← The Angry Designer Graphic Design, Freelancing, Branding & Creative Business Podcast
The Angry Designer Graphic Design, Freelancing, Branding & Creative Business Podcast
Unforgettable Personal Designer Brands. Lessons from Draplin, Walsh, and Bierut
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You clicked on this because you keep hearing about how important your personal brand is, yet it's always really vague advice by people who look generic. If you start building the wrong personal brand, you don't just get stuck. You build something fake, something forgettable. And if there's one thing that designers don't deserve, it's to be forgettable. In this episode of the Angry Designer podcast, powered by Wix Studio, I'm going to show you what real designer personal brands look like by breaking down three of the strongest designer personal brands out there. And Aaron Draplin, Jessica Walsh, and Michael Beirut. Three completely different personal brands with zero bull behind them. So let's go. So when did personal branding go off the rails and become such a ridiculous buzzword? No wonder designers feel allergic to this stuff. Personal branding isn't the problem though. The problem is who we're listening to about it. We're getting branding advice by people who aren't even designers, who aren't aren't even freaking creatives. And now everybody sounds the same. They're confused, they're discouraged, and they're bland. Personal branding is actually not a bunch of bs. The BS is where the information come from. So if that's the case, then what exactly is a personal brand? I'd like to think it's that feeling that people get when they experience you. Your personality, your beliefs, your thinking, your energy. It's what makes up you and you define you when. Which is why I think the best way to do this is to look at three designers who have built some of the strongest brands in graphic design. Personal brands. Let's start with the big guy, the Myth, the Mountain. Mr. A. Aaron Draplin. Where is A. Aaron right now? Yeah, I know. Aaron Draplin is a totally unfiltered brand. You don't need a tagline or adjectives to describe him. You just have to see him walk into a room wearing his Canadian tuxedo with his hair everywhere and his crazy beard, talking with his big heart and big energy. You already know the brand. Bold, thick lines, retro Americana, no filter, all heart. His personality, his values, his designs, it's all him. It's all the same package. He is the designer brand. The dude even drives a frickin orange panel van. And whether you see him on stage or on social or in an interview or at a diner at 2 in the morning, he is 100% droppy. He's impossible to copy, and he is impossible to forget. That's why people trust him. Not because of his style, but because he Shows up as himself and doesn't give a fuck if people like him or not. So lesson number one. A real personal brand comes from consistency of self, not consistency of content. Designer brand number two, Jessica Walsh. People say that she is colorful and she'd kick their ass if she met them, because that's like saying Babe Ruth is just a baseball player. Just go. Walsh's brand is. Isn't colors and shapes and maximalism. Her brand is conviction. Big word, I know, but hear me out on this one. How else can you describe her? She doesn't just have opinions. She stands behind them completely and speaks out, speaks her mind about them. She says what she feels. She uses her voice, embraces her influences. And she doesn't dilute herself to make customers feel comfortable. Everything she does is extensions of her worldview. Conviction. Which also makes her a little scary. So lesson number two. A real personal brand is built from your point of view, not just your Persona. And now to completely the opposite end of the spectrum, Michael B. Root, the timeless brand. He's not gonna scream in your face and wear a giant beard. He's the epitome of the modern day mid century designer. He embraces this nostalgic energy in his work. His presentations, his pitches, he talks, the way he designs. He's measured, thoughtful, he's ref. He's got this gentlemanly energy that makes him feel like he's been mentored by one of the masters. Oh, wait, he was. By Massimo Vignelli. He's the kind of guy that could critique you in such a polite way that you'd say thank you as he destroys you. He's not trying to be anything. He simply is who he is. An old school designer with a modern twist built on depth, restraint, and decades of speaking clearly and thinking clearly. So lesson number three. A real personal brand is built from how you think, not just how you design. Three designers. No branding exercises. They became brands because they weren't afraid of who they already were. They didn't just build a personal brand, they lived one. And now a word from our sponsor. Designers. Let's be honest. Web design should be a graphic designer's job. It's bold, it's creative, it's experimental, and at its core, it is design. Layout just brought to life online. But somewhere along the way, graphic designers lost it, Developers took over, tools got complicated, and creativity took a backseat to