If you’ve worked with me before, you know that I have my clients work through branding worksheets in addition to a creative brief. Yep, I give my clients homework. I ask a lot of questions and make you think about some things that you might have been avoiding. It’s not to make my clients uncomfortable or to have them do all the leg work – it’s to better shape the entire creative process. I know I have said this before, but the more dialogue we have upfront, the quicker we arrive at our design destination. But that’s not the point of my post. What I wanted to talk about is this: when you think about your new brand, who are you thinking about? It should be YOU. Recently a client of mine completed all their “homework” and happily provided me with their answers. It was thorough and complete – but I felt like I was reading about someone else. There was one issue – she was trying to appeal to a customer that ISN’T her. She was thinking more about what “they” might want than what she wants. Of course, we need to consider our clients’ tastes and needs. Trust me – I think about this all the time! Literally, all the time. But when you are a creative professional, your brand should be who you are – not a more generally appealing version of you. So, before you go trying to water down your own vibrant tastes and personality to appeal to more people – don’t! Your perfect clients will get you and all your unique facets – and they’ll love you for it. I do!