Bad branding means more than just looking bad
A pulse check on whether you have a "bad brand" and what you can do to fix it for free.
A friend and I, who also works in design, were sitting on the main street of our scenic little mountain town, having a coffee and going off on design tangents as we like to do. We were riffing about the somewhat cliché logo of the 3 Sisters (the 3 mountains that sit over our town), and how it feels like approximately 90% of the businesses here have chosen this as their logo, or name. Sometimes both.
I’m not sure if the design gods were trying to taunt or agree with us, but right as we were doing our bit about it, a car with said logo crawled past us. Proving our point, and giving us a laugh at the same time.
Don’t get me wrong, I can fully understand the desire to marry a local business with a place. It’s apparent in any city, town or hamlet you visit. Whether it’s a part of the history, landscape, weather, street name, nicknames, whatever it is, a local tie is definitely not a bad thing for brands. As someone who deals in “heritage” style design, I’m all for telling a good story and weaving in those ties, but the key is in the way that you execute it.
So, as much as it was a good bit about the same logo being on rinse and repeat, it got me thinking about the fact that there is a cost for businesses that have generic, uninspired or just straight-up lacklustre branding.
Morning Coffee with a view of those beautiful mountains in Fernie, BC.
The Tangible Stuff
Charging less than you’re worth because your brand doesn’t back up your price point. Pricing is emotional, long before it’s logical. When someone lands on your website or socials, they’ve already formed an opinion about what you’re worth before you’ve even had a chance to get a word in. A brand that looks cheap feels cheap. So even if your work is next level, you’re starting that conversation in a hole.
Attracting the wrong clients. Whether you designed it to be or not, your brand is a filter. So a vague, generic, or misaligned brand attracts vague, generic, or misaligned clients, because nothing about your brand tells them otherwise. However, the right branding subtly repels the wrong people straight out the gate.
Constantly having to over-explain what you do. If you find yourself saying the same thing over and over, clarifying what you do, reassuring people you can, in fact, handle the job, then your brand isn’t doing its job.
The Invisible Stuff
The mental load of feeling embarrassed to send someone to your website. Oh, I’ve been there, and it sucks. Someone asks what you do, and instead of confidently dropping your URL, you default to “It’s a work in progress” or “I’m actually in the middle of a rebrand.” That low-level cringe is a little tax you pay every time you have to defend your brand.
The confidence gap. When your brand doesn’t match the quality of your work, your confidence takes a hit. You underprice, you over-deliver trying to compensate, and you probably don’t push back when you should. Your branding should match your confidence in what you do.
Inconsistency = distrust. I’m a stickler for this one. When your brand looks different everywhere, when the IG doesn’t match the website, the website doesn’t match the proposal, and the proposal doesn’t match the invoice, people notice, even if they can’t quite explain why.
The Long Game Cost
The rebrand tax. Every month you keep on truckin’ with a brand that isn’t working is a month you’re building on a foundation you’ll eventually have to tear down. And when that day comes, you don’t just shell out for the new brand, you pay for the confusion of the transition, the audience you have to re-educate, and the momentum you lose in the process. The longer you leave it, the more expensive it gets.
Now I’m not here to fear-monger. This isn’t a “YOU BETTER RE-DO YOUR BRANDING RIGHT THIS SECOND, UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR BUSINESS TO FAIL! WANT IT TO FAIL, NO?! SIGN UP TODAY!” piece. But if any of these feelings are stinging just a little, then it might be time to just add some brand work to your radar.
And this work doesn’t have to be dropping 5-10k on a full overhaul project. There are a few things that you can do to start building a base for a brand refresh or redesign.
So whether you just want to start tinkering with some ideas, or you're searching for a designer, here’s something you can do to set yourself up with all of the ingredients for a brand you can feel proud of.
Gather visual inspiration: Not just logos you like, but anything that gives you the feeling you want your brand to have. Architecture, interiors, fashion, film stills, packaging. We’re not looking to copy here, but to understand your own taste and start to see patterns in what draws you in. I know a lot of designers have other platforms they recommend, but I love Pinterest, and think it’s a great place for brand owners to start.
Build your brand foundations: I’ve talked about this alot in past issues, but it’s key to setting yourself up for success. Who you are, who you’re for, what you stand for, and how you’d describe what you do to a stranger at a party. This is the stuff a designer needs before they touch a single font or colour. If you can’t answer these clearly, no amount of good design will fix that. It’ll just look pretty and not mean much.
Audit what you’ve already got: Go through every touchpoint someone might encounter. Website, social profiles, email signature, and any documents you send to clients. Look at them as a stranger would. Does it all feel like the same business? Does it reflect the quality of your actual work? Does it reflect the personality of your brand? You don’t need to fix it yet, but just see it clearly and take stock.
Get clear on who you are NOT for: It’s real easy to spend time defining an ideal client, but knowing who you’re actively trying to repel is just as valuable. It helps sharpen everything. Your tone, your visuals, your pricing, your messaging. It can feel scary to think about repelling business, but it’s what will make you really attract your people.
Write down three brands you genuinely admire and why: These don’t have to be in your industry, but just brands that feel right to you. Then dig into why. Is it the confidence? The simplicity? The warmth? Those answers tell you a lot about the direction you actually want to go with your own brand.
Bad branding costs more than most people realise, and most of it flies under the radar without you realising. Lost opportunities you never knew about, wrong clients that become a pain in the ass, or a lack of confidence in getting yourself out there.
I’m here to tell you the good news: None of it is permanent. If you’re feeling some of these things, then just start small with that list above, and you’ll be on the right track.
Rory
