Daniel Scocco recently answered a reader question which asked, How frequently should we change the WordPress theme that we use for our blog?. In one line, Daniel hits the nail on the head with "As seldom as possible".
This is a topic I've been discussing with others regarding the long term consequences of using and changing WordPress themes. Immediately from a branding point of view, you don't want to change themes every other week or every other month for that matter. It's best to find a design you can stick with for a prolonged period of time not only to build your identity, but give readers a feeling of expectation. When your design changes numerous times a year, readers are forced to find bits and pieces of information which becomes a frustrating experience.
Another thing you want to consider before plunking down on a specific theme is the way in which you'll present content. While that 600 pixels you used to present large images to go with your content looks good now, what if you want to change to a theme somewhere down the road which doesn't have a 600 pixel wide content area? Thankfully, Justin Tadlock published a trick which can be used to mitigate this issue.
Overall, I agree with Daniel in that you should stick to one design for as long as possible and only do a redesign when it's absolutely necessary or when it's in your best interests. People don't like change so in the end, you probably will never win that battle but changing too often too soon is much worst.
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