Brand Beliefs
Today I want to walk you through my beliefs around brand.
Buckle up.
I’m obsessed with creating worlds. Something you can feel, taste, touch before you even come into contact with it. The idea of a brand vision statement written in a boring workshop and a generic logo makes me so sad. Genuinely. Why? Because there’s so much room for more creative expression. When we step fully into our creative expression we build with ease, not this boring ‘how it should be’ feeling.
What makes brand and world building so exciting is creating a world that people belong in. Designing a space they can inhabit. You’re not just selling something, you’re inviting someone into an identity.
Your audience just ‘feels it’ when they discover you.
Where founders fall
’How it should be’ is something that kills so many business, or more over, their founders.
I think new founders know of only two main ways to build a brand.
1. Do all the generic ‘how it should be’ stuff. Think vision, mission, values, PDFs that mean nothing. Throw in a logo and some fonts and call it a day.
2. Do the above, but be vulnerable online. Show the good and bad. Be authentic. Market the hell out of it and *tyres screeech* burn out.
Both miss the point and put huge pressure on the founder.
For point one, there’s no emotion.
When we work with clients, we build a POV only they can hold. A position rooted in how they uniquely see and do things. Then we use words and visuals to tell that story, inviting others into it. Practically, it’s that one idea the whole team rallies around. Something no other brand could claim because it just wouldn’t make sense. It’s the POV they speak from every day. The values that guide decisions, campaigns, and hiring.
For number two, well that’s just a quick road to burn-out and oversharing. I’m all for sharing personal details. I’m an avid reader of Dianna Cohen’s (Crown Affair founder) substack where she documents her struggles as a founder and Margot Leveque’s (Type and Brand Designer) substack [ sidenote; two amazing women who just get it] But, when it comes to the heavy lifting for your company, you need a brand strategy. Authenticity alone isn’t a strategy, it’s just one tone within it.
The POV Brand World [ OD&CO method ]
Building brand worlds is creating art.
Conjuring up something that ignites the founder’s soul again. The ‘painter in their studio deeply immersed’ kind of feeling.
After two-ish year of building and refining my methods I settled on the concept of building a POV.
Only you can have your POV.
Its deep, it clear and it’s true to you. You don't need to say more, you need to say something only you can. A P.O.V that builds connection & trust with the people you want in your world. Remember you’re not just selling something, you’re inviting someone into an identity.
That, for me, is what should be at the heart of a brand world.
What I believe builds a great brand world
That’s the lens I bring to every project. Helping founders step out of the noise of social media and marketing and into clarity. A deeply thought-through brand that hold meaning and connects.
If I had to sum it up…
-The best brands have a POV others can’t copy.
-Strategy is the quiet structure that gives that thing you can’t quite put your finger on, emotion and direction.
-Brand building isn’t about adding more, it’s about finding what’s already true.
-Clarity is the most important thing you can do.
That’s it from me. Hope to catch up with you soon.