Have you been wondering if it’s time for a website refresh?
Maybe your site feels a little outdated. Maybe it doesn’t quite match the energy of your programs or the people you serve. Or maybe you never consciously created a brand in the first place and have just been winging it.
Before you commit to a redesign (or choose your first brand!), take a breath.
The truth is, your brand might not need a full overhaul. What it does need is visual clarity and consistency.
If just uttering the word “brand” makes you break into a cold sweat, we’ve got you. This process doesn’t have to feel contrived or confusing. These six questions will help you and your team align around your brand’s personality, purpose, and people.
Whether you’re updating your homepage or just trying to make your Instagram grid look less chaotic, this is the place to start.
1. How do we want people to feel when they interact with our brand?
Design is emotional. The colors, fonts, and imagery you choose will shape how people perceive your organization, whether they consciously notice your design or not.
Do you want to feel:
- Bold and justice-driven?
- Gentle and community-centered?
- Joyful and youth-focused?
- Professional and policy-oriented?
Deciding how you want people to feel will help you choose visual elements that evoke the right tone.
2. What three words describe our brand personality?
If your organization were a person, how would you describe them?
Are they:
- Friendly, passionate, and down-to-earth?
- Strategic, bold, and unapologetic?
- Warm, wise, and collaborative?
Picking three clear adjectives can help guide everything from your color palette to your font choices. (Not sure where to start? Our Brand Personality Quiz in this starter kit will help.)
3. Who are we trying to reach, and are we visually speaking their language?
If your design choices don’t resonate with the people you’re trying to reach, even the most professional website won’t move the needle.
Think about:
- What makes your community feel seen?
- What visuals reflect their lived experience?
- What images, colors, or styles are overused, or even worse, alienating?
This is especially important for organizations collaborating with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. Avoid generic stock imagery and prioritize real, respectful, representative visuals.
4. What design elements have worked well for us in the past?
Look at your past materials: flyers, social posts, event pages, even swag. Which ones got the best response?
Was it:
- A specific color combo people commented on?
- A photo style that felt authentic?
- A layout that made the info easy to read?
Don’t reinvent the wheel if something’s working. Take what already resonates with your community and carry it into your redesign.
5. What’s inconsistent or unclear in our current visuals?
Inconsistency breeds confusion. If your website looks one way, your flyers another, and your social posts something totally different, it’s hard for people to recognize your brand.
Audit your current visual presence and ask:
- Are we using too many fonts?
- Are our colors cohesive?
- Do our graphics and photos reflect our values?
Clarity and consistency build trust and recognition, especially in the digital world, where people scroll and judge quickly.
6. Do we have clear visual guidelines, or are we starting from scratch every time?
If your team scrambles to find the “right” logo, forgets the hex codes for your brand colors, or experiments with new fonts weekly… you probably need a brand guide.
Creating even a simple one-pager with your fonts, colors, logos, and vibe words can save hours of guesswork, align your team, and keep your look cohesive across every platform.
(And yes, we’ve got a Canva template for that.)
Ready to Bring Your Brand Into Focus?
Don’t just redesign your website. Rebuild your visual brand from the ground up with tools that actually make the process easier.
Grab your free Nonprofit Website Design Starter Kit here.
Inside, you’ll find:
- A brand personality quiz to clarify your organization’s style
- A font pairing guide and suggested color combos to make the design decisions quick and painless
- A curated list of free stock photo sites that feature diverse, authentic imagery
- A link to our Canva brand guide template so you can put it all together
