Brand Audit & Brand Diagnostic
A brand audit is the diagnosis before the therapy. Before anyone redraws a logo, swaps out a colour palette or rebuilds a website, the step back is worth taking: what really works about the existing brand, what is just habit, and where does the legacy block the next phase. We examine this visually and verbally, across Germany for companies who take their brand seriously and prefer honest answers to their own gut feelings. The audit is the door to grounded decisions about relaunch, refresh or strategy work.
What exactly we examine
On the visual layer we go through logo (construction, clear space, scalability, recognition), typography (font pairing, hierarchy, legibility, licensing situation), colour system (applicability in print and screen, contrasts, semantic stability), image world (photography or illustration style, consistency, stock share) and secondary elements (icons, patterns, graphic markers). We note what works, what is applied inconsistently, and what no longer fits the brand's maturity.
On the verbal layer we examine tone, claim, domain language (how the industry speaks, how the company speaks within it), the key messages on website and social media, and the coherence between visual and verbal brand. Concretely: we read 20 to 50 examples and pull from them a picture of the actual voice, instead of quoting the official brand manual. In parallel we collect the competition on a visual board, so the brand's own position becomes visible.
What you get in the end
The audit document is 20 to 35 pages and is structured so non-design stakeholders can read it: findings with visual evidence, evaluation on a simple scale, recommendations in three scenarios. Scenario A is the targeted refresh (light intervention, budget range €8,000 to €15,000), Scenario B is the brand relaunch (medium intervention, €15,000 to €35,000), Scenario C is the strategic realignment with a subsequent brand strategy (large intervention, from €25,000).
What we do not do: audits as a sales-tactical prelude to an expensive follow-up. If the result is that the brand essentially holds and only needs sharpening in three places, we say so. Some audits end with the recommendation to change nothing for the next 18 months and put the money into other topics. That is the honest answer, and it does come up.
Honest, not diplomatic
We name what is not working. Politely, but concretely. An audit that approves everything is not an audit, it is a courtesy report.
Visual and verbal in one
We examine logo, typography, colour system and image world in parallel to tone, claim and communications. A brand rarely falls apart in one discipline alone.
Market as a picture, not just a list
Instead of a competitive table in Excel, logos, fonts and colours of every relevant competitor land on one board. That makes it immediately visible where the brand sits and where it does not.
Recommendation, not a research report
At the end stand three scenarios with effort, budget and timeline. You know whether a relaunch makes sense, a refresh is enough, or the strategy needs reworking first.
Frequently asked
A complete audit with visual analysis, verbal stocktake, competitive context and recommendation typically lands between €2,500 and €6,500. Compact visual audits without deep verbal review start at €1,500.
2 to 4 weeks is realistic. The first 5 to 7 working days go into material review and competitive analysis, the rest into evaluation, condensation and presentation. Faster for smaller companies with few touchpoints.
{ "Access to all relevant brand materials": "logos, templates, website, print examples, social profiles, brand guidelines if any, and ideally a list of the three to five most important competitors. We fill in what is missing through our own research." }
Yes. Audits run fully remote, across Germany. The results presentation happens on-site if preferred, but is not required. Many clients prefer a video call, because notes can be added immediately.
In most cases a [brand relaunch](/en/leistungen/strategie/markenrelaunch) or a [brand strategy](/en/leistungen/strategie/brand-strategie), occasionally just a targeted refresh of logo and guidelines. Which path is right depends on the audit result, not on a package decided in advance.
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Tell me briefly what it is about — in a 30-minute first conversation we clarify whether and how we can work together.