The Branded for Success book was written in 2007 by my wife and 2 of our colleagues. It’s purpose was to highlight my wife’s graphic design talent that could be leveraged for a business to get a successful brand. It has allowed the three authors to gain authority as branding experts since they are published authors on the subject.
Understanding of branding has grown and evolved over the last 18 years. The principles in this book are still applicable but some updating is necessary. This chapter deals with principles about using personal photos for your brand. Using our content transformation services, we will evaluate it to see that it is not outdated and irrelevant. This is our opportunity to update and supplement with necessary content that may have been missed when it was originally offered.
Since the book was written from a design perspective, this topic is important and should be determined after the foundational brand elements are completed first. New content will be added as necessary before we prepared for it’s new delivery. Since the repurposed content will be used for premium access content, I will provide summaries of the original text and the repurposed text. Also, when we are finished, the chapter divisions may not be the same, since this will not be repurposed into another printed book.
Summary of chapter 10 of the original text:
When branding yourself with photography, there isn’t a fixed rule about the size your photo should be. It depends on the design and what you’re emphasizing. Your photo should be prominent when selling yourself as the brand, but it must also fit naturally into the layout of the piece, whether it’s a book cover, website, or marketing material.
It’s clear that having a variety of professional photos in different poses and outfits gives designers more flexibility to create engaging, interactive designs. Sometimes a large, dominant photo is needed; other times, a smaller, supportive image works best. Ultimately, strong branding requires thoughtful integration of your image with the rest of the design, ensuring your brand feels authentic, timeless, and relatable to your audience.
Summary of the corresponding repurposed text:
When building a personal brand, photography is a powerful tool to reinforce your message, personality, and value. There is no fixed rule for how large your photo should be. It depends on the context, purpose, and whether you are the focus or supporting a larger idea. Strategic use of photography involves more than just inserting your image. It’s about interacting with the design through intentional poses, expressions, and props that connect with the audience.
A diverse photo library featuring a range of poses and styles gives you flexibility across different platforms. The prominence of your image should match what you are selling—whether it’s yourself or a product—and always help guide the viewer’s attention. Finally, timeless, authentic photography is essential so that your brand feels fresh, genuine, and consistent over time.
Observations:
The issue about use of photography in your branding has not evolved much in the last 20 years. It is always dependent on what the brand is centered on, you or your product. The original content handled this correctly. The percentage of brands that are centered on a person ebbs and flows over time. Both the original content and the rewritten version give specific guidelines. Those guidelines make sure that if you use personal photos for the brand that they work.
Final Thoughts:
Just like the previous few chapters, the original content stands good even today. So we must do our due diligence to make sure wording, terms and terminology, and examples still relate. Otherwise they will undermine the principles that still work today.