Issues > Winter 2012 > Feature > Building your Brand

Building your Brand

Words By Kerstin Upmeyer

Heading out into the design industry to find work as a new designer can be intimidating and confusing. There are so many fears, especially in a difficult economy. Setting yourself apart from the masses is a major part of successful branding. Personal branding is the art of building a professional persona – one that speaks clearly of your personality and abilities, showing your potential to prospective employers in a way that helps them understand what you can offer. It also allows them to understand how your abilities as a designer will fit into the current needs of their business.

There’s no way to avoid a lot of hard work in job hunting – it’s something you simply have to put significant time into and do consistently every day until you have secured the level of employment you’re looking for. You can waste your time with uninspired presentations and poor marketing choices, or you can make the decision to work smarter and find the most branding, networking and opportunities with your time as possible. This will surely increase the likelihood of you getting the kind of work you want and deserve.

In the industry, the main components designers use to develop a strong personal brand are a solid print portfolio, a powerful web presence that includes (but is not limited to) an online portfolio, a social networking strategy supported by in-person relationship building and any ancillary materials that assist in supporting your specific message and goals.

Print portfolios

Long gone are the days of plain black portfolios. In my final year at Art College, I recall being required to purchase a plain, black portfolio book. It was a requirement of the portfolio class and anything different was considered inappropriate. The work was supposed to stand on its own, and the portfolio book was just something nondescript to carry it in. However, getting something in today’s market that looks like what everyone else has is considered the wrong way to go. Now, designers distinguish themselves with a book that stands out and there are many amazing portfolio books available made of every conceivable material and in any size, shape and color. Want metal? Bamboo? Acrylic? You can get a beautiful book in a style that fits your branding voice. Companies such as Lost Luggage, House of Portfolios, Veer and Dick Blick can provide you with a book that fits your individual needs and it’s worth taking time to shop around and price compare. Buying a nice portfolio book is an investment, and you want to make sure that you’ve considered as many options as possible.

One question I am asked more and more by students is, “Do I really need a physical book?” While we may be headed towards a time when there is less expectation of a printed book, my current response is, “If you do a lot of print work, if graphic design is a big part of what you do, then you need to have your work in a printed book. People want to see printed work in its final form.” Designers whose main focus is on Web Design or Application Development may be able to get away with a slim book, or avoid one altogether. Another viable option for a designer with little need to show off printed work might be to utilize a tablet portfolio, which we’ll discuss a bit later.

Assuming you need a printed book, there are a few important tips to keep in mind. First, there is no hard, fast rule on a set number of pieces. The old rule of thumb of ten to twenty is a decent jumping off point, but some may have as few as five to eight. I can recall one student who, instead of twenty pieces of finished work, created a set of five case studies that covered concepts, marketing strategies, roughs and everything about the project with a display of the work in final form. It’s important to take into consideration that more focus is being put on the creative process behind your work. Including process materials in your portfolio can definitely be beneficial as it showcases your abilities as a true visual problem solver. It should go without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that your work should be printed on a high quality digital printer, on good paper. If you are using sheet protectors where the work needs to be mounted on the page, make sure the work is properly trimmed and mounted. Your portfolio should not be sloppy. Work like brochures, or multiple page documents such as newsletters, should be printed and folded and can be secured with museum wax, Velcro dots or some other medium so they can be easily removed from the page for viewing. Environmental Graphics should be shown in the environment they were designed for. Take the time to composite these pieces so the viewer can visualize the actual application. In addition, three-dimensional work such as package design or media requiring a die-cut or template is best shown in its final form through photography. However, you should have available a “flat” version to easily assemble and show upon request.

Another vastly popular option for a portfolio is an actual hard or softbound “book” which can now be printed as one-offs at a reasonable price. Sites like Blurb.com and Snapfish.com provide very beautiful and affordable options for you to create a custom-designed portfolio book. Regardless of the type of book you choose, or how you display the work within it, a good quality book that reflects your brand clearly is one of the primary tools in your arsenal. Another is your web presence.

Online portfolios and Interactive portfolios

It’s a given that you need some kind of online portfolio, though the form it can take can vary. One of the first things you should ask yourself is what the purpose of the site is. If you are mainly a print person then the online portfolio is a way to give potential employers a taste of the work you are capable of– enough to encourage them to call you in for that interview. If you are primarily a web person, then your book (if you have one) is the supplemental portfolio and your website acts as your primary portfolio. In either case, your online portfolios are a sure-fire way to help you line up possible work or interviews in areas outside of your geographic location or to help you job hunt in a city to which you are relocating.

