Rebrand Your Visual Personal Brand

Is the visual identity of your personal brand saying what you want it to represent? Try these 5 tips to redefine your visual brand.

We love to say we don’t judge a book by its cover, but the science says otherwise.

Research has shown that first impressions can be formed within as quickly as a tenth of a second. And more than a fleeting judgement, it’s lasting. As much as we’d love to idealise otherwise, the ‘look’ element of personal brand matters more than you might like to admit.

A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that people who dressed more formally were perceived as more competent and trustworthy.

As Marie Kondo so politely, yet precisely, put it in her book, The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up:

“If sweatpants are your everyday attire, you’ll end up looking like you belong in them.”

Your visual personal brand is more than how your physical appearance makes others feel. It’s how it makes you feel that matters too. It’s a psychological phenomenon termed “enclothed cognition”, which relates to how the physical experience of wearing certain clothing affects your cognitive processes. And that the symbolic meaning of certain clothing activates abstract concepts relating to its meaning.

Studies have also shown that formal clothing improves cognition processes related to problem-solving and abstract thinking. Meaning “dress for success” is a cliche worth hanging on to.

Brands are constantly re-assessing their visual identity, so why can’t you do the same for your personal brand? Your visual personal brand communicates for you. It also affects how you feel about yourself. It can create confidence or corrode it.

So, if you’re reevaluating your personal branding in 2025 and rebranding your personal brand where needed, then remember to reassess your visual personal brand as well.

If it’s time for a visual personal brand rebrand, this blog shares how you can level up the look and feel of your personal brand in 2025.

1. Mood board your visual personal brand goals

As I love to share with my personal branding clients, start picturing your ideal visual personal branding by pinning on Pinterest.

If you’re a regular reader of this personal brand blog, you know I’ve progressively turned into a huge fan of Pinterest for visualising your personal brand goals. Do you want to dress better in 2025? Maybe you want to try a new make-up look? Have you been rethinking your hairstyle or colour? Then, prepare on Pinterest first.

Create specific boards for each area you want to level up. You can also create sub-boards, allowing you to niche down on your goals with granular details. For example, I have boards not just for the personal style that resonates with my personal brand goals, but I also have boards for each category of clothing. This isn’t about being superficial, but quite the opposite. It’s about avoiding all the noise of consumerism, impulse shopping and decision fatigue to filter what is most aligned with who you are or who you want to represent. It can save you time, money and space moving forward.

This approach gives clearing out your clutter, or anything you do buy in the future, a higher return on investment.

2. Determine your signature elements

Once you’ve explored what resonates with your personal brand’s visual identity goals, refine your look and feel. For example, determine your:

• Signature colour

• Colour palette

• Signature accessory

• Preferred textures or fabrics

• Signature personal style for every day

• Signature personal style for special occasions

• Preferred hairstyle

• Preferred everyday make-up look

• Preferred glam make-up look

In the 48 Laws of Power, Robert Greene says:

“At the start of your career, you must attach your name and reputation to a quality, an image, that sets you apart from other people. This image can be something like a characteristic style of dress or a personality quirk that amuses people and gets talked about. Once the image is established, you have an appearance, a place in the sky for your star.”

3. Invest in the tools of the trade

You could get a stunning blow-dry every week, or you could buy a new hairdryer. You could get your makeup done for every special occasion, or you could learn to DIY it. Your barber could get your beard looking brilliant every time you visit, or you could buy a beard-trimmer. Instead of splurging on services, consider a once-off splurge or rather, a well-thought out investment.

Maintaining the dream look and feel of your personal brand can be a high-maintenance mission. But, when you learn the skills of mastering your ideal look, you become less reliant on your income to maintain this look of your personal brand. You can look the most immaculate version of your personal brand, even in tougher economic times.

When I first read Scott Pape’s book The Barefoot Investor, something that resonated was his discussion about your ‘mojo’. In his context, he’s referred to an emergency account to get you out of tough times - not splurging on levelling up your look and feel, of course. But, his point is an important one. When you fall on tough times, your ‘mojo’ suffers and getting it back where you can creates confidence.

So, when you have the skills to maintain your personal brand’s aesthetics, your mojo can’t be easily taken away from you.

4. Learn the trade

These days, you can learn almost anything on YouTube or TikTok, from hairstyling to makeup tutorials, to ‘how-to’ personal style videos.  Once you know what you want your personal brand’s visual identity to be and have invested in any tools you might need, learn the tricks of the trade.

Swap an evening on the couch, scrolling social media while you watch Netflix, for a tutorial instead. Even a ten-minute tutorial on YouTube here and there could help you level up an element of your personal brand’s visual appeal. You might even learn to do something you’ve always done for your personal brand’s look and feel in a new way.

5. Launch your new look

Mark a milestone to experiment with something new for your personal brand’s look and feel. Maybe it’s that special occasion you have coming up. Maybe it’s simply your next Monday back in the office.

In his book When, Dan Pink shares the importance of ‘temporal landmarks’. For example, social scientists call the first day of the year a temporal landmark. As humans, we navigate landmarks through space, but landmarks can also help navigate time. Prominent dates help you navigate your way.

A study of Google searches revealed the word “diet” always soared on 1 January. This was by approximately 80 percent more than other days. But it didn’t stop there. Searches also spiked at the start of the month, the first day of the week and the day after national holidays. “Firsts” are a switch that powers people’s motivation.

But, the power of “firsts” and temporal landmarks can be found in more places than 1 January. Just some of the 86 ideas Pink details are:

• First day of the month (12)

• Mondays (52)

• Start of a season (four)

• Your birthday (one)

• Your loved ones’ birthday

• Your work anniversary (one)

• Your graduation anniversary

• Your wedding anniversary (one)

• Your first day back after vacation

If you’re rebranding your personal brand’s visual identity, I wish you all the best for stepping out in style for a new look.