[Branding] Part 4: Branding Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

1. Inconsistency across platforms

One of the biggest branding mistakes is inconsistency, think in terms of using different colors, fonts, tones, or messaging on various platforms.

Signs of branding inconsistency:

• Your website looks professional, but your social media feels off-brand.
• You use different logos, profile pictures, or color schemes across platforms.
• Your tone varies wildly (e.g., professional on your website, overly casual on social media).

How to fix it:

• Use a style guide to keep your fonts, colors, and messaging consistent. 
• Make sure your profile pictures, banners, and design elements align. 
• Adjust tone per platform while still maintaining a recognizable voice.

My personal biggest pitfall is keeping to the same colour schemes across platforms, or at least keeping them close enough together that they feel like part of the same brand. Especially for a platform like Instagram where one primarily uses images. I still haven’t found the ultimate fix yet, but I have been toying with the idea of maybe adding my logo or a solid colour border to the images just to give them that consistent look.

2. Being too generic or forgettable

If your branding doesn’t stand out, it won’t be memorable. A vague or generic brand can get lost in the crowd.

Signs of a generic brand:

• Your visuals look like a cookie-cutter template without a unique touch.
• Your tagline or mission statement is vague or sounds like everyone else’s.
• People struggle to recognize your brand among competitors.

How to fix it:

• Identify what makes your brand unique, is it your voice, aesthetic, or perhaps perspective? 
• Craft a memorable tagline that reflects your brand’s personality. 
• Use colors, fonts, and imagery that are distinctive to you.

3. Changing your branding too often

Rebranding is natural. We don’t stay the same person, our brand expands or maybe focusses more into one direction, but if you change too often, you’ll confuse your audience and lose recognition.

Signs of over-rebranding:

• You keep switching logos, colors, or fonts every few months.
• Your audience doesn’t recognize your brand anymore.
• You feel disconnected from your brand and keep experimenting.

How to fix it:

• Make gradual updates instead of sudden drastic changes.
• Keep core elements (like a signature color or style) to maintain familiarity.
• If you rebrand, announce it and explain the shift to your audience.

I am 100% guilty of this. My branding has gone through so many phases, colours and fonts, even my messaging, that at one point I didn’t know what to do with it anymore. I thought I was refining it, but in reality, I was really just overcomplicating it. The lesson? Some change is good, but too much will make people wonder if you even know who you are.

4. Overcomplicating Your Branding

Trying to include too many colors, fonts, or visual elements can make your branding feel chaotic instead of polished.

Signs of overcomplication:

• Using too many different fonts or colors that clash.
• Crowded, overwhelming website or marketing materials.
• Logos or graphics with excessive detail that don’t scale well.

How to fix it:

• Stick to 2-3 fonts and a defined color palette.
• Keep designs simple but impactful, clean branding often performs best.
• Test your logo and visuals at different sizes to ensure readability.

5. Not thinking about your audience

Your brand isn’t just about what you like, it should appeal to your audience too.

Signs You’re Not audience focused:

• Your branding feels personal, but doesn’t connect with potential customers.
• You’re using design trends that don’t appeal to your specific niche.
• Your messaging doesn’t speak to the problems or desires of your audience.

How to Fix It:

• Research what draws your audience in, what aesthetics and messaging resonate with them? 
• Make sure your brand voice and visuals align with the emotions you want to evoke.
• Test branding changes with your audience through polls or engagement.

I used to create my brand solely around what I liked, blindly assuming my audience would like it too. Turns out, that’s not always the case. So I adjusted, keeping intact my own preferences but also incorporating more of what people expected to see. It’s listening to your audience, polling them if you want to, keeping an eye on engagement, that can help you identify what can stay, what needs to go etc.