The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes
Brand archetypes are like the personality traits of your business—they're the heart and soul behind your brand that helps you connect with your audience on a deeper level. Think about the difference between hearing general information about a business and being able to subconsciously imagine that business, and yourself, as familiar characters in a story. See how much more interesting that is?
This character, or archetype, can guide how your brand communicates, what your values are, and how you make people feel. It's about finding your unique voice in a crowded world and building a relationship with your clients that feels genuine and meaningful. For creative online business owners, tapping into your brand's archetype isn't just about marketing: embracing your archetype helps make your business a true reflection of what you stand for and the impact you want to make in the world.
This concept was influenced by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung and developed by co-authors Margaret Mark and Carol S. Pearson in their book The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes (2001). They explored 12 archetypes that fall under 4 main categories: independence, belonging, stability and mastery.
Embracing your archetype helps you build a consistent brand with strong messaging, strategy, story, identity, and positioning.
The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes
You are an innovator, authenticity is essential to you while you're creating the world of tomorrow.
A Creator identity might be right for your brand if:
- your product or service encourages innovation and self-expression
- your product or service provides the customer/client with options and choices
- your product or service is artistic
- you are in a creative field
- you're looking to differentiate from a competitor who does it all for their clients/customers but you want to leave them more choice and options
- you offer do-it-yourself products or services
- your ideal client loves to do creative things in their spare time
GOAL | give form to a vision
STRATEGY | develop artistic control and skill
CALL | daydreams, fantasies, flashes of inspiration
CORE DESIRE | create something of enduring value
SUPER POWERS | creativity and imagination
TRAP | perfectionism, miscreation
FEARS | having a mediocre vision or execution
VOICE | descriptive, emotive, passionate
you can infuse more meaning, personality, and purpose into your brand. The overall feeling you create in your branding, design, and words is what tells someone if your brand is for them or not. Letting your archetype influence that feeling can help attract the right client to you.
you’ve just learned, like shifting how you speak to your audience. As you're the Creator, words that could describe your brand feeling and tone are: passion, imagine, unique, change, innovation, vision…
by using bold or unexpected colors, and carefully choosing fonts and images that differentiate you from your competition.
Let’s unlock the power of your uniqueness
and create a brand experience that evokes emotion and inspires connection.
Clarisse
Brand & Web Designer for Quiet Souls
Soulspell Studio
@soulspellstudio
Theresa
Website Copywriter & Meaning-Maker
Little Flame Creative
@littleflamecreative