Often, new businesses start off with more of a ‘homemade logo’. Including my own. After a business has gone through the trials of a ‘new business’ and survived their first few years, they realize they need to clean up their brand identity and are at a comfortable stage where they can properly invest. And usually, an updated logo is at the top of the list.

If you are thinking your logo needs a revamp, here are 3 tips to help with your logo redesign.

1. Your logo should identify your brand.

Your logo should be a way to identify your brand. It is not supposed to describe who you are, tell a story, or explain anything. This is a very common mistake with DIY logo creators. And a mistake I made when I started off. Adding too much to the logo to send a message clutters and weakens the design. If you have already made it past your first stages for your business, then building a strong brand should be a primary focus and the additional text wouldn’t be needed in your logo.

2. Design your logo for your audience.

Define your audience and build your logo for them. This is a hard one. We all want a logo we love. But your target market may be attracted to something different. A good designer will create user personas based on your customers and design for them, looking at every aspect from the persona’s point of view.

3. Keep it simple!

If you explore some large corporations and look at their logos and how they evolved through the company’s growth, you will see how they became more simplified and clean through their journey. Keep it clean, legible, and identifiable.