You aren’t a head of cattle.
Recently, I was mulling over my long-time, visceral dislike of word ‘branded’. Over my years as a designer, I’ve heard this word (and so have you) over and over when it comes to talking about a person or company’s visual identity.
Branded. It’s what they do to cattle to identify the heard.
I’ve had clients come to talk about their ‘brand’ and what I’ve found is that lots of people don’t understand what it means to develop a (capital B)rand.
They’ll ask “Is it my logo?” or “What colors should I use?… “What typefaces work best?”
Brand isn’t about any one of these components.
It’s about you. You are your company. Your company is you. You are unique. A well-developed, effective, exciting brand reflects your uniqueness because it comes from your essence. It’s your (capital-P)ersonality. It reflects who you are.
Or at least it should. But sometimes it’s hard to get there. I know. I’ve spent the last few years really digging through to get to the core of my brand.
Here’s what I’ve found that matters. Uncovering your brand is about how you want your company or business to be perceived. What do you value?
When this is crystal-clear in your brand and your visual identity, it will shine through on every card, email, webpage… and you will connect and reach the right clients. The ones that get you. And you’ll get them.
And you’ll get that connection before your first handshake, discovery call or email. With a properly designed visual identity your clients will know who you are before they even meet you.
At Simply Gorgeous Life we are all about simplifying. Paring down until we discover the essence. That’s where the true you starts. Where your (capital-B)rand starts.
