They say the customer is always right. Does this hold true for the client? Not always.
When it comes to branding and design, oftentimes it is important to note that the client will forget the point of the exercise that is marketing. Regardless of the inherent aesthetic taste of the client, it is his or her customer whose needs and tastes are most important. The client never has to sell his product or service to himself but to an audience who may have no idea of what to make of him. It is up to the designer to consider the customers of his or her client – the target audience – and what will drive them toward that client’s product.
One of the most important tenants of branding is consistency of message. It is easy for a company to get bored looking at the same branding day in and day out, but it is important that boredom not drive that company to throw away a brand that they’ve worked hard to establish. If the target audience becomes confused about who they are dealing with because of a radical shift in image it can cause unease in your marketplace by making the audience unsure of the stability of the company in question. Occasionally it is important to update an image, but that update must be carefully considered and, if the brand was strong in the first place, revealed to the public in a way that shows purpose and stability. You never want reputation to be the price of a flashy new corporate image.
Remember, it is the customer after all, who is always right.
Jason Polkovitz 