The American Flag is a well-known symbol associated with the United States and its people…but it hasn’t always been consistent in its design. According to the National Flag Foundation, it changed 27 times as the country evolved. What we know today as the U.S. Flag has only been in use for 65 of the nearly 250 years of the nation’s history.
And if the United States isn’t afraid to change its visual brand when necessary, you shouldn’t be either. Your logo must reflect the dynamic nature of your market, consumers and modern stylistic preferences.
Let’s take a deeper look at what America’s flag rebrands say about your own bank and credit union logo design.
1. Tie your logo to a consistent identity.
The U.S. Flag didn’t change everything about itself each iteration. It maintained a consistent color palette of red (for valor), white (for purity) and blue (for vigilance, perseverance and justice). These anchor points rooted the flag visually while tying the country to desired ideals throughout each stage of its history.
You don’t need to abandon your past during logo redesigns. In fact, you shouldn’t abandon it. Always “dance with who brought you” and respect your roots. You can do this by:
- Using past logo elements in the new iteration
- Maintaining consistent colors in a new logo
- Changing visually but still evoking the spirit of your past
First Watch CU’s logo change in 2022 retained a few colors from the prior logo while evoking the spirit of working an early shift at a hospital (a throwback to the original employee group).
2. Standardize how your logo appears.
A country’s flag can’t just appear however someone wants…that might cause some confusion. It needs standards. Over time, the U.S. government established these national brand standards. Congress decided to stick with 13 stripes in 1818, and President Taft set proportions for the flag in 1912.
Your bank and credit union logo needs uniform standards too. It must appear consistent across your signage, marketing materials, brand gear and so on. People quickly identify you by your logo, and they can’t form an association between you and the logo without visual consistency.
That doesn’t mean you can’t have variations (like a white logo for dark backgrounds) or logomarks (like the logo itself without text). It just means these should still clearly link to your organization and remain consistent with themselves too.
3. Your bank and credit union logo is a signpost – welcome an expanding community.
The impetus for each change to the American Flag was the addition of new states. It added more stars to visually welcome people into the fold as the country grew larger.
Your community is expanding too. Does your logo welcome your new employee groups, markets or target audiences? Or is it wallowing in the past?
Don’t underestimate the power of bad branding to confuse people or turn them away. Field-specific imagery or geography-based logos lose significance once you expand beyond an area or employee group. Yes – you can’t be all things to all people. But you do need to expand your logo’s scope as you grow.
Stop losing people and money due to an outdated logo. Book a free consultation, and let’s talk about how to design a bank and credit union logo that welcomes newcomers while staying true to your roots.
