(P.S. You can buy the resume pictured above here). I consider personal branding to be the most important brand that you should care about. If others can’t define yourself using 3 buzzwords, and if you ask two of your friends to define you and they both give you three completely different buzzwords, your personal brand has gone south. I’m not going to get into much of the technical stuff, but I stumbled upon a couple videos that will help you develop a strong personal brand using graphic design.
Karen Kavett, who’s quite the up-beat character on YouTube, shares some useful tips about designing both powerful and effective personal business cards (click for video), and also has another video of resume design tips when branding yourself. The most important point that Kavett brings up is consistency across the design of your personal brand, and this becomes extremely important when networking with others or entering a job interview. Your goal when designing your personal brand should be to create a visual identity that is consistent through the path that others take to learn more about you. E.g., from the initial business card exchange, to your Twitter Profile colours, to your personal website, and even to the bio used on your LinkedIn profile, it all has to be consistent and speak the same voice. If you do this successfully, both your employers and your network will remember you.
Time for a plug, in case you’re looking for any pre-designed personal business card or resume templates for you to customize, I’ve made a few available for sale here. You can also send me an email through my design firm contact page if you’re interested in me helping to design your personal brand on a one-to-one basis.