How To Deal With Design FOMO
Understatement of the decade here but there are so many cool designs and branding.
We’re inundated with design everywhere we go; from scrolling to watching ads to billboards.
If you scroll on any social media platform long enough you’ll see a cool brand that might make you feel less than.
Design FOMO, fear of missing out, is no fun.
The excitement of completely changing your brand, from the design to the brand colors, gets lost once you get into the nitty gritty of creating or finding these design assets.
Most likely you’ll give up half way through and wind up more confused and exhausted than when you started.
Every DIY brand designer knows the feeling.
Staying consistent in your branding design and not worrying about FOMO is the goal, but how?
Here are three ways to combat design FOMO in your creative business.
Mood Board As Your Guide
Even though mood boards are super fun to make, that’s basically why I got into branding and web design, they serve a purpose. Besides being a fun creative project, they help keep your branding consistent.
Think of the most recognizable brands that have been around for decades or centuries. They are memorable because they’ve stayed consistent, only rebranding occasionally.
What would happen if McDonalds decided to change their colors from yellow and red every time a new color was trending? They would have a super weird color scheme and their customers would have whiplash from how often their local store was repainted.
Changing your branding assets and logo every time you see something new and exciting means people won’t remember you. Blending into the sea of sameness by chasing trends means you aren’t the obvious choice when people need your services.
Appreciate But Don’t Copy
This one is so hard if you’re on social media at all, aka all of us. :) You’re scrolling and you see an ad for a brand and everything about it appeals to you. Thanks, algo gods. So you think about changing some of your branding to look similar to this. If it appeals to you, it’ll appeal to your ideal clients, right?
Changing your design assets constantly is a sure fire way to confuse your audience, half baked rebrands, and design burn out. Here are two things that help me combat the comparison trap.
Stop scrolling to consume and scroll to connect. Easier said than done but this is what social media was made for, allegedly, to connect with people and be social. I’ve met many amazing designers, creatives and service based business owners from social media.
Looking for inspiration offline will save your sanity. If you’re on screens all day, from the phone to computer, and want to escape for inspiration, do it! I love thumbing through books or visiting new places like parks and museums. You can truly find inspiration almost anywhere.
Refresh On Your Schedule
If it’s time for a rebrand or brand refresh then doing thoughtful updates is fine. I recently tweaked my colors and graphics for Redesignia so it’s not a bad thing to update your design assets or graphics.
Don’t be afraid to make a change but make sure it makes sense for you and your creative business. Here are some questions you can ask yourself.
Does your brand feel like it no longer represents you? Do you feel like you’ve outgrown it? Or is it just not resonating like it used to with your ideal clients?
Taking my own brand refresh as an example, I felt like my creative business was a little bit off from what I wanted. So I created more fun, layered graphics that represent the type of work I love to do and tweaked the website colors to align with the graphics.
Time For A Refresh?
If you’re ready to refresh or totally overhaul your brand, I have resources for you!
For the DIY types or anyone who adores making a mood board, check out my free mood board challenge and make your mood board in less than a week.
If you love the idea of doing a rebrand but just don’t have the time or patience, check out my branding package.
