"Black Is Not Your Color (And Its Not Your Brand)" - Workshop; Seattle 5/19/10

By popular demand this workshop is being offered in both

 Seattle and Manhattan at mid-day & evening times

Darcey Howard

"Personal Branding

Through Appearance"

Being your brand takes guts.

Owning your value takes guts.

How do you create a brand that reflects your value and uniqueness in a sea of competition?

You have be ready to own it.

Are you ready to own your brand and stand out from the crowd?

_______________________________________

"Our society wants you to fit in

so it can ignore you"

- Seth Godin

___________________________

As an expert in building brand integrity for businesses and individuals, Darcey Howard, Personal Branding & Style Consultant, will provide the tools, tips and guidelines you can put into place immediately to make sure you stand out in a crowd versus just fitting in.

Come away with...
• Clarity of how your personal brand is conveyed and perceived both visually and professionally.
• Tools for bridging the gap between how you feel, how you look and how you sell.
• Knowledge on how to leverage your USP (Unique "Style" Proposition) to attract ideal customers
• Guidelines to identify, build and maintain your personal brand and leverage it in your business.

Don't miss this opportunity to get what your personal brand needs to not be ignored.

Cost is just $40.00

Simply click here to pay.

Join Darcey Howard, founder of Personal Branding Through Appearance & LifeStyled, Ltd., on May 19th for one of two scheduled times, either 12:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. for this 90 minute program

_____________________

"Black is Not a Color (And Its Not Your Brand) "

Workshop

May 19, 2010

12:30 - 2:00 p.m.

Or

6:00 - 7:30 p.m.

Aspira

1823 Terry Avenue

Seattle, WA 98101

(206) 623-8900

Get directions

______________________

To sign up or for more information, please contact Darcey at darcey@darceyhoward.com. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Sincerely,
Darcey

What Teachers Make

If you haven't seen this your should.  Watch it.  Listen. Watch it again and then pass it along. You want to see someone who is brave enough to not only be his own brand but to stand up for it? Taylor Mali delivers!
Enjoy. Be inspired. Be Intetional. Be your brand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xuFnP5N2uA&feature=player_embedded

Environmental Color Theory

Most of my clients are either corporate teams or individuals that fall into the linear thinker category.  So when I say the words "color theory" to either of these audiences it evokes one of two emotions; anxiety or boredom.  Hence the creation of Environmental Color Theory.

Designed to disect this anxiety inducing topic into 3 sections this view of color and how they relate to each other uses influences that we can all relate to.  Not just the gifted arty type but the analytical, the emotive, and visual. 

Having studied color theory, dabbled in cognitive learning, and spent many hours behind two-way glass eating bowls full of M&M's watching the reactions of anonymous individuals while they explore the practical application of consumer goods to their life (a.k.a. a focus group) I came up with Environmental Color Theory.  I use this when developing a color palette for a client to give them a functioning wardrobe but also when teaching a workshop to corporate teams to give them the tools to express themselves to thier intended audience, but also support how they feel and ultimately not fade into the background or the "black-ground" as I call it.

In a nutshell:

• Color effects emotion.  We have 5 basic emotions from which on a daily basis we would like to call upon to support us; calming, clearing, grounded, powerful and expressive.
• These emotions are also reflective of our environment and the elments found in it; water, wind, earth, sun and energy.
• Visually they relate to colors that fall within each of these emotional and environmental categories such as:
• calming = water = blues, aqua & water tones
• clearing = wind = greys, greens (leaves) & elements of the wind
• grounded = earth = browns & earth tones (sorry no brown available in Blogger)
• powerful = sun = reds, yellows, orange & warmth tones
• expressive = energy = balanced colors such as purple that combines the calm of blue and the power of red

Once you've established the 5 colors that will support you they can be used to become more strategic in your approach to your personal brand style.  It will also make getting dressed easier because each of these colors go together, shopping more strategic, and greater longevity in your personal brand recognition.  And, yes, all of those colors do go together, and you can wear purple as man.  But I'll talk more about that later.

Is Green the New Black In Branding?

I love William Arruda (its OK, I'm pretty sure he already knows).  He is the Personal Branding Guru!  He is an outstanding compliment to what PBTA (Personal Branding Through Appearance) aims to create.  With his background he has a terrific stage and video presence and his message is quite powerful. Be Your Brand.  To take that a step further, if you are your own brand then your wardrobe is your logo. That's what Personal Branding Through Appearance is all about.

A large part of creating a brand is color.  Color effects emotion not only in the wearer but in the viewer.  The colors you see in logos, commercial interiors and packaging is very intentional.  So when you are dressing your brand remember the impact that color can have. 

This video by William Arruda is a clever exploration into the color green. Stay tuned as I share more with you on color and the effect it can have both visually and emotionally.

"Is Green The Color Of Your Brand" by William Arruda; Personal Branding TV

A Rant, A Rave and A Request

The good news is, I have invented a concept that challenges people's perception of what they think they know. A true entrepreneurial moment!
The bad news is, I have invented a concept that challenges people's perception of what they think they know.  The scratching and clawing my way out of the box that people want to immediately put me in never ends.

Here's how it usually goes:
Party Goer I: "So what do you do?"
Me: "I created a process called 'Personal Branding Through Appearance' designed to give specific tools to entrepreneurs, consultants and service professionals to help them bridge the gap between how the feel and how they look by supporting personal style development and strategic wardrobe management."
Party Goer II: "Oh so are you like those people on 'What Not To Wear'?!"
Party Goer I: "Yeah, I love that show. They are so mean."
Me: "Um, no.  I actually provide tools to create ownership in an empowering setting like individual consultations or corporate workshops that drive motivation through brand talent."
Party Goer II: "So do you do personal shopping?"
Party Goer I: "Did you go to Fashion Week? Oh my gosh, are you judging what I'm wearing now?"
Party Goer II: "Yeah, or like that show 'The Rachel Zoe Project'. She's so mean"
Party Goer I: "I know. I love that show".
Me: Sigh. "Cocktail anyone?"

The Rant. I'm a Branding Expert that after 17 years of doing it for the apparel and gourmet food industry I invented a  concept for identifying your personal brand and creating a strategic approach to supporting it visually.  If you are your own brand your wardrobe is your logo.

The Rave. I'm not an advocate of following trends and I honestly don't categorize myself as fashion obsessed.  Meaning, I don't care who's got what on which runway, and I certainly don't associate myself with the Fashionista world. 

My target audience is the Fast Company, Inc., Entrepreneur magazine reader. My goal is to be featured in one of those magazines and speak at the companies that value having empowering their employees to embrace their personal brand and authenticity because they know the benefit is a team of people that relate to their brand they work for and take more ownership in it.

The Request. Please don't ask me to judge how you look.  I can't and won't. You are hard enough on yourself without me doing that. Please don't call me an "Image Consultant" (its just such a negative word). I'm a Persoal Brand Style Consultant. And finally, please don't ask if I'm like "What Not To Wear".  That makes for entertaining TV (if you're in to public humiliation), but it is not a positive life experience. 

Give people rules and they'll break them.  Give them tools and they'll take ownership.