What Does It Take To Stand Out? Brand Differentiation Lessons From 7 Years In Digital Design
Plus: An Exciting Rebrand Reveal (!)
AUGUST 23, 2023
7 years ago, 1 year into my corporate architecture job post-college, I hit a monotonous and unfulfilling “coasting” state in my life.
My job was “ok” but didn’t excite me. I hated the routine, disliked the work, and had my creativity contained to budgets and SOWs.
On a seemingly random but exciting whim, I got channeled the idea to start handmaking cards. I always loved scrapbooking as a child and this idea felt novel and intriguing as a new creative outlet I was desperately seeking. I committed to making one card a week for an entire year and launched studio domka designing my first logo & website in 2016.
When I left my agency job in 2020 to take my freelancing full-time, I rebranded to set the foundation for an exciting new chapter of my life: entrepreneurship. I wanted the brand to embody more of my interests and aesthetic but didn’t give much thought to the visual direction — it was simply an amalgamation of things that I naturally loved and then refined to create a cohesive brand identity.
Now, 3 years later, I felt the pull to revisit my branding once again. This time reimagining a new visual direction that embodies ALL of the bits, parts & pieces of my creative journey since those early cardmaking days.
A full circle moment 🥲⭕️✨
One of the most profound takeaways I’ve garnered from my 7 years of personal and client brand work:
If you’re seeking to stand out, go IN (wards).
Inwards to what lights you up.
Inwards to your unique story, rich background and most precious memories.
Inwards to your special gifts, talents, skills and capabilities.
Because there is only one unique and special you, the most magical brand identities are those that can capture that YOU-ness in an authentic, real and tangible way.
I recently experienced a powerful light bulb moment from a brand strategy deep dive with a dear client. During the moodboarding portion of our process together, we were comparing her personal Pinterest board to her business Pinterest board. Her personal boards (and personality) exuded edge, confidence, passion, sarcasm and a touch of darkness. Her business boards told a completely different story.
As a wellness & nutrition coach she was imagining a minimalist, clean, uber-organic look and feel for her brand, pulling inspiration from competitors in the space that gave off a typical "wellness" vibe. The images were lovely, but they weren't her. And that's when it hit both of us: my client was unconsciously trying to fit into an industry "box", seeking to blend in rather than stand out. In order for us to do the latter, we had to shift the perspective from looking outwards and turning back to self — embracing more of her exclusive edge, acknowledging more of her inherent expression, and consciously weaving in more of her authentic personality into both the messaging and visual direction.
The end result: a resonant, special and wholly one-of-a-kind brand expression that reflected my client's true self while putting a unique (but still applicable) spin to "wellness & nutrition coach".
The light bulb takeaway from this experience💡:
When we can root into what makes us unique, celebrate our stories, and consciously imbue more of our inherent selves into our branding, that is when true authenticity and differentiation emerges.
Not to mention some serious resiliency (your brand isn't going anywhere so long as you aren't).
And so, with this most recent rebrand for studio domka:
After 7 years of tinkering, testing, and trying all of the trends, templates, and typography, I feel like I've finally come back to my truest version of self. And this version captures all of that —
My Polish immigrant background.
My special home story.
My love for nostalgia.
My warm personality.
My architectural roots.
My artmaking spirit.
My incessant multi-passionateness.
And I’ve never loved it more 🥲❤️
Below is a walk down studio domka process and memory lane:
REFLECT:
If you were to dream into your most perfect brand identity that embodies your true, magical essence, what would it look like and why? (Permission to embrace YOU in the process 🙂)
