Visual Drift: Why Brands Stop Looking Like Themselves

You know that feeling when you look at your own brand and it somehow doesn’t feel like you anymore? The logo is the same, the words are mostly right, and the message is still “on brand”… but the visuals have started to wander. 

A new template here. A new font there. Someone’s “quick” Canva edit. A LinkedIn graphic that looks like it came from a different company. 

None of it is a big mistake. It’s just… a hundred small ones. 

And in PR, you can’t afford that moment when a stakeholder sees your work and thinks, Wait—who are we today?

Because we’re living in a scrolling, skimming world where people decide in seconds. They don’t stop to decode your intent; they feel something fast, or they move on. So how do you keep creativity alive without letting your brand drift into a different personality every week? And what actually makes a visual work now? What makes someone feel something immediately? 

Listen For

:15 Why did Boaty McBoatface become the perfect lesson in brand control?

3:17 What is visual drift and how does it quietly damage brand credibility?

4:53 Why should brands resist changing logos and colors too often?

6:14 How are Canva and easy design tools changing the role of visual experts?

8:55 How do brands win attention in the first 0.3 seconds of scrolling?

Guest: Stewart Cohen

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Doug

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Farzana

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Transcript

Solomon Ibeh (00:00):
A brand can change a little each week without noticing. And in a visual world, those changes are called visual drifts.

Farzana Baduel (00:15):
In 2016, a British science agency did something sensible. It wanted people to care. The Natural Environment Research Council had a new polar research ship on the way. A big ship, serious work, ice, climate, data, long days at sea. So the NERC asked the public to help name it. It was supposed to be a clean piece of outreach. Let people feel involved, give a stake in the mission. They opened a vote and the internet did what it does when you hand it the pen. The top choice was not a hero. It was not a scientist. It was not a quiet noble name. It was Boaty McBoatface. It moved fast and it made people laugh. It spread because it was easy to share and because it felt like a small win, like the crowd got to wink at the room. Then the grown up part arrived. The NERC still had to name the ship.

(01:12):
 They had a job to do and a legacy to protect, so the ship became the RRS Sir David Attenborough. But the lessons stayed. If you invite everyone in, you need a line on the floor, you need rules. Otherwise, the loudest thing wins, not the truest things. Brands learn it the same way. A new platform, a new designer, a new campaign, a new tool in every pocket. Every change is small. Each one feels harmless. And then one day you look at it and you do not recognize it. That is visual drift. And in a scrolling, skimming world, people decide in a second they feel something or they move on. Today on Stories and Strategies, how do you keep your creativity without turning your brand into Brandy McBrandface? Hello, my name is Farzana Baduel.

Doug Downs (02:18):
And hey there. My name is Doug Downs. Our guest this week, Stuart Cohen, joining today from Dallas. So I guess I say howdy when I greet you, Stuart.

Stuart Cohen (02:26):
There you go. A Canadian living in Texas.

Doug Downs (02:30):
Hey, fantastic. How are things down in the Big D?

Stuart Cohen (02:34):
So far so good. It is warmer than it is where you are. How about that?

Doug Downs (02:38):
Yeah. Well, you can almost always leave it at that. Yeah. Yeah. Stuart, you are a commercial photographer and filmmaker known for creating polished visual work for brands, agencies, and artists. Through Stuart Cohen Pictures, you bring together photography, motion, and production to craft images that feel cinematic, strategic, and built to stand out.

Farzana Baduel (02:57):
So Stuart, in PR land, we always talk about staying on message and we kind of mean words. We kind of ignore the visual side, but there is such a thing as visual drift and it can also undermine a brand credibility and reputation. Talk to us about visual drift.

Stuart Cohen (03:17):
It is pretty astute of you to notice that. And what I see coming from what we do in terms of production is I see it over and over and over with companies in that they do, say, an initial branding campaign and they have a look and a feel, and we stick to that campaign. And then as the campaign ages, it just kind of tends to go off brand because maybe the offshore division does another look and everybody is being asked to post content with the look and feel, but it drifts over time.

Farzana Baduel (03:55):
And

Stuart Cohen (03:56):
We have seen that. I have been a part of it even when I am on the initial launch of a new branding look, and then you kind of see it over the years. Well, we got a call from the aesthetics department over there in Canada and they want to change it up a bit. And honestly, I think it is a very honest mistake because it is not even a mistake. It is an honest piece of the trajectory because in today's day and age, we are pushing so much content that it is really hard for brands to really keep it on target with all the different people they are requiring to create this content.

Doug Downs (04:41):
So does this mean I cannot change colors? I cannot put my logo. If I usually have it in green and I try it out in blue or I try it out in red, I cannot do different colors?

