If you are considering updating or redesigning your company’s identity, here are some things to keep in mind:

Think Timeless:
Rebranding can be expensive — not only for the work but in reprinting material and altering your web site. So you don’t want to have to do it very often. Try for a look that will not be dated in 5 years. You don’t want people looking at your identity in a few years and thinking “oh, that’s so 2010″.

Capture your Essence:
If you’re redesigning, then you’ve probably been around a while. So I’d hope that you understand your brand’s essential message by now. Make sure your logo embodies what you stand for in the public’s mind. That way, once you launch your new or updated identity, it will feel inevitable and comfortable, and not like an old friend has disappeared.

Ride it Out:
There will be an uncomfortable transitional period where the new logo and look may throw people. But hang in there — if you and your design team have done your work properly, it will quickly feel like a new friend, and you’ll forget the old one. Again, it should feel like an inevitable and obvious upgrade, not like a jarring change that makes no sense.

How can you make sure your rebranding effort is a success? Hire a professional. Someone working in this country who you can really communicate with. Someone with a demonstrated history of branding success.