Branding
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
Branding is ultimately about how your work makes people feel. Branding is the emotional connection you create with your audience. It’s the feeling people experience every time they interact with your business. It’s the sense of community, belonging, and shared values that surrounds your work. It’s about building a movement—bringing together people who believe what you believe and who want to feel the way you intend to make them feel.
Many people think branding simply means choosing fonts, colours, a logo, and building a website. Those elements matter, but they are only a small piece of the overall picture. And each of those visual choices should also be rooted in emotion, chosen because they express a feeling you want your customer to experience.
Branding goes far beyond design. It expresses your values, the way you show up in the world, and the way you serve people. It may include giving programs, the events you align with and the messages you share. Your branding especially comes to life in your social media presence, because social platforms allow you to speak about what you care about, build community, and deepen emotional connection. Social media is an invitation to share your values, your mission, and your movement.
Branding also shows up in person. It lives in your body language, the clothes you wear, and the curated, professional version of yourself you bring into your business. It shapes the experience you create at events, in your packaging and at every touchpoint along the customer journey.
Every interaction is an opportunity to reinforce your values and create an emotional experience.
For example:
- If sustainability is a core value, your packaging should reflect that.
- If community matters, your events should feel warm, connected, and accessible.
- If beauty or sensory experience is important, consider how sight, sound, scent, texture, or staging can deepen the emotional impact.
Branding includes your written communication as well—your tone of voice, your professional copy, the words you choose, and how you speak with your customers. The goal is to speak to your customer (not to your friends or to yourself). Use the language they use, talk about the things they care about and reflect what matters to them.
Branding becomes exciting when you realise how creative it is. It’s community-building, connection-building, and emotion-driven. It is the heart of your marketing.
Your values become your brand values. They inform your messaging, your content pillars, your social media, your events, your packaging, and the overall experience of being in your world. They guide how you impact people and how you contribute to making the world better.
Look around for brands that inspire you.
Check out brands like Who Gives A Crap, Dollar Shave Club, and MONA for examples who communicate with personality, alignment, creativity and consistency every chance they have.
Have fun with this. Branding is the creative part of marketing.
Activity
Unpack the following questions and journal out ways you can deepen your branding.
Brand Purpose & Emotion
- What does your work stand for?
- What are your core values?
- What is the core subject matter of your work?
- Why have you chosen this path?
- How do you want people to feel when they interact with your brand?
- How do you want people to behave or engage in relation to your work?
- What do you care about in life, and how is that reflected in your work?
Visual & Experiential Alignment
- What elements visually or stylistically link everything you do together?
- What processes, rituals, or experiences define your brand?
- What emotional experience should each touchpoint create?
Emotion & Experience
- What are the feelings I want my customer to experience every time they interact with my business?
- If my brand were a personality at a party, how would it make people feel?
- What is the emotional journey from first contact to long-term customer?
Visual Identity
- If my brand had a colour that captured its emotional essence, what would it be and why?
- What three words describe the visual mood of my brand?
- What visual metaphors represent my purpose?
Values & Alignment
- Which of my values must be visible in every touchpoint?
- What choices in my business currently don’t align with my values?
- Where can I express my values more deliberately?
Customer Connection
- What language do my customers use to describe what they want, fear, or dream of?
- What conversations does my brand start?
- How does my brand help people feel seen?
Experience & Touchpoints
- What should people say after attending one of my events or opening my packaging?
- How can I add a sensory element to deepen emotional connection?
- Which touchpoints feel flat or unexpressive, and how could they be elevated?
Brand Behaviour
- How does my brand behave when it’s welcoming someone new?
- How does it behave when holding space for transformation?
- What more can I do to reinforce connection and belonging?
1. Brand Foundation
- Vision
- Mission
- Core values
- Purpose / “why”
- Brand story
- Customer feelings (emotional outcome)
- Brand personality & tone
- Cultural influences or inspirations
- Movement or community you are building
2. Verbal Identity
- Tone of voice
- Brand vocabulary / signature phrases
- Storytelling style
- Messaging pillars
- Tagline or positioning statement
- Brand promises
- Customer-first language (their words, their values)
- Email and DM tone
- Website copy voice
3. Visual Identity
- Colour palette
- Typography (fonts)
- Logo
- Iconography
- Photography style
- Illustration or graphic style
- Layout and spacing
- Social media style (grids, templates)
- Video style
- Brand textures / patterns
- Visual metaphors or symbols
- Lighting (in photography or physical spaces)
4. Sensory Identity
- Scent (events, packaging, experiences)
- Sound (music, tone, ambience)
- Texture (packaging, printed materials, product surfaces)
- Movement (flow of video, animations, transitions)
- Space design (event layout, room feel, atmosphere)
5. Experiential Branding
- Customer journey design
- Customer onboarding
- Packaging + unboxing
- Event experience
- Body language
- How you greet or communicate in person
- Presentation style
- Follow-up and aftercare
- Surprise-and-delight moments
- Accessibility and inclusion choices
- Community-building rituals or touchpoints
- Giving or contribution programs
6. Digital Presence
- Website design
- Social media presence
- Email newsletters
- Digital onboarding experience
- Digital content style
- Online customer service
- Automations that still feel personal
- Interactive elements (quizzes, downloads, workshops)
7. Social Impact & Alignment
- Causes you support
- Ethical approaches
- Sustainability
- Diversity and inclusion practices
- Advocacy or values-based leadership
- Transparency practices
- Supplier or collaborator choices
