Being glued to your phone during meetings ensures a successful brand renewal

In today’s world, a brand refresh doesn’t just need to look good – it also needs to respect the standards, limitations, and laws that govern digital environments. Ignoring these from the start can turn your rebrand into an expensive mistake!

Common pitfalls in rebrands

If a visual identity is designed without considering the EU’s accessibility directive, problems will appear the moment it’s rolled out to digital channels.

Suddenly colors, typography, or layouts may need major adjustments just to meet compliance. Every fix adds extra cost – which is why accessibility should be baked into the process from day one.

Fonts are another hidden risk. If typography choices are made without understanding licensing models, your team could be in for a nasty surprise.

Many digital font licenses are priced per pageview. For popular services, costs can skyrocket, and ongoing price hikes are common. In some cases, brands have had to switch fonts entirely after launch – creating more work and additional expense.

Choosing typography wisely

When picking fonts for a new brand identity, keep these points in mind:

• Cost: Licenses are often based on pageviews, and prices have been rising. To manage risk, consider commissioning a custom font, choosing a one-time license, or using free/open-source options.

• Readability: Most content today is read on mobile. Some fonts simply don’t perform well on small screens. Prioritize legibility on mobile first.

• Weights & styles: A digital brand needs enough weights (e.g., Regular, Italic, Bold) to build clear UI hierarchies. Without them, it’s hard to design accessible, user-friendly interfaces.

Brand colors in the digital space

Alongside typography, color is a critical part of any identity. But digital usage introduces unique challenges:

• Accessibility: The EU directive requires sufficient contrast between text and background. A brand palette alone isn’t enough – your guidelines need to specify which colors can be paired together.

• Dark mode: More users are switching to dark mode across apps and devices. How does your brand look against a dark background? Have you defined dark-mode equivalents of your brand colors? Contrast must remain strong here too.

What about the logo?

Logos often get refreshed during a rebrand – but here too, digital requirements matter.

• Clarity: How does the logo perform at small sizes, on mobile screens? Does it still meet accessibility contrast rules?

• App icon: If you have a mobile app, your logo likely needs to scale into a square icon. For brands with both wordmarks and symbols, the symbol often works best in this space. Since users see the app icon every single day, it’s one of the most powerful touchpoints your brand has.

The role of the design system

Rolling out a new identity across digital channels often exposes weaknesses in a company’s design system. Sometimes, there isn’t a system in place at all.

That raises an important question: should you spend resources just on implementing the new look, or take the opportunity to build (or fix) your design system? The latter makes every future design and development effort more efficient.

Key takeaways for digital-first rebrands

When planning your rebrand, don’t stop at the big screen. Remember to:

• Ensure the new identity meets EU accessibility requirements.

• Define your annual budget for font licensing before committing to typography.

• Require that chosen fonts stay within the agreed licensing cost.

• Factor digital-specific needs into logo design.

A rebrand only succeeds if it works everywhere your audience encounters it – and today, that means the mobile screen first.