Your Brand Is Your Gold

As an individual, company, group, or organization, your brand is everything.

Literally.

A brand is everything that makes you…you — the images you showcase, the promises you give, and the actions you take (or don’t take).

Whether you are an employee of a company, an entrepreneur, or a member of an organization, you need to know the brand you are representing. As a human being, everything you put out into the world is under the umbrella of your personal brand. It is important to be cognizant of the image you are projecting and make sure it is true to who you really are.

Proper use of media and design can be powerful tools to promote the image(s) that represent you. This is the purpose of style guides and visual brand identities. Below is an example of a visual brand identity I designed for a client. Note how it is not just a logo, but multiple elements.

And this is just a portion of the overall brand.

A full case study can be viewed here.

But before any visuals can be created, you need to know who and what you are.

For example, if you are a chapter of a larger organization, you must be the embodiment of the organization’s values. Within that, discover the unique character and voice of your chapter. After you explore and discover, extract and refine that gold. Present that refined gold to the masses, who will be attracted to its value and become its greatest champions. The purity of your purpose(s) should be clear and fully understood by its representatives and the target audience.

The value of your brand must be identified so that it can be purified and presented in a matter that maximizes your impact.

~b.