Hi, I’m Claire! I’m a content marketing consultant who helps small business owners make the most of SEO and branding through strategic content creation. I love amplifying amazing brands through website content, but that’s just one piece of the puzzle along with your visual brand. I’m excited to share some insights today on Emily’s blog that combine both! Make sure you check out more from her as well on my blog with her post on combining SEO with design.
If you own your own business, you know that your brand is the key to reaching people. It’s what sets you apart from your competition while also creating a connection with your audience. Ultimately, generic logos and bland messaging just don’t cut it. Your audience wants to feel liking they’re speaking with a person, and that’s where your brand personality comes in.
Your brand personality is what guides your design and messaging, and it makes everything feel polished and consistent. In this post, we’ll walk through exactly how to build a brand personality, what it is, the building blocks behind it, and how to bring it into your design and marketing so your business feels authentic and unforgettable.
What is a brand personality anyways?
In simple terms, your brand personality is the way your business comes across. It’s the authentic traits that people experience whenever they see your design, read your content, or interact with you as a customer. It’s also a key part of building a strong brand identity for small business, since it connects the visuals with the voice and overall experience.
If you’re wondering how to build a brand personality that feels true to you, it helps to start by thinking of it just like you would with people’s personalities. Consider how people make you feel when you’re speaking to them, then think about how you want your brand to make people feel.
The building blocks of your brand personality
There are a few building blocks of a brand personality, which can make it easier to figure out what yours is:
- Traits: These are the adjectives that you would use to describe your brand. Is it fun and playful or sophisticated and direct? There are a ton of traits to choose from, but I recommend listing out the ways you want people to describe you as a great place to start.
- Voice: When you put all of your traits together, this is the way you express them to others–through your voice! Beyond your traits, your voice also includes the style, point of view, and language you use to communicate.
- Tone: While your brand voice stays consistent, your tone is basically the different variations of it. You might have one tone on social media and another on your website landing pages, plus other tones for customers and potential customers.
- Emotional connection: To tie it all together, your entire brand personality should make your audience feel something. This is the emotional connection that it creates. Do you want your customers to feel energized? Or maybe you want to them to feel serene. For me and my brand, I want my audience to feel supported.
Understanding these building blocks is one of the first steps in learning how to build a brand personality that connects with people in a real and consistent way.
10 examples of brand personality traits you can use
So I mentioned earlier that a great place to start is by listing out the ways you want people to describe your brand. But if you need a little extra help, here are some examples of brand personality traits that you can use to build yours out even more!
- Playful
- Confident
- Trustworthy
- Creative
- Nurturing
- Adventurous
- Sophisticated
- Down-to-earth
- Optimistic
- Disruptive
Pulling inspo from your own personality traits
This goes for all the business owners out there who work 1:1 with clients, like Emily and I as designers and marketers. Your own personality will dictate a lot of your brand personality! It’s only natural, since you’re the one crafting all of your content and speaking with all of your clients.
That means that you can think about your own personality as a starting point for your brand. For some, your personal brand becomes your entire business brand, and that’s great! If you’re like me, you like to have a little bit more separation–I combine a mix my personality traits with others to create a new, unique brand personality.
If you’ve ever been unsure how to build a brand personality that feels authentic, looking at your own traits is the easiest place to begin. Are you bubbly and fun or more reserved and introverted? Are you direct and forward or more casual and laid-back? You can choose the personality traits that you want to amplify or tone down in order to build your brand.
Brand personality examples to inspire you
Looking at real-world brands is one of the easiest ways to understand how personality shines through. Here are a few brand personality examples you can learn from:
- Glossier → Minimal, approachable, and community-driven. Their personality feels like your cool best friend who’s into skincare but doesn’t take it too seriously.
- Patagonia → Adventurous, responsible, and purpose-led. Everything they do communicates sustainability and love for the outdoors.
- Mailchimp → Quirky, playful, and a little weird (in the best way). Their tone of voice and illustrations make email marketing feel way less intimidating.
- Oatly → Bold, cheeky, and disruptive. Their packaging literally talks to you with humor, making them stand out in the plant-based milk market.
And now for some service-based brand personality examples you can look to:
- Marie Forleo (entrepreneur & coach) → Energetic, empowering, and approachable. Her brand is a mix of high energy motivation and down-to-earth advice.
- Jenna Kutcher (photographer & educator) → Warm, relatable, and supportive. She leans into storytelling and honesty to connect with her audience.
- Chris Do (The Futur) → Bold, direct, and educational. His brand personality is confident and a little disruptive, but always with the goal of teaching and empowering creatives.
- Ashlyn Carter (copywriter) → Polished, professional, but approachable. Her personality blends strategy with warmth, making clients feel confident and supported.
Notice how each one builds connection not just with design, but also with tone, messaging, and the overall vibe of their customer experience.
Step-by-step: How to build a brand personality
Now let’s make it practical. Here’s a simple process you can follow:
Step 1: Define your core values
Write down 3–5 values your business stands for. These will anchor your brand personality.
