05/27/2025
It’s been 6 months since Jaguar was dragged for filth over their rebrand. I didn’t talk about it then and I’m not here to dissect it now.
But it got me thinking about my own brand and why initially it struggled.
Before I became a brand designer, I was a full time fitness professional. For 20 years it was an all-consuming career.
Along with being a PT and group exercise instructor, I ran regional workshops, I presented at conferences, I recruited and hired instructors, I assisted in grand opening events, I oversaw the education of instructor hopefuls to prep them for certification, I managed team as a group exercise coordinator, I created a nationally accredited program and certified instructors to teach it.
It was my entire identity. How I was instantly recognized (along with my brightly colored hair) and what folks automatically associate me with. A rep I’m still known for, even 6 years after I retired.
I always shy away from saying this for fear of sounding ego-adjacent (cuz…atelophobia) but it helps me present my point.
My TRUth: I was &% #! good at it. I made an impact. I know for a fact I changed lives. And I legit left a mark that can never be matched.
So when I showed up one segue-free day announcing I was a brand designer, I threw people for a loop. To the ones who only knew me for this one thing I did for decades, the repositioning made no sense. And that was entirely MY fault.
Subtle hints I dropped prior weren’t enough. NObody truly heard or saw them for what they were. Without telling my story loudly enough or long enough to connect the dots between who I was and who I became, it was a transition that was hard to believe. It wasn’t total rejection, but there was resistance. I didn’t walk folks through the emotional arc of its evolution. I just dropped a creative bomb and expected a collective buy-in.
You can’t just pivot assuming people will get it. Even if the new path makes perfect sense to you, it’s lookin’ mighty unfamiliar to everyone else. They need your full story to root them in the transformation.
