time for a rebrand

having a brand as a freelancer can be harrrrrd if you're not the type of person who enjoys loads of networking or speaking gigs, or who has the time and resource to create podcasts, newsletters or other such helpful industry gems.

for ages I thought my brand was simply my reputation; I get lots of word of mouth leads, I have excellent testimonials, I seem to be well-liked within the industry, so thought that was enough.

and I suppose it can be enough, if you're not in the business of show and tell - which, PR essentially is. and up until now, all I had to show was me; loud mouthed but scared of being perceived, hard working but overly self-critical, vibrant and bubbly but not showing up fully in fear of being seen as "unprofessional".

what bullshit.

professionalism is a social construct. its expectations are not universal or inherent. they have been forged and adapted and agreed upon by an ever-evolving society, and vary hugely between cultures, industries and global shifts. they're increddddddibly biased, too.

so I asked myself: what do I want to be known for? answer: for being authentic. for being honest. being kind. being different. 

did my online presence reflect that? did it heck. 

for someone whose house is full of colourful treasures and who dresses like a toddler on their first day of kindy, I was showing up online with nothing but a few headshots and a handful of stock images.

enter Marianne Taylor and HIYA VIBES.

I told Marianne that I wanted my brand to feel fun, unapologetic, and a little bit cringe (in the best way), and used the strapline "curated chaos" to describe my working style. 

throughout the HIYA VIBES process, Marianne managed to distil my nonsense brief into a colour palette, brand essence, and a library full of images that could not represent ME more.

read the full case study here

I now feel incredibly proud of my brand (i.e.: ME), and the content that Marianne created for me makes me feel capable of being perceived for the first time in a looooong time.

I still won't be releasing a podcast, don't worry.