Recently in an application for a design contract I have been coveting, I was asked: What's your design philosophy in 6 words? My answer: "Courageous visual storytelling. Art disguised as design."

(Well, that's 7 words, but let's not get overly technical)...

Basically, I approach branding as an opportunity to create art. In creating my own brand, I decided I needed some good photography to have the visual impact I was after. I worked with an amazing photographer here in Mexico (Tania Nacif Iñigo), but before our shoot, I brainstormed ideas of what kind of images I wanted. I even scouted out locations, biking around town to find walls that had the colours and texture I thought would work.

I carefully considered my archetypes, my outfits and general vibe I was trying to portray. I held the vision for my brand and steered the direction of the shoot so all Tania had to do was show up with her mad skills and nice camera and bring her own brand of magic to meet mine. And I feel so satisfied with the results.

These photos are exactly what I was going for, and they feel so congruent and authentic to me and what my brand Brave Narrative is all about. Yet authenticity is a concept a lot of people talk about as if it's completely natural. Is this what I look like right now, typing this at 10:53 pm, still unshowered after my evening run, hair unkempt, sneakers still on? No.

Authenticity in branding and communications is a considered theatrics, a channeled design both crafted and captured, one that artfully conveys the soul of your brand. And so it is an art, and through the lens of story we find the living character that is your brand, and we work with these invisible forces to draw it out of hiding, squinting into the shining sun, there for all to see.