Branding can be just as important tool for individuals as it is for companies. This is, of course, nothing new. Perhaps the only change is in the vocabulary and earlier we would have just spoken of reputation instead of branding.
But I think using a deliberate branding approach to managing your personal reputation can be quite fruitful. Your reputation is something that happens in the minds of other people, just like brands. So if you are unsure how to go on about managing your personal image, perhaps try reading a textbook or two in advertising and branding.
One of the central tenets of branding is that all communications of the brand should speak with a unified voice – transmitting the same consistent message and image.
So in order to do this, I am undertaking a slow personal rebranding project. Or actually, it’s more about unifying the various aspects of my activities under a single brand.
A little over ten years ago I started using the term ‘typography’ to describe my interests and activities. That is why I started with a website titled typo.fi and used typofi as my nick on various sites, such as Twitter.
However, over time that has evolved into a much wider interest in visual communication in general. So now the connotations of typofi are starting to feel a little off. Because of that I started this new webpage that you are reading now. Until now I’ve been a little weirdly saddling both the website comdesres and the nick typofi. So, in order to get more coherence into my personal brand, I’m moving to use the nick comdesres. Yes, sure, it is 3 characters longer. But overall 9 chars isn’t too bad. And it communicates much better my interest and my expertise.
So, see you on Twitter with @comdesres!