Your brand visual identity is often the first impression prospects have of your business. Inconsistent branding signals unprofessionalism, leads customers to question your quality, and prevents you from justifying premium pricing. It also creates confidence issues for you and wastes time recreating visuals from scratch.
Many business owners don’t realize their brand has inconsistencies until they step back and look at everything together. That’s where a brand audit comes in.
What is a Brand Audit?
A brand audit is a systematic evaluation of your visual identity across all touchpoints. It helps you identify where your branding is strong, where it’s inconsistent, and where it might be failing to connect with your target audience.
Think of it as a health checkup for your brand. Just like an annual doctor’s visit, auditing your brand regularly ensures small issues don’t become bigger problems.
Signs You Need a Brand Audit
You might benefit from a brand audit if:
- Your visual identity was created years ago and hasn’t evolved with your business
- You feel hesitant or embarrassed when sharing your marketing materials
- Your website, social media, and print materials all look like they’re from different companies or created by different people
- You’re struggling to attract your ideal clients
- You find yourself constantly recreating materials because you don’t have consistent templates or guidelines
How to Start Your Own Brand Audit
While a comprehensive brand audit involves many detailed steps, here’s a simplified approach to get you started:
Step 1: Clarify Your Brand Foundation
Before you can evaluate your visuals, you need clarity on what your brand should communicate.
Take time to reflect on:
- Your mission and what makes you unique
- Your brand’s personality (If your brand were a person, how would you describe them? How do they make people feel?)
- Your brand’s core values
- Who your ideal client really is (general demographics, their likes and interests, their values, how much they can spend, etc)
These foundational elements become the lens through which you’ll evaluate all your visual materials.
Step 2: Collect Your Visual Assets
Gather everything that represents your brand visually. This includes your logo, website, social media profiles and posts, packaging, business cards, email templates, presentations—literally every visual touchpoint that you can think of.
Create a visual board (using Pinterest, Miro, Canva, or even printing things out to make a collage, if you so wish) so you can see everything side by side. This bird’s-eye view often reveals patterns and inconsistencies you’d otherwise miss.
Here’s what mine looks like:
examples of brand assets you should be looking at:
- Brand or style guides
- Your logo + any variations of it
- Your social media profiles (profile photos, covers, highlights, etc)
- Social media posts across each social platform that you use (static images + videos)
- Photography and photo treatments
- Patterns, icons, textures
- Website pages
- Marketing campaigns / ads
- Any other brand assets (business cards, emails, packaging design, direct mail, flyers or brochures, worksheets, e-books or guides, one-pagers, promotional merch, proposals and presentations, invoices, contracts, signage, etc)
Step 3: Ask the Right Questions
Now comes the evaluation phase. As you look at your collection of brand materials, ask yourself critical questions like:
- Does everything look like it belongs to the same brand? (Look at: font usage, color application, patterns, icon style, photography treatments)
- Is your logo legible at all sizes and used consistently?
- Does your brand feel current or dated?
- Do your visuals reflect your brand’s personality and values?
- Do your visuals show the quality of your offering?
- Would your ideal client be attracted to this visual identity?
- Does your brand stand out from competitors?
Be honest with yourself. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s identifying opportunities for improvement.
Step 4: Identify Patterns
As you evaluate your materials, look for common issues:
- Foundation gaps: Are you missing key elements like a defined color palette or consistent font usage?
- Consistency problems: Do your brand assets look/feel cohesive across various platforms and assets?
- Audience disconnect: Do you think your brand visuals appeal to your ideal audience?
- Personality mismatch: Do your brand assets visually show your desired brand personality and values?
Step 5: Create an Action Plan
Once you’ve identified areas for improvement, prioritize them. Which issues are most critical? Which updates can you tackle yourself, and which require professional support?
Some fixes are straightforward DIY tasks—like ensuring consistent profile photos across social platforms or applying your colors more consistently. Others—like developing a comprehensive brand style guide or creating logo variations—benefit from professional expertise.
Ready for a Deeper Dive?
If you’re ready to take a systematic approach to evaluating your brand, I’ve created a comprehensive Brand Report Card that guides you through the entire process. You’ll work through detailed evaluation criteria, calculate your brand’s “grade,” identify specific weak points, and create a prioritized improvement plan tailored to your situation.
The Power of a Strong Brand Identity
When you invest time in auditing and improving your brand identity, you unlock significant benefits:
- Increased Confidence: You’ll feel energized and empowered when sharing your business with others
- Authentic Connection: A brand that reflects your true personality attracts ideal clients who resonate with you and your values
- Elevated Perception: Polished visuals help clients recognize the quality of your offerings
- Streamlined Creation: Consistent brand guidelines make content creation faster and easier
What to do next
This overview gives you a starting point for auditing your brand identity, but there’s so much more to explore. A comprehensive brand audit includes detailed checklists for evaluating your logo variations, color palette, typography, brand graphics, photography style, website, social media presence, and all your marketing materials. Contact us for a customized quote!
Freebie!
Your brand has grown — has your identity kept up?
Thoughtfully audit your identity with our accessible Brand Report Card workbook, so yourbrand can keep pace with your growth.
