Finding the Voice
of my Personal Brand

This is how I went through the process of deciding Why, How, and What to say online.

Why?

Having studied graphic design, if I had to put it into words, what I feel would be the most significant positive impact I could have is in making design education more accessible, and the internet is the best means to that end at this time.

At the start of my career in design, I thought I would spend all my time designing logos and graphic works. It would shock my younger self to learn about the amount of reading and writing that a designer in my line of work has to do.

But, besides all my design/work-related writing, typing down my ideas has proven to be an incredible psychological tool for me to organize my thoughts and feel like I have a better grasp of my life.

At the risk of exposing myself to detractors —haters gonna hate—, I’m inclined to share online some of what I write about.

At first, I was honestly hesitant about exposing myself to writing a personal blog at first, until I heard from an Argentinian person encouraging me on the subject:

There’s not yet an existent tax on saying dumb shit.

And, sure, by this time in the digital age, there are already a gazillion of design or personal blogs having their say. Which reminds me of a Hungarian Member of Parliament who, after a long, long, looong discussion in the Parliament of Budapest, stood up and said:

Everything has been said, but not everybody has said it yet.

What?

Surely, I expect that design and creativity would be the most recurring topics. However, I aim to treat this as a personal blog as well.

Even though my Personal Brand was initially meant to represent me as a graphic designer, I’d like to think that there’s much more to a person than their profession.

My Personal Brand does serve to showcase my profession as a designer. Still, I hope it will also serve as a medium to rant about my thoughts on the creative industry, as well as a messy drawer of miscellaneous trains of thoughts I find amusing.

Although having an active blog is mainly used to gain online exposure, I don’t see it as a marketing tool to sell more logos. But rather as a way to express myself and entertain ideas publicly to open a conversation.

How?

I would like for the voice of my Personal Brand to aspire for the values I find positive in the world. Although it's impossible to write about your aspirations without sounding self-serving, this is what's on my mind...

No.1 — Authentic
I expect the blog to reflect my thoughts. As open-minded as I’d wish to be, this is still a personal blog, so every article is really an opinion piece. So, I don’t need to be over apologetic for my biases. I should feel free to rant on a tangent I find entertaining, just as I do in everyday conversation. I’m not interested in vanity metrics; nor I expect to stick to a content generation strategy with a calendar describing how often should I publish something. I will post something only if and when I feel like it.

No.2 — Transparent
I aspire to be transparent, starting with the complete implementation of web privacy regulations to admitting my doubts as a self-deprecating being. During a pep talk by the General Manager of a restaurant where I was working at, he said, “Honesty is the best policy”. I’ve taken that to heart as one of the best underestimated pieces of advice I’ve ever received. I’m human, so nothing human is foreign to me; Including failure. But, I believe that transparency is vital for collaboration and growth. I would like to live in a world where transparency is built into our institutions, our businesses, our society. Reflected in Lao Tzu’s words, “To give no trust, is to get no trust.”

No.3 — Passion-Driven
Being proactive in the mission to make design education more accessible. Putting forth conversations for the common growth of the Creative industry. Don’t hesitate to question the status quo. I like Anthony Bourdain’s words saying, “Lead, follow... or get out of the way”.

No.4 — Accessible
Even though English is the most commonly known language amongst the readership I would expect to get, some native Spanish or Croatian speakers would find it easier to interpret my thoughts in their respective languages. So, since I am a native Spanish speaker and Croatian is a language I’m hoping to get better at, I hope to offer a multi-language website tailored personally for each audience.

A lot more could be developed in the Tone of the Voice, like the Nielsen Norman Group's "The Four Dimensions of Tone of Voice", or copywriting styleguides. However, unlike for a commercial Brand, I don’t find those methods as practical for my Personal Brand.

Bonus