Week 02. Shape Your Brand Story: Values

Storytelling through the lens of what you believe in

Welcome to week two of Shape Your Brand Story.

Last week we explored Vision — your “why”. This week, we’re grounding that clarity in Values: the beliefs that guide how you express and embody your brand story.

This is where you’ll have the chance to involve your audience. But if you don’t feel comfortable with reaching out and asking questions, there are still some prompts to think and write on.

Brand values

Stories are universal, but the way we tell them — the tone as well as the truth behind them — is what makes us distinct and relatable.

We look to brands to stand for something. To offer substance. To uphold honesty. When there’s alignment, people trust what they see and hear. When there’s dissonance, the connection slips away.

Brand values are the beliefs that influence your actions and the ideals that give meaning to your brand. These are backed up by guiding principles, which describe ‘how’ you fulfil these values.

To share an example, my work centres around curiosity, creativity and connection (and love of alliteration, it seems!)

• Curiosity: I believe in remaining open to ideas throughout the branding process and bringing my most imaginative self to creative projects. This ability to question and wonder is the main guiding force in my life and work.

• Creativity: as much about problem-solving and decision-making as it is about my branding and design practice, I love to help people explore ideas and find clarity. I also love crafting moodboards and making palettes.

• Connection: I enjoy collaborating with clients and consider myself a part of their team, and my ultimate aim is to help them craft brands that feel like home. Brands that exude belonging, that they feel connected to.

  

How values show up in storytelling

Just as styling can be broken down into imagery, palettes and typography, storytelling can be approached in parts too.

Story is the thread that gives your communication texture — it conveys emotion in ways design alone can’t reach.

1. Function: Your values shape how you communicate day to day: from the words on your homepage to how you reply to a message. A story grounded in integrity and care will give your brand vision and voice staying power.

2. Authenticity: If your tone on social media feels different from your website, it can create subconscious friction. Think of it like moving between rooms in a home — the “feeling” should carry through from one to another.

3. Meaning: This is where values deepen connection. When you speak to the desires of your audience and share what you care about, you help people not just understand your work, but build connection and feel something through it.

Thoughtful communication is vital. If your messaging hasn’t been revisited in a while, or your story feels disconnected from your current direction, this is a good time to pause and realign.

Prompt: clarify what matters

Ask yourself:

• What values sit at the heart of your work or practice? What do you believe in?

• Where do you see those values showing up (or missing) in the way you communicate?

• What might change if you allowed those values to guide your storytelling more fully?

Note: we’ll build on this with feedback from your audience, some trusted readers or happy clients!

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Ask your audience:

1. Can you describe my approach in three words? This can be a lovely exercise. I suggest adding a comment box to Instagram Stories, asking via Substack Notes or sending a survey.

2. How does my product/service/writing make you feel? Again, a comment box is helpful, or you might like to offer up your own words in a poll. Useful if you have ideas to narrow down.

3. What keeps you coming back for my product/service/writing? I like this question because it helps me focus on what I need to create and share to serve my community.

Note: if you still have some community building to do, to make this worthwhile, gather feedback from family and friends that you can trust to be constructive and supportive.

Once you’ve gathered this feedback, compare all the words and thoughts others have shared with the notes you made last week. It can be a practical way of ensuring your values speak to your audience and feel aligned for you.

Practice: playing with content

If you’re curious to go deeper, choose one piece of content — a post, an email, a paragraph from your website — and rewrite it through the lens of your values.

How does it feel when you write from that place? What shifts in clarity or confidence do you notice? Sometimes, we can get a bit comfortable with our values, so even if you have a core set of beliefs that your life and work are built around, I’d encourage you to try the above exercises and see what comes up.

Next week, we’ll consider how you can use the information gathered to develop your Voice.

Over to you

How did you find week one? What’s calling for your focus or coming up for you this week? Feel free to share your reflections.

And if you’d like to go deeper into your brand reflections, make sure you’re subscribed to Brand Seasons — a home for thoughtful creatives, founders and writers bringing more cohesion and clarity to their brand strategy, style and story.

I write about curiosity, creativity and connection, host a podcast and run These Are The Days, helping clients define their vision, craft beautiful visuals and discover their voice.