What Comes First when Updating a Brand
As a brand photographer, my clients often say “I’m just trying to figure all of this out”...meaning, how to organize and fit in all the things that go into a brand update. Most often they come to me after they’ve reached out to a website designer because they want to update their website. But then they realize they will need photos, and they will also need copy - and most likely, your web designer will NOT offer those things. But before you start to feel overwhelmed, like - “how am I going to handle all of this at once?” - let me explain! When you are doing a big branding refresh the first thing you should consider is your strategy and how you are going to coordinate all the moving pieces.
As mentioned above, if you are doing a brand refresh that usually involves a new website so hiring a website designer to help you with the layout and aesthetics is a large part of this coordination. And one of the first things they are going to recommend is a personal branding photography session so that your images will look amazing on the new website. Which is why you should book a branding photographer during your website refresh!
Oftentimes your website designer can suggest a branding photographer that they’ve worked with, or vice versa. But in the case where I’m my client’s first stop and they still need a web designer, I’ll refer them to Verô Branding, Striped Dog Creative, or Chantelle Davis-Gray.
At the same time, your website will need copy. Copy is usually reflective of your brand strategy and ideal client avatar. Your brand strategy will help inform your brand’s values, pillars, personality, etc., while also helping inform your ideal client avatar. This is the tricky part - do you start with Brand Strategy before everything else? Well, it depends.
In some cases, your web designer will actually help you with a strategy, and in some cases will also write your copy. But many times, your web designer will not offer copywriting services, so you will likely have to seek this out simultaneously. If you’re wanting to start FIRST with strategy (which can then inform your copy), I recommend reaching out to Big Picture Branding.
So between the website design, photos, and copy/strategy, it is a LOT to consider. But the upside is there is an opportunity for your newly formed team to coordinate the timeline and to ensure the best end result (both in functionality, but also aesthetically) for your website.
And speaking of timeline, you should also keep in mind that your desired photographer may be booking out and could have a couple of weeks delivery time. So you will want to get on their schedule as soon as you know you need a photoshoot!
If you’re in the middle of a brand refresh and are in need of new branding images, click here to get on the books! And then when your new website is ready to go, you’ll have all the pieces in place for a successful relaunch!