Not every company needs branding right now. And not every communication problem is solved by a new logo.

I am writing this because most companies that come to me arrive with a concrete request — “we need a visual identity”, “we want to redo the brochure”, “we need new materials for the website” — but the reason behind it varies enormously. Sometimes the request is right and the timing is good. Other times, the problem lies elsewhere.

I have learned to tell the difference, because I have seen what happens when a company invests in design at the wrong moment. And I have also seen what happens when it does so at the right one.

When it isn't the right time

If it isn't clear what the company does, for whom and what sets it apart — design won't solve that. It will look good, but it won't say anything.

I have had conversations with companies that wanted a new visual identity, but when I asked who they were talking to and what they wanted to communicate, the answers differed from one person to the next within the same team. The managing director said one thing, the sales team another, marketing had a different direction. In that situation, anything I delivered would have been challenged internally — not because the design would have been wrong, but because there was no shared direction for the design to translate.

In these cases, my recommendation is for the company to agree internally first on what it wants to communicate. Once the direction is clear, we can work.

My role is not to decide a company's positioning, but to translate it visually. And for that, it is important that the direction has already taken shape.

When it makes sense

I have noticed a few situations that keep recurring in companies for which the timing is right.

The company has grown, but its materials have stayed where they were at the start. They began with what they had at hand — a logo made in a hurry, improvised materials, presentations built in-house. It worked for a while. But now they send proposals to bigger clients, take part in tenders, present to new partners — and they feel the materials no longer reflect the level they actually operate at.

Every material looks different. The brochure was made by one freelancer, the website by another, the presentation is put together in-house in PowerPoint. Separately, each one looks acceptable. But put them together and they don't build a unified image. A client who receives a proposal, then visits the website, then sees a presentation — sees three different companies.

Someone new joined the team and asked “where is the brand guide?” And the answer was “we don't have one.” The new person has to produce materials, but has no way of knowing which fonts to use, which colours, which visual tone. They improvise. And the brand fragments even further.

An important moment is coming up. A trade fair, a funding round, a big campaign, a product launch. The company knows it will be in the spotlight and wants its image to live up to it. It isn't vanity — it is pragmatism. That moment comes with more attention from the market, and what the market sees matters.

What to ask yourself before you invest

When a company contacts me, I try to understand a few simple things. These are useful questions for any CEO or marketing director, whether we work together or not:

Do we know clearly what we want the company to communicate? If yes, we have a foundation. If not, design comes too early.

Do our current materials represent us? Not “are they perfect” — but “do they say the right things about us”. If the answer is “not really”, it is worth looking at why.

Do we need a project or continuity? Sometimes it is about a visual identity that needs to be built once and then applied. Other times, it is about materials that come up constantly — campaigns, presentations, documents — and that need consistency over time. The two situations call for different approaches.

What is coming up in the next 6 months? If a quiet period lies ahead, perhaps there is no urgency. If a moment of exposure is coming — an event, a campaign, a new partnership — then the moment is now.

Why timing matters

I have worked with companies that invested in branding at the right moment and felt the difference immediately. Not because the logo looked nicer, but because everything they sent out — from a proposal to an email — communicated the same thing. Their team had a clear system. Their clients saw a consistent company.

And I have worked with companies that put it off for years. Not because they didn't care, but because it didn't seem urgent. In the meantime, every new material added another layer of inconsistency. By the time they dealt with it, the effort was greater — because there was something to redo, not just something to build.

There is no perfect moment. But there is a moment when the company feels its image no longer reflects where it has got to. And most of the time, the company feels this before it puts it into words.