VISION. CREATIVITY. COURAGE.

Vision: If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re not going to get there.  Hoping  you’ll end up somewhere cool works when you take a road trip through the California coastline, but isn’t quite so effective when creating and building your brand.

Creativity: You’ve got to be willing to go to that place inside you, or your brand, where no one has ever been.  Force yourself to identify good branding in the candy bar aisle of your local convenience store.  Watch commercials for the logos.  Take a walk and identify elements of nature you consistently admire.  Sketch. Write. Draw. Paint.  Push yourself!

Courage: It isn’t easy to put yourself out there.  It’s a lot easier to hide behind a logo and talk about business, business, and only business than to admit you’re scared, you’re weak, you’re unsure of your brand, you’re having trouble potty-training your dog…it’s hard to be human when you’ve dealt with so many years of ‘professionalism’ meaning you act like a robot trained to swipe credit cards and thank customers for their purchase.

Let’s go beyond what’s expected of us, as artists, and create truly remarkable brands.

Want to read it on the blog? BRANDING: THE PEP TALK.