“How long will it take?” is usually the second question we hear about a rebrand, right after “How much will it cost?”. The honest answer is that it depends on how much is changing. But “it depends” isn’t very useful when you’re trying to plan a launch, so here’s what actually takes the time, and how to keep things moving.
First, how big is your rebrand?
Not every rebrand is the same size, and the word gets used for very different projects.
- A refresh keeps your name and the spirit of your logo but tidies everything up: a cleaner logo, a sharper colour palette, better fonts, consistent templates. Think of it as a renovation.
- A full rebrand revisits the strategy behind the brand: who you’re for, what you stand for and how you sound. It usually ends with a new identity built from scratch. That’s a new build.
- A rename adds a new name on top, with the checks that come with it: trademarks, domains and social handles.
As a rough guide, a refresh often takes a few weeks, a full rebrand a few months, and a rename longer again. Your situation might be quicker or slower. What matters more is understanding the stages.
What happens at each stage
1. Discovery and strategy
This is where we listen. Who are your customers? Who are you up against? What do people misunderstand about you today? What do you want them to feel instead?
It’s tempting to rush this part because it doesn’t produce anything to look at. Please don’t. Every design decision later on gets judged against what’s agreed here, and a clear strategy is what stops a project from going round in circles.
2. Identity design
Logo, colours, typography, graphic elements, photography style. Usually a few directions are explored first, then one is chosen and refined.
This stage feels like the main event, and it’s often the fastest part of the project when the strategy is clear.
3. Guidelines and assets
The identity gets written down so anyone can use it correctly: how the logo behaves, which colours go where, how headings and body text work together. Then come the everyday files your team needs: social templates, presentation slides, email signatures, business cards.
4. Rollout
Your website, social profiles, signage, packaging, documents, vehicles, uniforms. This is the stage people underestimate most. A rebrand isn’t finished when the logo is approved. It’s finished when customers see it everywhere.
What slows a rebrand down
In our experience, it’s rarely the design work itself. It’s usually one of these:
- Too many decision-makers. If six people need to agree on every round, each round takes weeks. Agree up front who gives feedback and who has the final say.
- Feedback that arrives in pieces. Comments trickling in over email from different people are hard to act on. One combined set of feedback per round keeps things moving.
- Changing the brief halfway. New ideas are welcome, but a new direction in week six means going back to stage one.
- Forgetting the rollout. If the website, printed materials and signage aren’t planned alongside the identity, the launch waits for them.
How to plan around it
Work backwards from the date that matters. If you want the new brand live for a launch, a trade show or the new financial year, tell your agency at the very first meeting. A good team will tell you honestly what’s realistic and what can follow in a second phase.
It’s also fine to launch in steps. The website and social profiles can switch over first, with printed materials following as old stock runs out. Customers notice a confident switch far more than a perfectly simultaneous one.
Questions people also ask
Can we keep trading as normal during a rebrand?
Yes. The work happens in the background until the launch. Most businesses keep using their current brand right up to the switch-over date.
Should we tell customers we’re rebranding?
For a refresh, usually not much more than a short post or email on launch day. For a full rebrand or a rename, explain why. People accept change much more easily when they understand the reason behind it.
What do we need to prepare before we start?
A clear reason for the rebrand, the names of the people who’ll make decisions, any dates you’re working towards, and examples of brands you like (and don’t). Honest answers about what isn’t working today are the most useful thing of all.