The Loveliest Realisation

I have just stumbled upon the loveliest realisation. Having my own business means having my own brand onto which I can unleash all my brand thinking.

Of course, I’ve always known this would be the case, but it’s only in the past couple of days that I’ve started to enjoy it. This is mainly because I’ve been sending the Unchained brand overview out to people. I know what people are expecting when they ask for information about a brand. They’re after some information on pantone colours and language guidelines.

Instead, they’re receiving our Unchained brand manifesto.

We’re not trying to be controversial, we honestly believe that the way a company approaches its brand can have a dramatic effect on the way the business shapes. We wanted to make sure that we realised from the outset that our brand doesn’t belong to us. Companies make this mistake all the time. They create their ‘guidelines for use’ and colour palettes as if a brand is a tangible, ‘ownable’ property. This is not only foolish, it’s dangerous – especially online.



We acknowledge the fact that our brand is shaped and developed by all our stakeholders. And we know that brands are way more about perception than pantone. And perception may be beyond our control, but not beyond our influence.

By acknowledging this, we can focus on things that will make a difference to the way people think, feel and (hopefully) talk about us. So, when we reflect on our brand, the way we behave and interact with our users is a massive part of it.