Stuart Cohen (04:53):
This is what I think. And I think when you get sick of your logo, people are just starting to recognize it. You see stuff every day, but your clients do not see it every day. And think about sticky brands. Think about brands that you recognize and you recognize their lines, their taglines. Think of Nike, Just Do It. I mean, how long did that take? And actually, since we first talked, I thought about it a lot and thought about some of the brands out there that have really stuck on brand. And it seems to be the insurance companies that are really good with that. You think of Flo, you think of chaos, that guy Mr. Chaos. You think of

Doug Downs (05:42):
The gecko. I think of the gecko. The gecko. Yeah.

Stuart Cohen (05:45):
Yeah. The gecko is great. And also the emu. Again, I cannot... But you remember them and they are not doing all these micro campaigns. It is like we have one look, one feel. Everything has the gecko on it, period. And we all remember the gecko, and I am sure you just type into your search bar, “What brand is the gecko?” and it will pop up.

Doug Downs (06:10):
I have met the gecko. It was an honor.

Stuart Cohen (06:13):
There you go. Cool.

Farzana Baduel (06:14):
Moving on from the gecko. Now Stuart, everyone now has these incredible tools that they can use and create these beautifully designed social media assets, videos, etcetera. And these apps are just becoming increasingly user friendly as well. So you kind of do not need that level of going to, I do not know, study visual communication at degree level and all of that to do what you can now do as a layperson with these apps. So where does the advantage actually lie now for visual communicators, experts? How do you differentiate yourself in this day and age when we have all got Canva and all of these other tools?

Stuart Cohen (06:59):
Sure. Well, I do think for graphic designers, I mean, it is a huge challenge. And like filmmakers as well, the middle ground is kind of eroding because the tools are available to everybody. So if you are just a middle of the road graphic designer, you should probably be looking for a new job because you really have to be on the A level. I think in anything, any of what we do today, because everything has been so democratized. But I do think the tools are amazing. Like the Canvas of the world. I am sure Adobe is shaking in their boots because they are rolling it out and anyone can create. You do not need to understand how Illustrator works or something like that. But maybe when we are talking about visual drift, if you think about a brand, say you are a big Fortune 500 company that has offices all over the world, maybe their design team, I mean maybe it is their responsibility to send out the graphic standards manual because I think people have forgotten about that, but send it out in a way that anyone can use it.

(08:07):
 So maybe it is a Canva template. So it is like whatever you do, we love the content you are doing, but please brand it accordingly. And I think that might go a long way actually.

Doug Downs (08:21):
I mean, I have visual drift every night. When I am watching the hockey game on TV, I sit on my phone and I am scrolling and I am scrolling. It is a scrolling world, right? And the idea of the visuals, I have this saying you have 0.3 seconds to earn three seconds, to earn 30 seconds, to earn three minutes, blah blah blah. The 0.3 seconds is something connected to your visual, right? So give me a checklist or itemize for me, how do I earn that 0.3 seconds and what is the biggest mistake? What is the biggest fail that you see?

Stuart Cohen (08:55):
Wow, that is a really good one because we used to do 60 second commercials, then we are doing 30s and then they want a 30 with a 15 and now there are sixes and like YouTube Shorts. And the one thing that the research has showed is that you need your logo up there in the first three seconds for them to even cognitively understand who the spot is for. Six seconds is so quick and it used to be you only put it at the end. So somehow you need to create compelling visuals that incorporate your story and your brand quickly. And it is real. I mean, it is easy for me to say. I am the first guy to say it is pretty difficult to maintain that, but I do feel like we need to tell stories to pull people in quicker.

Farzana Baduel (09:55):
I like that. Stuart, most people listening are PR people. PR people tend to be copy people, words people. And nowadays we have to really embrace the visual side because so much of content is visual. It is not only just image, but video led. What advice would you give to PR people like ourselves who just think in terms of the power of the word and we need to broaden our horizons to understand the power of the visual? What advice would you give us to embrace this world and do well in this world?

Stuart Cohen (10:29):
Yeah. And I think that is really interesting that you bring that up because being a visual guy, I think sometimes the words are the things that pull people in versus the visuals. And if you think about 0.3 seconds, just a word on the screen is not going to engage them, so somehow you need to incorporate the visual with the word. And maybe, I mean just thinking where I am sitting right now, maybe the visual needs to be an iconic visual that you create for your brand that everything starts on that static visual and then it starts moving into live action. So if you think about, and if this sticks you are going to have to credit me with it. I mean, so if you have, say you have a static visual with whatever words you are trying to get across, and today with post production, I mean that could move into a story, whether you are putting it up there for six seconds, 15 seconds, or 30 seconds, or a color, or some kind of graphic that is under the words.

(11:36):
 I mean, we all know that when you are scrolling, say back to what you are saying Doug, you are scrolling on Instagram. We all know the closed caption thing goes a long way because a lot of people watch without the sound, especially if you are watching a TV show or

Doug Downs (11:52):
80 percent.

Stuart Cohen (11:52):
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So I think the words are becoming more important because they need to pop up there. So it kind of pulls people in because even if the audio is not on, it is like you read that first line, it is like, “Oh, I want to listen to that.”