THE CREATIVE IDENTITY SURVEY

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THE LAYERS OF YOUR CREATIVE IDENTITY

You may have noticed that we divided our survey into five categories of identity. While everyone interacts with these aspects of themselves, they are intrinsically linked for a working creative. For example, a lawyer might understand that their company has a brand, but this doesn't significantly impact their personal identity beyond considerations like how to dress on casual Fridays. For creatives, however, everything we do, produce, and experience is deeply tied to who we are. Our product is who we are, our brand is who we are, and so on. We refer to this concept as the layers of creative identity.

Product Identity: This is the overall personality of your product—what you create. It represents your contribution and what you give to the world.
Brand Identity: This is how the world perceives you—the box you are placed in or the labels assigned to your creativity. It encompasses your story and the image you want people to remember.
Personal Identity: This part of you is shaped by your experiences, culture, family, and environment. It includes aspects you cannot control, such as where you grew up or the color of your skin, as well as choices you make in life, like how you spend your time and what you believe.
Core Identity: This consists of your central assumptions or unconditional beliefs—statements you believe to be absolute truths (e.g., “I am good,” “I am bad”). Here is where you find your sense of self-worth.
Identity Bedrock: This is made up of beliefs based on concepts bigger than yourself, such as statements of faith, laws of physics, or cultural beliefs. These statements may counteract your inner voice, but you can rely on them in times of turmoil.

Just like layers of sediment in the ground, these aspects of identity are influenced by the layers below them. If your core identity is full of self-doubt, your personal identity will reflect that, and in turn, so will your brand and what you create. The journey of healthy creation for us begins with the journey through identity.

THE CREATIVE IDENTITY