brand books and preparing online and offline artwork for print and publishers?

Talent Team

If you need any further information or advice, why not get in touch with our Talent Team? Consisting of industry specialists, not only can they help you find the perfect freelancer, they can help with the end to end process of writing and posting your brief, as well as shortlisting freelancers and creating contracts.

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Get in touch with them today.

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Meet Dave

Dave Robinson has over 25 years experience, working in the advertising industry. Working with brands like Cadbury, American Express, IBM, O2 and Dove, Dave has helped the  design, typography, and advertising for some of the biggest brands in the world.  

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Learn more about Designers

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(Header Image The critically acclaimed English Premier League rebrand by DesignStudio in collaboration with Robin Brand Consultants.)