05/12/2026
Struggling with trying to find that balance between self expression and branding? You are not alone.
There's a stage many solopreneurs go through where they are wanting to express who they are and what they are about in their content design style and they are confusing that with branding.
And I get it. I've been going through the same process myself. 😅
I've changed my aesthetic several times. The intention behind it is still fundamental to who I am, but recognizing that your inner world, your expressiveness is not actually your brand - is a challenging stage to go through.
You want to be authentic, real, expressive without "performing marketing" but also relay the experience you want your clients to feel. It's a really delicate balance with lots of nuance, strategy and self reflection.
And after months of working on it myself, I have come to a few conclusions.
Self expression is expansive and changes over time. Validating and showing who you are as a person - is not the same thing as showing your potential clients who you are as professional - even when they overlap.
Self expression is also about you. It's about wanting to be seen honestly and authentically. It's welcoming people into "your world" as you prefer to express it.
But it doesn't necessarily translate well in media because as humans, we are complex, nuanced and multifaceted. It's nearly impossible to capture "you" in one look (design style).
Branding is about conveying the message of what your business stands for, how you want your customers to experience you as a business owner and the services you provide. Often times, who we are as individuals, is far more multifaceted than who we are as professionals. There is usually very specific things you do naturally in how you interact with clients. And honestly, this is where I use archetypes to help identify those key elements.
I tend to ask my clients How do you want people to talk about your business and how do you want them to talk about you as the business owner vs as a person
This can help clarify how you truly want to be seen professionally. The self expression part, comes across in copy, in priorities, in little slips of humor and causes you support or campaigns you run over time. It's a bit more like giving people room to explore and breath while they discover who you are vs doing a full dump at one time. Very similar to how you slowly reveal aspects of yourself over time to new people you meet while you try and determine who stays as a friend vs who remains an acquaintance.
But the branding - that is the foundation of your core values, your core method of relating and translating what you do or provide. It is the place you stand firmly on that is the underlying substance to your business. Not to say you can't pivot from that place, expand or contract as time goes on - but the heart, the purpose is the root that you grow from.
And cementing what that root is... can take time.
Branding is the clarity you want clients to easily see; the benefits, the shared values, how you meet them. Self expression is a gradual reveal that can complement your branding - not overwhelm it.
