How to build your personal brand
A guide for product designers
As a product designer in the interiors and design industry, you may find that it is increasingly difficult to stand out from your competitors and reach your target audience.
In a crowded and competitive market, building your personal brand can help you to carve out a niche for yourself and reach and retain customers. But what is personal branding and what steps do you need to take to build and develop yours?
What is personal branding?
For product designers, personal branding is the way you shape the perception of yourself as a creative. It is your identity and it has an impact on your industry reputation, setting you apart from your competitors. It’s an essential part of building and marketing your products and yourself.
Whether you are starting a new business from scratch, considering an overhaul, or a minor refresh, building a strong personal identity is the key to your success. Your brand must be genuine, engaging, unique, inviting and consistent in order to attract your target market. So, where do you begin?
Tell your story
Consider the narrative of your brand and how it is unique to you and your business. How and why did you decide to set up a business creating a particular product? Often a brand’s origins can be traced back to your personal passions and ethics, or perhaps it was because as a designer, you noticed a gap in the market for an innovative product you could create.
Tell your customers about your brand history and narrative and make sure that it’s highlighted on your website, social media posts and within any PR and marketing materials. Successful brands connect with their target audiences because they understand how to build a genuine, engaging and inviting identity.
Brand values
Your values are an intrinsic part of your company and you should have them front of mind whenever you undertake any sort of marketing activities, from content creation to industry networking. Think about your personal strengths and values and how they relate to your role as a product designer. Customers and like-minded businesses may share your passion for handcrafted ceramics or your views on sustainable materials, so will be drawn to you if you emphasise these. Remember, that whilst your core values will largely remain the same over time, they can also evolve as your business grows and develops.
If you have branched out into new avenues, or partnered with top influencers or artists, don’t be afraid to revisit and update your brand values on a regular basis to reflect your current positioning. Also, ask for customer and colleague feedback, as they may provide an interesting point of view that you had not previously considered.
Logo and typography
Another key consideration when building your personal brand is your logo. From the typography to the font colour, your logo will often be an introduction to your brand, so it needs to have an instant impact. Whether you design traditional products, such as heritage tableware or innovative and dynamic textiles, your logo is an integral part of your personal branding, so think about what you want it to say.
A graphic designer will be best placed to advise on how best to incorporate your branding into your logo, but maybe it can nod to your green credentials with a simple symbol, or a striking and brightly coloured initial can give an indication of your bold creativity.
Social media
Living in the digital age means that as a product designer, there are ample opportunities to build your personal brand. Your website and social media channels are invaluable tools for connecting with your target audience, so these should form an integral part of your personal branding.
Instagram, a visual platform, is one of the most important tools in a product designer’s arsenal, whilst LinkedIn, often overlooked by product designers, can hold the key to building your industry reputation and network. Your content for digital platforms should be carefully curated and informed by your target audience, product collections, brand messaging, visual identity and tone of voice.
Create a content strategy document that plots out your digital plans and make sure to regularly measure the performance of your digital activity to ensure it delivers the best results.
Be a thought-leader
Set yourself apart from your competitors by establishing yourself as a thought leader in your field. There are myriad ways to do this, from crafting considered and informative product descriptions for your website, or creating authoritative thought-leadership content for your blog and social media channels. Network at trade events and digitally, via LinkedIn, to communicate with your audience and industry colleagues.
As well as making new connections, the purpose of this exercise is to educate, inform and add value for your audience. Pitch yourself as a leader in your field, drawing on your business knowledge and expertise, or highlight your craft as a product designer. If you’re comfortable with public speaking, consider taking part in a podcast or a panel talk at a relevant industry event. This will help to bolster your reputation as an industry expert.
Consistency is key
Always be consistent. This means carefully considering each piece of content you create, down to every last Instagram post or Story. Once you have built your brand voice and visual identity, you must make sure that it is communicated consistently across all of your platforms. Of course, the tone of voice may change slightly depending on the platform, as it may be more friendly and lighthearted for an Instagram post and more authoritative and educational for your LinkedIn profile, but developing coherent overarching brand messaging with a tailored approach for each platform, will tell new and existing customers and collaborators who you are and what you stand for.
From honing your brand tone of voice to creating a tailored social media content strategy, there are various ways for product designers to develop their personal brand.
Whether you have just launched a business as a product designer or are looking for a brand refresh, if you need help with building your personal brand, please get in touch with us.