Step 2: Create your brand personality traits list
Pick 4–5 adjectives that describe how you want your audience to see you (like “friendly,” “confident,” “innovative”).
Step 3: Identify your voice and tone
Decide how those traits will show up in your communication. For example, a playful brand might use humor on social media but keep a more professional tone in contracts.
Step 4: Find inspiration from brand personality examples
Look at businesses you admire—inside or outside your industry—and note how their visuals, words, and customer experience reflect their personality.
Step 5: Apply it consistently
Infuse your brand personality into everything: your website, social posts, emails, packaging, and client interactions. Consistency is what makes it stick.
From Emily: How to incorporate your brand personality in design
It’s the whole vibe that helps your dream clients get a feel of your whole brand before they even say hi. When your design actually matches your personality, it’s like an instant friendly handshake that builds trust and connection.
Your story = your superpower
Remember that your brand story is your story. Like, your values, your history, your why, all the stuff that makes you you. Telling that story is super important because it’s what sets you apart and makes people want to stick around. Your visuals and website should tell that story too, so everything feels connected and authentic.
Design that actually feels like you
Think about colors, fonts, photos, logos, and even little illustrations like your brand’s outfit. Whether you’re doing it all solo or running a small biz with a team, your visuals should still feel like you. What I mean is that they should show what you’re all about, what you believe in, and the kind of vibe you’re creating for your people. It’s less about just looking pretty, and more about sharing your values and your why in a way that actually connects. For example, I recently worked with a psychologist who’s this super vibrant, positive human, not just in her work but in personal life. We picked colors like lavender, green, and ivory to mix her bubbly energy with that calm, soothing feel that psychology needs. The logo has this flowy, chill vibe that reflects her perfectly. The goal was to create a design that feels her, but still shows her professionalism and expertise in the psychology world. [Peek the full project here]
Design is communication (without the small talk)
Design is your secret weapon for connecting emotionally with your people. It shows your personality and tells your story without you saying a word. And listen, authenticity is key. Your visuals should be you: real, relatable, and strategic all at once.
How to incorporate your brand personality in your marketing
When it comes to your marketing, I recommend starting by incorporating your brand personality into your positioning and messaging. That includes your core message, value propositions, your brand promise, key messages, and differentiators. From there, your marketing messaging can inform your website content and social media posts.
But what does this all look like in action?
My brand personality and confident and warmly professional, so I want to be direct in my messaging to show my audience that I have authority, but warm enough that they feel fully supported–they know I’ve got them.
My core message is: “I help business owners, teams, and organizations turn their content into a strategic growth tool by combining SEO, brand positioning, and intentional content planning.”
My value props are:
- A real plan for growth
- A stronger online presence built on clarity, not guesswork
- A content marketing strategy that makes sense for your business and market
- Peace of mind that your content is actually working for you
On my website, this all translates into a direct, yet professional tagline: “Holistic content marketing that helps you show up and stand out”.
While on social, I use the same messaging with a bit more of a casual tone, like I’m having more of a conversation with someone.
This is why understanding how to build a brand personality is so important, because once you do, it becomes so much easier to align everything else in your business, from visuals to voice.
Focus on building an authentic brand personality
If you don’t take away anything else from this post, the main tip to keep in mind is that you want your brand to feel authentic. That’s why I mention thinking about your own personality first–no matter how you decide to build your brand, it needs to feel authentic to you. I promise, other people will notice if you’re trying to force something just because you saw a style you loved!
Your authenticity always shines through, and who can resist that?
How to build a brand personality: FAQs
Got more questions about how to build a brand personality? Here are the answers to the most common FAQs to help you define and showcase your brand with confidence.
What is a brand personality?
A brand personality is the set of traits and characteristics that make your business feel human and relatable. Just like people, brands can be playful, professional, bold, nurturing, or even a mix of traits. It’s what helps you stand out and connect with your audience.
Why is brand personality important for small businesses?
Your brand identity for small business is much more than just a logo. Or a pretty website.
It’s the personality and story behind it all aka the thing that makes people actually remember you.
That’s what builds trust. That’s what creates the emotional connection that keeps customers coming back.
Can I change my brand personality later?
Yes! Just like people evolve, so can your brand. The key is to make intentional changes that still feel authentic and aligned with your values. Don’t do a complete 180 overnight, or you might confuse your audience.
Do I need a designer to build a brand personality?
Not necessarily. You can define your personality on your own, but pairing it with design is where the magic happens. A designer (like Emily ?) can bring it to life visually so your website, logo, and graphics actually reflect the personality you’ve worked hard to define.
If you’re ready to learn how to build a brand personality that’s authentic and impressive, you’re already in the right place. Emily’s design skills will create the visual identity you’ve always wanted, and I’m more than happy to help shape up your messaging, content, and copywriting. Let’s chat!
Meet the guest writer
Claire Bough is a San Francisco-based content marketing consultant with 10 years of experience working with small business, SaaS, e-Comm, non-profits, and more. She helps businesses stop guessing and start building a clear, compelling online presence that works toward their goals.
Website: https://www.clairebough.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairebough/
