Issue 40: Flower Power
On late March showers, inevitable flowers, and how to name a rose.
Inside: Moodboard | Question box: “Should you use your own name or a pseudonym for your personal brand?” | Soundtrack | My favorite things | What I’m up to
🌸 Bloom where you’re planted
You wouldn’t know it from looking out my window at the moment, but spring is here (or so I’m told). I’m an April baby, and I’m always surprised by how hard seasonal affective disorder hits me, so by all rights spring should a favorite season of mine, but I’ve never been a huge fan. I always kind of just think of spring as wet, and as grateful as I am that the days are finally getting longer, spring always feels like a season of delayed gratification. We could all use a season of hope and rebirth right now, let’s be real. But, if it’s not too much trouble, could it hurry up a bit?
I’m well aware that nothing worth having comes easy, but I wasn’t born with a strong gene for patience, so I have a hard time remembering that it’s just as true that nothing worth having comes fast. One strong focus of mine over the past year has been learning how to better commit to long term planning, and trusting the process when things take longer than I want. There is, of course, design you can bang out quickly, but the best, most important, and most exciting plans require commitment, and commitment requires a degree of faith. It can feel nearly impossible to believe in May flowers when you’re stuck in the middle of the April (/late March) showers, and yet that faith is indispensible to the actions that makes the result possible. At the same time, it’s actually impossible to keep that faith without staying grounded in the result you’re working for in the first place. When you get caught in the weeds, it’s so easy to lose sight why you thought gardening was ever a good idea. And yet, we do ourselves and our goals a disservice when we let that instinct take over. Just becuse you can’t see the flowers yet doesn’t mean they aren’t coming.
That’s why, this week, we’re looking at design through Flower Power. We’re running through fields, finding out if a rose by any other name really would smell as sweet, and, taking any excuse to open a playlist with Selena. Read on for all this and more!
🌺 Moodboard of the week
This week’s moodboard is bringing the spring sunshine where the weather, at least by me, has yet to oblige. It’s delicately perfumed, maximalist, and, as always, colorful as heck. Click below to view the full board, with original links, on Pinterest.
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🔍 Question of the week
“Should you use your own name or a pseudonym for your personal brand — and what factors would help you decide?”
- Sil C.
A lot of factors go into deciding how to brand yourself, whether you’re operating as a business, or you yourself are the brand. I tread this line frequently as both a solo-preneur and somebody who maintains a somewhat public presence outside of design, through writing and social media. We could write a whole second column about the pros and cons of creating a business name when you yourself are the business (and I probably will)! In this case, however, I assume you’re talking about a true personal brand – one that represents you, but specifically as you appear publicly.
There are two broad areas to consider when making this decision. The first is practical. Your own name is, for one, a lot easier to manage. It makes it much simpler to keep things consistent, and you never have to worry about confusion, particularly in situations where your public and private lives might overlap. On the flip side, if you’re a private person, or in any way concerned about your safety, a pseudonym can add a layer of security. Many people also find that distance gives them the practical space to speak more freely, or act in ways that typically might scare them, either because it means fewer people they know will be watching, or because they step into a different headspace as their pseudonymous self.
This transitions us nicely into the second broad group of considerations, which pertain to your brand itself — in other words, how you want to be perceived. While pseudonyms typically look like personal names to some degree, you have pretty much infinite freedom in which name you choose. If, for whatever reason, the name you go by doesn’t feel adequate to represent the values, expertise, or personality you share with the world, your stage name can be an excellent way to strengthen those associations. This also means if you switch gears in a big way, or want to walk away, you’re not stuck with what you’ve chosen (although changing your brand name should always be done with caution and, in my opinion, no more than once, if at all).
Pseudonyms also affect perception by creating distance between your public and private personas. This can work in two directions, both of which might be pros or cons. Some people’s public personas are very different from their private ones, which can cause confusion for people who primarily interact with them publicly, and a pseudonym is a really helpful way to enforce that distinction. Chappell Roan has talked extensively about this — in particular how much it upsets her when fans call her Kayleigh — because her public persona is designed to create a distinction between her musician self, and the person her friends and family know. On the flip side, if your brand is based on transparency or authenticity, or specifically on making it clear that public-you is at least intended to represent private-you, using your real name is a strong way to make that clear.
This last point is the primary reason why I go by my real name in my writing and social presence. I find a lot of empowerment in transparency, and I find that a lot of the things I talk about (and how I talk about them) are helped by this choice. It’s also a litmus test for me on what I’m willing to say publicly. I only want to speak publicly on things I’m willing to put my name on, and the best way to gauge that is to know I’m actually going to put my name on it. But as you can see, that decision is highly personal. There is truly no right or wrong way to do it — and regardless of what direction you choose, the strength of your brand will ultimately come down to what is right for you and, most importantly of all, what you do with it!
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💐 Soundtrack of the week
This week’s playlist is a walk through a flower shop, complete with everything from crazy-daisy bops to luxurious bouquets. Preview below or click to view the full playlist on Spotify.
✍️ My Favorite Things
I was so lucky to see the new Christine Sun Kim exhibit at The Whitney Museum last weekend and as someone with a passion for both graphic design and disability justice, I couldn’t be more obsessed with how she blends an impeccable graphic design-y aesthetic with righteous rage, humor, and genuine education about how deaf people experience daily marginalization. I had actually seen one of her pieces in Extra Bold, my favorite book on intersectional design practice, and I was a true kid in a candy store wandering a full exhibit of her work.
Image sourced from @chrisunkim on Instagram. If you have access to New York City, I HIGHLY recommend paying a visit to The Whitney before July 6th to see the exhibit.
🌱 Touching Grass
📖 What I’m reading: My friend Oona highly recommended Jordan Chiles’ new book I’m That Girl, so I’m planning on listening to it this week!
🎧 What I’m listening to: I had the truly immense privilege of going to see legendary soprano Kathryn Lewek at this weekend’s premiere of The Magic Flute at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, and I’ve had her Queen of the Night aria stuck in my head ever since. If you can find a way to go see this production, do NOT miss it.
📺 What I’m watching: “Taskmaster” – Me 24/7 for the last 2 months straight.
🍳 What I’m eating: This weekend was a phenomenal one for munchies, between great conversation over tacos at Sayulita in Essex, CT, and truly dope sushi at Omakase Shihou on the Upper West Side after last night’s show. Which is my circuitous way of saying, I have not planned dinner for the week and I have no idea what I’m going to cook.
Hi, I’m Gabrielle! I’m a graphic designer, writer, and founder of Aura Creative. I love decoding design, empowering people in the design process, and sharing how design affects the world around us. If you like what you see and want more, here’s how we can connect:
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