Behind Every Brand Is a Little Human

There’s a trend circulating online at the moment, people sharing images of their younger selves alongside who they have become today. I loved it instantly as I wanted to look back at my younger self, to really see her, to understand where so much of who I am today began.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about integration, a concept deeply rooted in Jungian psychology. Carl Jung believed that much of adulthood is not about becoming someone entirely new, but about returning to the parts of ourselves we once had to leave behind. The child we were never disappears; she simply grows, adapts, protects, and waits to be understood.

This week, during a conversation with a potential client, I found myself speaking more openly than I normally would. As we talked about branding, identity, and trust, I shared something personal: that as a little girl, I experienced domestic violence. It isn’t something I often speak about publicly. For a long time, it felt like a chapter that belonged only to the past but as I said the words aloud, I realised something had shifted. I was no longer afraid of that part of my story being seen because the truth is, our experiences shape the way we move through the world, especially the invisible ones; they shape how we listen, how we notice and how we hold space for others.

Long before Studio Kynd existed, I learned what it meant to pay attention to emotional atmospheres and in many ways, that is exactly how I approach branding today. Studio Kynd was never created simply to make things look beautiful. Design, for me, has always been about something deeper, helping people feel seen within their own work, creating clarity where there has been confusion, and building brands that feel aligned rather than performed.

When clients come to me, they often believe they need visuals; a logo, a website and new “aesthetic”, but what we usually discover together is that what they truly need is understanding. Space to articulate who they are becoming and permission to build something that reflects their inner world, not just external expectations.

That way of working did not come from a textbook or a trend. It came from lived experience and from learning early in life that humans are complex, layered, and deserving of care. I am not afraid to share these parts of myself anymore, because they are not weaknesses.

We often talk about brands as if they are separate from the people behind them, polished identities existing independently in the world but every brand begins with a person navigating uncertainty, hope, ambition, and growth and every business carries a story long before it has a logo.

So remember that behind every brand is a little human and perhaps the most meaningful brands are the ones that honour her, not by hiding where she began, but by allowing her story to evolve into something intentional, honest, and quietly powerful.

If this resonated with you…

If you’re building a brand and feel ready to move beyond visuals into something more intentional, Studio Kynd exists to help you define, refine, and express what already lives beneath the surface.