code. Thing is, clients still expect us to bring their brand to life everywhere. And if we're not offering web design today, you're leaving money and potential opportunities on the TABLE. That's where Wix Studio comes in. It's the web platform built for designers with a drag and drop interface that feels like a designer's tool. Plus, no code, animations and AI powered tools. You can create fully custom websites that match your vision. Every pixel, every layout, every detail. So whether it's a simple branded brochure site or an online portfolio, or even a full blown e commerce experience, Wix Studio makes it all possible for graphic designers with tools that think like a designer, not like a developer. The web doesn't need more templates. It needs you and your creativity unleashed. And Wix Studio is going to give you that opportunity. So stop giving your creativity away and take back the web for design. Visit wixstudio.com and designed the web the way it was meant to be. But what if people don't actually like your personality? That fear is what's crippling so many designers and holding people back. Newsflash, people. It's okay not to be for everybody. Draplin's not for cosmetic brands, and Walsh isn't for liquid death. And it's not because they can't do the work, but because they refuse to change who they are to get the work. And for every client that you're not a fit for, there's a client who says, finally, the designer I have been looking for. So why do designers fail at personal branding exercises? Well, first off, we all know it's impossible to work on your own stuff. It just doesn't work. So don't be too hard on yourself there. But I think more importantly, designers try to sound like the designers they think clients want, not the designer that they actually are. And that's where things fall apart. In my first five years of business, I thought the world wanted Don Draper. So I dressed the part. I wore suits, jackets, ties, the whole costume. I walked into meetings trying to look like somebody I wasn't. And I was miserable. Successful, but miserable. Because I was cosplaying an ad man instead of being a creative director. So I burned my tie and decided to do things my way. I built the absolute most obnoxious website full of steel and flames and trucker girls is basically giving the whole world the middle finger. Two weeks after launching, I got a call from a business owner who was nothing like me. And he said, if you can put that much creativity into a website, you can definitely help my boring company look good. And that's when I realized that it was okay to be me. And 20 years later, I'm still doing things my way. So when you dilute yourself, you become forgettable. And when a designer becomes forgettable, well, they're just forgettable. So how do designers build a personal brand that actually works? I don't think it's about investing, inventing anything new, because it's about admitting who you are and letting your work just catch up to you. Your brand's always been there. You've just been living in someone else's view. So let's try this. Number one, figure out what's already true about yourself and ask some real questions. What do people come to you for? What energy do you bring to a room? What are things that people point out about you that you're just kind of ignoring? Your brand is just hiding there in plain sight. People, it's already there. You just need to stop covering it up. Number two, turn your worldview into your positioning. A personal brand isn't something you say. It's something you believe. Draplin believes in working class grit, and Beirut believes in clarity and simplicity. I believe in saying things the way they are. No, but yes. These beliefs shape everything you touch. You have beliefs. I know you do. Probably more than you realize. Your worldview is. Is your brand. You just have to embrace it. And number three, let your design work reflect your personality, not the trend report. You shouldn't be known for chasing trends like a desperate intern. Your aesthetic should feel like you. If you're bold, then your work should feel bold. If you're clean, cut, and put together, so should your work. Your personal brand isn't a costume you wear. It should feel like a skin. Ultimately, if you're going to take away one thing from this, just remember that you need to brand the designer, not the Persona. I learned this the hard way when I dressed up like Don Frickin Draper. I looked successful, but I felt fake. And when I stopped pretending, the right client showed up. Not because I was perfect, because God knows I was far from frickin perfect, but because I was honest with who I was and they liked who I was. Joplin doesn't fake grit, and Walsh doesn't fake conviction. Neither should you. Every time you water yourself down to be more professional, you erase the things that makes you unforgettable. So stop auditioning and be yourself and let your personal brand grow unapologetically. The right clients will find you. Don't forget to, like, subscribe. And. And let's keep this thing going. I kind of like it. All right. On behalf of Sean and myself, stay creative and stay angry. Pe. Sam.