You Don’t Have to be a Designer to do Brand Strategy
By Levina Kusumadjaja
I used to think I wouldn’t be able to do brand strategy because I didn’t have a background in design
When I first came to Brand Strategy Bootcamp in November 2020, I felt so out of place. I saw myself as an ugly duckling in a sea of swans because I was a copywriter and everyone I met in the community was a designer—except maybe 1 videographer.
In the community chat, many people shared about their stories, progress and learnings all the time and I wanted to be a part of those conversations—but I didn’t feel confident. I had this thought bubble that said: “You’re not good enough to be here because you’re not a designer.”
Have you ever felt that way in your journey as a creative?
Throughout my early years of working in the creative industry, I was constantly fed with the mindset that copywriters are less than designers
When it comes to creative work, visuals bear more value. This assumption was so ingrained in my thinking that it affected how I saw myself and what I believed was possible for me. I felt like brand strategy was something out of reach because I was a copywriter. I thought I wouldn’t be able to give something that valuable if I couldn’t give my clients deliverables that were related to visuals.
So... I abandoned the idea of charging more and finding better clients because I believed I wasn’t worth it. I was ready to accept that solving bigger problems and landing higher value projects were not for me. I wanted to add value to my services, but all I could think of was to write better articles... until the Bootcamp community helped me see that there was so much more.
Turns out, brand strategy isn’t about upgrading design deliverables—it’s about shifting a mindset
When Marcelle (my Bootcamp partner) and I started practicing brand strategy together, we started to realize that this new process and approach was helping us figure out our business at a scale beyond just building a visual identity or writing blog posts. It gave us clarity about who we are as a brand and business, which types of client would be a great fit, and how we can help those clients. This was huge!
I came in thinking that the best thing I would get out of learning brand strategy was a better framework and step-by-step process so that I can write better articles—but I was wrong. It was about a change in perspective. I was on this journey of reframing for myself what it meant to be a creative entrepreneur and what was possible for me.
It was about asking better questions, being more open to experiment with ideas, and finding clarity around my voice and uniqueness as a creative. It wasn’t about proving to others that I was good enough to be hired, but about finding problems that I could solve and collaborating with people who could see that potential.
The friends I met in the Bootcamp showed me that I could embrace my unique strengths and thrive as a creative strategist too
And it wasn’t just this solitary transformation kind-of-thing. It was the community that opened up my perspective. The Slack chat discussions, coaching sessions, Q&As, and many off-the-record Zoom calls...the openness and vulnerability of the people in sharing their journey with me. They showed me learning and doing brand strategy have nothing to do with my title or background.
Instead of insisting that I had to fit into a certain stereotype to succeed, they empowered me to lean in to what brings me joy and turn that into something that can bring value to people. They encouraged me to aim for more and helped me see the problems in the market that I can solve.
And guess what? I didn’t have to be a designer—or anything else other than myself—to solve problems. I could be me and I could give value.
You too can start with who you are and what you have in your hands, no matter your background
Before brand strategy, I thought that becoming a better copywriter meant increasing my vocabulary and varying my writing styles; brand strategy showed me that it’s about understanding who your clients are, who they are trying to reach, and what problem they’re trying to solve. It’s so much more than just writing skills.
And because I’m now clear on the actual problem I solve, I feel more confident about niching down and really leaning into the things that I love to do—such as writing case studies for brand strategists and designers.
I have a newfound courage to explore new opportunities because I know what I need to look for to ensure a good fit in the project. I’ve even said “yes” to clients who wanted to hire me for strategy only! (I didn’t have to write anything for them—it’s crazy!)
You can be a brand strategist no matter what you did before. You don’t have to be a designer first to do brand strategy and solve bigger problems. You can give value to others right here, right now, and you don’t have to go through this journey on your own. I hope this story encourages you to step out and see what’s possible for you today!
Cheers!
Levina
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These are the types of topics we love talking about in the Brand Strategy Bootcamp. If you’d like to join Levina and a community of other brand strategists (with all kinds of creative backgrounds) working to improve their process, click here to see if the Bootcamp is the right fit for you!
About the author:
Levina is a writer based in Indonesia. Because of Melinda Livsey, she recognized the power of brand strategy for every creative. She is sharing about her learnings as she goes to help creatives have fun in their growth and journey of building brands. Connect with her on LinkedIn and say hi!