Clarity of Identity: Becoming Who Your Future Needs You To Be

"It's not good enough." Not what any nine-year-old wants to hear. Especially for one who considered himself a good artist. But this was my aunty, someone I admired deeply and who just so happened to be an art teacher. Instead of politely praising my drawing or gently nudging me to try again, she took the time to explain, and what she said to me changed how I viewed the world forever.

The common thread

Before the term brand strategy was bounced around like a hacky sack at a Californian coders convention I was already curious as to why companies looked, sounded and acted the way they did.

In my early career as a designer, my insistence on asking why probably annoyed colleagues and clients alike - in fact I know it did. I wasn't satisfied with just creating something visually pleasing. I needed to understand why it looked good, what made it resonate. If I could just identify that special element, I knew whatever I designed would not only look great, but actually do a good job.

As my career progressed into brand design I became further intrigued to understand what made some businesses magnetic while others failed to attract. Curiously, it wasn't always the companies that looked the best that got the best results, so what was it?

That intrigue followed me throughout the following years as a designer, creative director and strategist. While working with a vast array of clients, from globally recognised names to scrappy challengers, I started to notice the ones who were thriving or went on to succeed had something unique about them, a particular energy and confidence. It was a common thread that was running through and I think if it wasn't for what my aunty said all those years ago, I probably wouldn't have spotted it.

Existing in truth and understanding

I noticed that the companies that struggled to create a clear project brief are the same ones struggling to grow. And the ones who gave us beautifully confident briefs? They are the ones that are thriving. I then looked back over all the original enquiries, reading through the project details and the follow-up comms to confirm for sure.

Even though it was over 15 years ago, I recall it vividly. I was sat in our old meeting room, surrounded by piles of paperwork. The large whiteboard was crammed full of stickies, scribbles, colour-coded chaos, all mapped out in an attempt to find some clarity. It was like being a police detective working on a big case, looking for clues. When I stood back and looked at everything together, the pattern hit me.

Yes, the better briefs led to smoother projects and more impactful outcomes, but it was recalling the companies they came from that stuck with me. They were the companies that truly understood who they were. I mean really understood, as a business, as a team, as a brand. They understood who they served and where they were heading. I remember visiting their offices and immediately sensing something different. There was a shared energy and everyone seemed to know what the business stood for and how it should show up in the world.

Then I reflected on the other projects. The ones that never really clicked. The ones where the design brief felt vague or thrown together. Those companies were always asking for more revisions, more exploration, more options. Not because they were chasing perfection, but because they didn't know what they were looking for or who they should be. Many of those businesses never gained traction and no longer exist today.

That was the moment my thinking crystallised. The difference wasn't just in the brief, it was in their clarity of knowing who they are - but what did this actually entail? How do they know who they are so holistically?

Identity identified

Further head scratching, beard rubbing and several packs of stickies later I managed to distill that the companies who truly knew themselves had several key characteristics:

• They had clear guiding principles. Not laminated, forgotten-on-a-wall values, but principles and expectations that shaped behaviour every day.

• Their personality was tangible. You could feel it in meetings, see it in their writing and hear it in how they spoke.

• They understood exactly who their customer was and what they were helping them achieve.

• They saw the impact of their work beyond the bottom line.

• They knew what messages they wanted to convey and the tone that felt unmistakably theirs.

• They weren't trying to be everything to everyone.

• They only used a small selection of 'visual assets'

• And crucially, it wasn't just the top tier staff - this clarity ran throughout the business.

The journey of knowing

In Stoicism, clarity is knowing exactly who you are and who you must become. It creates a foundation that allows decisive action. "If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favourable." Marcus Aurelius

The Japanese concept of Ikigai is finding purpose at the intersection of what you're good at, what you love, what the world needs, and what you can be rewarded for.

And in his 2018 book Atomic Habits, James Clear states, "Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become."

Across time and cultures, the message is clear: knowing yourself is the starting point for meaningful progress. In my own experience, both personally and when guiding businesses, once you understand who you are, you can begin to make the adjustments needed to become who you need to be. That’s when things start to align.

For businesses, this 'clarity of identity', as I term it, becomes a powerful internal compass. It helps them see not just where they are today, but who they need to become to succeed tomorrow. It guides decisions, unites teams, and builds conviction. That belief, tested and reinforced over years of working with clients, is what led to the methods and frameworks I use at Brandality today.