Brand Storytelling and the Truth

Who you are as a person is inexplicably inseparable from what you do as a business.

There, I said it. Lots of people can say well that’s not true. There are so many scum bag cut throat assholes out there that make really good money and/or are very successful while running a clean business.

Yeah, no. Those people are known for being cut throat and are, 9/10 times successful because what they excel at is cutting the fat, regardless of the means. Is this a bad thing? Probably not from a business standpoint. I’m not here to judge.

As a designer, I get asked frequently “what do you do all day”

I tell your story.

That’s literally it. As a designer who specializes in branding, I tell your story through visual means. Often, I help you decide how else to tell your story (through content mapping, product development, etc.)

Notice the keyword here is helping. I cannot make up a story for you, I cannot decide your story for you, nor can I tell a story that is false. Why? Because it will show through. Inconsistencies in branding always comes through at some point or another.

So how do you decide what the story is?

Simple. Answer the following questions:

• Who are you?
• What are you made of?
• What do you stand for?
• What value do you really offer?
• What do you say you stand for that isn’t the absolute truth?

If you can answer those honestly, you are half way there.

Which brings me to my next point. This process of discovery is where most of your money is spent with your brand builder.

Why? Because most clients want to treat their sessions with their brand builder as a dating process. Meaning, they want to tell you everything they hope to be by showing the pretty and presentable side without being honest with you and showing their less than stellar side. And, on top of that, if they do tell you the truth it is a somewhat watered down version.

So then, as the brand builder, designer, marketing professional, whoever you are, we have to spend an enormous amount of time digging and drilling down to get to the heart of the matter. We spend extra time finding the skeletons in the closets, learning to fall in love with who you really are, as opposed to who you want us to believe you are.

So, what is branding then?

Branding = The story of who you are

Branding = Personality

I’ve often found most young companies have a hard time narrowing the scope. In the thirst for new business, many companies want to be something to everyone, instead of offering true value as being something to someone. While I do believe new business development is important to keeping the lights on, I strongly believe the brand story needs to drive all aspects of a company: how you keep the lights on, who you employ, who you work with, etc.

No one trusts a perpetual liar. Mistakes can be forgiven, but that’s as far as it goes.

Branding = Honest storytelling