Level up your visual brand: Creating a signature visual style identity for your personal brand
Discover how to curate your signature visual style to confidently express your personal brand.
Your visual brand is often the first impression people have of you. It speaks before you say a word. The way you dress, the colours you gravitate toward, the fonts you choose, even the feeling of your home or office… it all quietly communicates who you are and what you stand for. That’s why creating a signature visual style identity isn’t about aesthetics alone; it’s about alignment, clarity and showing up as the most intentional version of yourself.
Have you ever felt unsure about your style, overwhelmed by trends or tempted to buy things that later felt not you? This guide will help you pause, curate and reconnect with what’s truly aligned with your personal brand.
Mood board before you buy
It’s no secret that Pinterest is my favourite social media platform. If you’re not familiar with the platform, think of it as less social and more search engine. It’s a place to get inspired and creatively curate ideas into boards and sub-boards as your heart desires. As I’ve shared previously, for me, it’s the visual version of my ‘Second Brain’.
As I love to share with my personal branding clients, start picturing and planning your ideal visual personal brand by pinning on Pinterest. You might do this for weeks, months or longer before you make any major moves. Enjoy the process of finding what visual style speaks to you.
Here are a few ideas for Pinterest boards to help hone your visual identity:
Personal style (with sub-boards, e.g. clothing categories, accessories, fabrics, hair and makeup)
Favourite fonts (headlines, body, font pairings, typography styling)
Curated colour palettes (mood pictures, plus specific Pantone references)
Office or home aesthetics (as they say, “A home is a window into a person’s soul”)
Photography (image treatments, shoot styling)
Like the Creative Director of brand You, feel confident in your sense of style before you make any purchases - which you might not need to do at all.
Use Pinterest as a personal style planner
One of my favourite things about Pinterest is styling ideas that reflect things I already own. But, if you are going to buy anything, you can sense check any (potentially impulsive!) buys against your Pinterest. Just because it’s on sale doesn’t mean it’s on-brand for you. If you find yourself wanting to take advantage of the latest discounts, do some retail therapy or simply shop with intention, consult the categories on your Pinterest boards. What can you focus on elevating?
Again, you might not need to buy a thing. When you get that ‘I have nothing to wear’ feeling, explore your Pinterest boards for styling inspiration and make the most of what you already have available to you.
Use the same processes for your home styling. Your home is a reflection of who you are. It’s the place where you invite people into your innermost world. Use Pinterest to elevate the space for your own enjoyment and create a strong sense of alignment with your visual identity. All while also creating a welcoming space for others.
Use AI as your personal stylist
If you can’t afford a stylist or feel out of depth when it comes to personal style, simply consult with ChatGPT. I find that what works best is to first create a prompt related to your personal brand.
This might include your:
Visual brand in a snapshot (guiding phrases/words, colours, favourite fabrics)
Verbal brand (tone of voice)
How do you want to position yourself
What you want to avoid
Create a prompt and ask ChatGPT to save your personal brand to its memory.
Then simply prompt it whenever you have a style choice or buying decision to make. It will help you cut through the clutter and marketing noise with what’s best aligned to your goals.
Create a signature colour palette
If you’re the kind of person who loves to wear any colour that speaks to you, keep doing what makes you feel your best. However, you might be the type who feels only certain colours look good on you. Or, that there are colours you never regret buying or feel fabulous in. If you’re switched on to colour connotation, maybe you’re strategic about What your personal brand colours say about you, and how to choose them carefully.
Whether you’ve stopped to think about it or not, you’ve likely been curating a consistent colour palette for years, if not decades. Simply become more intentional about letting your defined colour choices guide your personal style moving forward. Just like any brand, consistent colours can become a key part of your signature style and make you easily recognisable.
Have you had any professional help about understanding your skin tone or have done a bit of self-education on this (see YouTube for plenty of help in this space)? Then pin the ideal colour palette for your skin tone to your Pinterest too. This will help you pick the perfect shade for you and wear what makes you glow.
Define a few glow-up priorities
When making any attempt to level up, it’s easy to get carried away and spend much more than you need to. Real life doesn’t need to be a reality show equipped with an overnight makeover and full wardrobe overhaul. Set small intentional priorities. Maybe this year, the glow-up goal is rebranding for your business and more regular haircuts. Maybe next year, it’s a few new work shirts and a few key accessories. Focus on small wins within set budgets. Diving into one category can also be more fun than trying to do it all at once. Enjoy the creative process of building brand You.
Intentional over overnight makeover
Levelling up your visual brand doesn’t require a dramatic overhaul; it’s a series of small, intentional choices that compound over time. When you mood-board before you buy, you get clear on your style identity, and let your colours, clothes and spaces reflect the person you’re becoming. You build a brand that feels grounded in your goals, confident and unmistakably yours. When you show up in a way that looks and feels like you, everything else clicks into place.
