I’ve long decided that my shortened name (Rey Reynoso not Reynaldo Reynoso) is my brand. It’s the name I use on the magazine. It’s what I use on Facebook. It’s what I’ve been using on my Bible site. It’s what I’ve been using on my most recent edition of my design site.
But why not use something zany like “Multifaceted Designer”? Well, it’s a mouthful for one. And secondly, it doesn’t really represent the totality of what I’m about. Sure I design for print, web, interior and exteriors—but it ignores other things like illustration and writing. And though it is very true that a company building a brand wants a focus on what a brand entails (for example, you hear Pepsi you think soda and not shirts), an individual trying to create a worldwide accessible identity shouldn’t be one dimensional.
I bought the main url name (rreynoso.com) so that I can have a catchall for all my interests—which immediately opened up some things I want the site to accomplish. I don’t only want it to be a business card slash resume. I want it to be an online repository of the official me.
The thinking behind this is simple. I’m the same person offline and on even if I don’t always talk about everything I talk about online. I only mention Star Wars a few times on my sites, but you’re more likely to hear me talk about the intricacies of a well-executed light saber battle than anything else. That being the case, I want an online hub of my e-me so that people wanting to know me can easily find out what I’m about without too much work.
Of course, that needs to be set to the proper exposure. You have plenty of people who use their names as their brand (Hillman Curtis, Chermayeff and Geismer), but they consistently ensure that things their bran isn’t flying all over the place.
I’ll need the content to be clearly delineated and I’ll need it all compiled and highlighted the right way. As Jeffrey Zeldman said “Content informs design; design without content is decoration.”
I have the content, I just need a way to present it.