Most of what decides a rebrand happens before anyone draws a logo. The brief sets what the designer is solving, who approves the work and what finished looks like. An engineering firm has a couple of extra things to cover: buyers who read technical detail closely, and a logo that has to work on products, drawings and long documents.
Say why you're changing
Start with what the current brand gets wrong, in plain words. It might be that:
- the firm now offers services, or works in markets, that the old brand doesn't cover;
- the logo falls apart when it's small, in one colour or etched on a product;
- the website, documents and site signs no longer look like one company;
- buyers take you for a smaller firm, or a different kind of firm.
If you can't name the problem, the designer has nothing to fix. Say what has to stay as well: the name, a colour clients know you by, or a symbol with some history.
Describe who you need to win over
Write down the people who choose you, and what each of them checks. For an engineering firm, that might be:
- engineers and project managers, who look for proof you can do the work;
- procurement, who check credentials, insurances and scope;
- directors and boards, who want a firm that looks stable;
- architects and builders, if they specify your products.
Some readers won't be engineers at all. Councils and landowners on an energy project, for example, need clear drawings and plain documents more than a clever logo.
Name the firms you lose work to as well, and what you think they do better. Our own discovery stage covers the same ground, by call or by email.
Plan for every place the logo goes
Before design starts, list everywhere it will appear:
- at its smallest: a product plate, a drawing title block, a browser tab;
- in one colour: engraving, etching and embroidery on workwear;
- in long documents: reports, manuals and tender responses;
- on site and on the road: signs, vehicles and PPE;
- on screen: the website, presentations, email signatures and LinkedIn.
Ask to see the logo tested in each of those places before you approve it. We checked this engineering brand down to an etched product plate.
Agree the scope and who decides
Settle four things before the brief goes out:
- 1The scope. Just the identity, or the website, templates and signs as well? Say what can wait for a second stage.
- 2Who decides. One person gathers feedback, and one or two people approve. A long list of approvers pulls the design in different directions.
- 3The date that matters. A trade show, a big tender or a product launch gives the work a real deadline.
- 4A budget range. It lets the designer tell you what fits inside it.
A quick check before you send the brief
- Does it say what's wrong with the current brand, and what has to stay?
- Does it name your buyers and the firms you compete with?
- Does it list every place the logo has to work, including the smallest?
- Is the scope clear, including what's left out?
- Is there one person for feedback, a date and a budget?