Once you understand what the purpose of the site will be, you’ll need to decide on the type of site you want and what format. Many designers are using WordPress or Joomla for their sites or traditional HTML/CSS. It might not be in your best interest to build your site in Flash, as it seems to be moving more into the realm of application development and less use in web design, not to mention the lack of support for Flash compatibility on Apple’s mobile devices. The exception to this would be if you were promoting yourself as a Flash Animator or Developer, in which case this would be an essential component for you to show your skill set. Another option for you not-so-web-savvy designers is to use pre-built available platforms, such as an about.me landing page with something like Flickr to display the work and a Google profile or Wikipedia entry to stand in as a resume. There are many creative choices out there; what’s important is for you to create something that makes you stand out. Chris Jenkins, Lead Developer at ImTheirWebGuy.com shares, “When it comes to branding yourself professionally, your web presence is like the suit you wear to the interview. If it’s garish, poorly fit and considerably out of style…that reflects on you. If you show up without one, you’re not in the game at all.”

Social networking

Another way to increase your branding footprint is by networking on social media systems. Having an active presence on at least one or two of the major social media platforms has become as necessary as having a web-based portfolio. A huge percentage of jobs in our industry come from word of mouth, so how do you end up in “the right place at the right time”? You put yourself there. Having a LinkedIn account, a professional page on Facebook, an account on Twitter and a presence on Google Plus can help you network, professionally socialize and maintain connections already made through other venues. It’s yet another important way for you to build your “professional persona” as part of your overall brand.

Like anything else, there’s a methodology for using social media properly. You have to not just listen, but speak. But in doing so, you can’t just speak – you must respond to others. Always be aware of the “voice” you are using. Try to be personable, friendly and professional. Look for ways to offer help to others and keep in touch with people who could be potentially helpful to you.

Kim Randall, a Social Brand Strategist, brings up some important specifics for handling social media and its importance. She shares, “According to Socialnomics, 80 percent of companies use social media for recruitment; 95 percent of these are using LinkedIn, and Facebook tops Google for weekly traffic in the United States. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are just a few important platforms that when utilized efficiently could do wonders for one’s personal brand. We live in an age where face-to-face is being replaced with FaceTime video chats and handwritten letters are becoming extinct thanks to email. Personal branding tactics and efforts have also changed thanks to the Internet. The World Wide Web has become a place for ordinary individuals to showcase their talents, build a community around them and become the leader within the industry in which they are branding themselves. It’s very important to utilize every aspect of Social Media that you can; the more platforms you can become a part of, the more visible your brand will be.”

When asked what approach to take when starting to build your Social Media brand, Kim Randall suggests, “First, check your brand name across hundreds of social platforms with applications like knowem.com. If your name is available, perfect! Start signing up with that username, and if it isn’t available, think of a way around the name. As an example, on Twitter the username KimRandall was taken, but _KimRandall was available. I built my brand so creatively and efficiently that the underscore made no difference. If you build your brand positively and socially, people will remember you and a measly underscore won’t make a bit of difference. The goal is to have the same (or close to the same) username across the board as this is a crucial step in personal branding Online using Social Media.”

In addition, consider other sites like Aquent Staffing, Behance, and Deviant Art as another source of networking, job opportunities and places to display your work. Whenever possible, you should carry the relationships gained over social media out of the digital world and into the real one. It has been proven that connecting face-to-face can often strengthen and deepen relationships gained over online networking communities.

Building a brand for a client requires an understanding of that client’s needs, their target market and what they are looking for, as well as a strong grasp of all the avenues for developing, supporting and increasing that brand’s notoriety. Designing and building your very own personal brand identity is arguably one of the hardest things you will ever do. But at the same time, it will prove to be the most rewarding and meaningful decision you make. As you take the journey toward building your brand, you must treat yourself like your own customer and bring the same understanding and attention to detail to your own personal voice and brand. Everything you put out there, including what you say and do, will either hinder or help your brand. The stronger and more positive your brand becomes, the more likely the potential clients/employers you are targeting it with will be interested in doing business with you.

So, if you already have a strong brand in place and are achieving overwhelming success in the industry…way to go! If you’re just starting out and are hesitant, don’t be. Just take into consideration everything you read here and remember – your brand is much more than just your logo and business card. It’s the entire package – right down to the way you dress and act at an interview. If you make, and continue to make great impressions on your clients and maintain an overall consistent brand across the board, you’ll be sure to achieve the overwhelming success and job opportunities which you pursue.