Revamping the Corporate Identity: Steps, Timelines, and Results
7 min read
A Corporate Brand Identity Redesign: Steps, Timelines, and Results
A brand identity redesign means a business gets a new logo, color system, typography, brand book, and digital templates it can use immediately in print and online. It always consists of discovery, strategy, design, testing, a brand book, and rollout. It's not just an aesthetic move — it's a business decision with a clear purpose.
In short:
The final package should include logo variants, color specifications, licensed fonts, print and web templates, and source files with an organized archive and version control.
Don't start a redesign with design work — start with interviews with employees and customers, which reveal what the brand actually means and what to keep.
Before choosing, require at least two design directions, then test each concept on three real-world applications, such as the web, a business card, and a social post.
Rough timelines run 1–3 weeks for analysis, 2–4 weeks for strategy, 3–8 weeks for design, and 2–8 weeks for rollout, and vary based on approval cycles.
If the brand is already recognizable and just needs a more modern look, choose a refresh; costs are driven by scope, number of applications, font licenses, and digital integrations.
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Table of Contents
What a brand identity consists of: elements and deliverables
A redesign is only comprehensive once it covers every point of contact with your audience. The brand identity manual for Slovenia's national brand cites visual constants — the mark, colors, and typography — plus usage rules, examples of incorrect use, and a list of printed materials, as the foundation. Following this model, the final package needs to include:
logo variants (primary, secondary, favicon), rules for minimum clear space, and examples of incorrect use;
a color system with CMYK, HEX, and Pantone values, plus typography with appropriate licenses for web and print;
printed materials and digital templates: business cards, letterhead, a PowerPoint presentation, a web header, and social media templates;
guidelines for photography, iconography, tone of voice, and key messages;
source files (SVG, EPS, web fonts) and instructions for storage and version control.
That last point is the one businesses most often overlook. Without an organized file archive, multiple versions of the same logo can end up circulating.
How a redesign works: from the discovery phase to rollout
The process can follow these steps:
Discovery. Review the existing identity, interview employees and customers, and audit communication channels: web, print, and social media.
Strategy. Define positioning, target audience, brand personality, and key messages.
Design. Prepare moodboards and at least two concept directions. Research on the redesign process recommends preparing at least two directions, which you then iterate on toward a final choice.
Testing. Test the identity in real-world applications, from a business card to the website, and check accessibility and the user experience of digital elements.
Brand book. Compiles usage rules, color specifications, typography, and templates, including source files.
Rollout. Followed by an internal presentation, the public launch, quality control, and tracking success metrics.
Pro tip: Before approving any concept, require it to be shown on at least three real-world applications — a web header, a business card, and a social media post, for example. A logo that looks great on a white sheet of paper often falls apart on a mobile screen.
You'll find more detailed guidance for each phase in our guide to the brand identity creation process.
How long a redesign takes, and what affects the cost
The timelines below are approximate and vary based on your business's size and the number of approval rounds:
discovery: 1–3 weeks;
strategy: 2–4 weeks;
design: 3–8 weeks;
implementation and rollout: 2–8 weeks.
Price is affected most by the scope of deliverables, the number of applications and executions, font licensing, and testing and digital integrations. You can lower costs by focusing on key elements, running certain phases in parallel, and keeping visual elements that still work. If a brand already has strong recognition and just needs a more modern look, a refresh makes more sense than a complete redesign. We've written more about this decision in our article on redesigning a logo without losing your identity.
Redesign examples, and what they delivered for clients
Slovenian repositories and agency case studies show that projects tend to follow a similar framework. Student theses on redesigns often treat them as case studies: from a company description through an analysis of the existing identity to proposed solutions. Two concrete examples:
This brand identity redesign shows the standard process: analyzing the existing identity, designing the logo, usage rules, and applications across print and web.
The TAPRO case study shows a redesign with a new mark, the steps toward the new identity, and documentation of its use in communications.
Success is typically measured by how customers perceive the brand, consistency of communication, and improved digital recognition — in other words, by observing points of contact before and after the redesign.
Experts emphasize that the success of a redesign often rests on the discovery phase, with interviews of employees and customers, as described in this redesign case study for the Secured Finance Network. Without that foundation, a new identity quickly remains a surface-level change.
Why you shouldn't cut the discovery phase short
In our view, the discovery phase is the cheapest part of the project, and also the one most often cut short. Interviews with employees and customers reveal what the brand actually means to people, not just to leadership. Without this, a business ends up with a beautiful logo and no answer to why it redesigned in the first place. For digital templates, plan testing during the design phase itself: have an editor assemble an actual post in the CMS, rather than just evaluating a presentation. Our team combines graphic design and web implementation, so problems with carrying the identity onto the web surface before they become expensive.
— Ziga
How we support you through a brand identity redesign
We can help with your redesign through graphic design and technical implementation. That way, the identity doesn't stay trapped in a PDF — it comes to life online. We support a redesign with these services:
graphic design: logo and printed materials;
developing web templates and integrating them with your content management system (CMS);
hosting, domains, and technical support and maintenance after rollout.
If you'd like a review of your project's scope, get in touch through our website and we'll work out the first step together.
Frequently asked questions
What does a brand identity redesign cover?
It covers the logo, colors, typography, printed materials, digital templates, and usage rules. All of this ultimately comes together in a brand book that any provider can use.
How long does a full brand identity redesign take?
The entire project typically takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on scope. Design and rollout are usually what drag on the longest, which is why early approvals matter so much.
When is a logo refresh enough?
A refresh is enough when a brand is already recognizable and mainly its look needs to change. Industry literature distinguishes between a refresh, a consolidation, and a complete redesign, and the right choice depends on your business goal.
Why does the discovery phase matter so much?
Without it, a new identity isn't grounded in an understanding of employees and customers. That's exactly where you discover what needs to stay in the brand and what needs to change.