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So I finished the Jose Mourinho Documentary on Netflix in one sitting with the boys this past weekend.
I fully recommend.
The guy seems so “authentically him”.
Now I don’t like how the word “authentic” is thrown around today in the branding world as it it’s something tangible, it isn’t.
It’s like trying to bottle yourself or putting yourself in a box that can be manufactured. Not possible.
In the professional sense, when it comes to branding a personality or a business, it’s more useful to be consistent than to be authentic.
Being authentic means I’m tired today so I won’t design.
Being consistent means I’ma get that post out no matter how I feel because I’m a pro and I'm showing up to help my audience.
Mourinho showed up to win because that was his job. Whatever he had going on in his personal life was left outside of the stadium before the initial whistle
He showed up for his players with a consistent idea on how to play football, his mantra was to win at all costs. Play aggressively, play with passion, do whatever’s it takes.
He had a consistent formula and a view of the game, but his personality, his “authentic self” was all over the place.
Gotta love the guy.
Below here is a framework to help you show up consistently like a pro if you are building a brand (personal or business).
Cheers.
Consistent over authentic is a sharp reframe, especially for branding a personality. I'd push back a little though: doesn't consistency eventually become its own kind of authenticity, the thing people can rely on becomes who you are to them. Or do you see those staying separate forever?
Yeah I totally see your point! I think our authenticity will inevitably show as we focus on staying consistent with how we show up for our audience. But I find the trendy advise of "be authentic and everything will work out" is not necessarily useful. Focusing on showing up...
That distinction between one specific audience with one specific offer versus vague authenticity advice is the real takeaway here. I'd guess people confuse being authentic with being unfiltered, when it's really about picking a lane and not wavering. Do clients usually resist...
You got it Diego, that's exactly it. In general I feel like we tend to struggle picking a focus and sticking to it (clients and creatives included), but it's very important because we don't don't connect with brands that are all over the place with how they show up, their offer, etc..
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Mosii, a minimal menswear brand identity I designed, was just featured on Contra's homepage.
My portfolio had gotten a bit stale, so this landed at a good time. Nothing like a feature to remind you to keep showing up for your own work.
Amazing, thats a milestone right there to aim for.
Love how strong the final result is!
Fizzo is a conceptual packaging design project, developed as a portfolio exercise: a fictional sparkling kombucha line imagined as a brand extension of Tao Kombucha.
The project explores how a brand built on health and purpose can enter the "ready to drink" kombucha movement, closer to a premium soda than a supplement, without giving up the identity it has already built, creating a sub-line endorsed by the parent brand, free to communicate energy and instant pleasure.
The work covers naming, positioning, a flavor-based color system, illustration direction, and typography, applied across 4 SKUs: passion fruit, cashew fruit, açaí, and guava.
Conceptual project, not affiliated with the real brand.
Full project on Behance: https://www.behance.net/gallery/254205011/Fizzo-Kombucha-Packaging-Concept
Product DesignProduct StrategyAdobe IllustratorAdobe PhotoshopFigmaproductdesignerpackageartdirectorPackaging Design
looks super refreshing, sparkling kombucha sounds like a dream.