As a branding specialist and designer, I make a great deal of effort in making sure that my own brand truly represents what I’m about. So, I want to walk you through my own case study (fun!) so you can see how I define and build my own brand.
My brand is absolutely aligned with what I like and who I am as a person. I love the way color talks about my personality and the heart perfectly says that what I do is help others communicate their essence. But, of course, like with everything, my branding has been a continuous work in progress. I created my first logo when I was just about to graduate from college. I wanted to send out a teaser to all of the companies that I wanted to work with, in order to catch their attention, so I created a logo that was a mesh of an “f” and a “p” for my first and last name. There wasn’t much thinking behind the logo and brand in general, it was just something that I basically drew. Eventually the logo shifted with a better use of fonts and style, but keeping the icon and colors the same.
Web design evolution
The way I did my logo and general look and feel also affected my web design. When I began designing and my career in graphic design, web design was quite different from right now. That’s why it’s crucial to always stay in the right lane, making sure that what you do makes sense with the trends. When I began, websites were all about Flash, something that is completely obsolete today. Since then, I have been learning a lot more about coding and what works best in a website. Of course, in the end it’s all about trial and error, and figuring out what helps you convert most.
Branding on the inside and out
Okay, so now that you see the evolution of the design on the outside, it’s important for you to know that the main change happened on the inside. I began my career as a designer focusing on talking about the products and services I offered. Seems obvious, right? Well, as the years have gone by, adding hundreds of clients, an MBA and having to jump-start my career in another country has actually taught me a lot. Part of what I have learned has been the importance of focusing on the value I create for others. So, rather than focusing on the service I provide, I’m now more focused on the experience of transformation I can achieve for others. What does that mean? Well, I focus on the problem I am solving and how my potential clients’ lives will be better once they work with me.
Another thing that changed? Defining clearly what my mission was. You see, I used to not really care about what my mission was or see the importance on being clear on it. But my experience has taught me that having clarity on my purpose completely changes the way that I do business. Understanding who I am, what makes me different and the values that I support, are the things that make me: me. It’s what truly drives my brand.
For example my mission is:
I’m a branding specialist + designer that helps entrepreneurs create brands by showcasing what makes them remarkable while attracting more customers + building a successful business.
Really knowing and understanding the inside of my brand help me differentiating who I am all about (here you can read more on Branding beyond the logo). All of this enabled me to redesign the outside of my brand. That means new colors, new language, a new way of communicating, new fonts and styles. The font I used for my logo looks like a typewriter, for example. The reason for that is that I love writing (can you tell?) and I wanted to share this idea through design. The heart? It’s all about communicating the inside of a brand. It’s also about the values that I believe in most. I believe in the good in people, I believe in following your heart. All of these things are reflected in my brand.
