A writer who can hear where your introduction starts to sound like you. A designer who notices what a typeface is doing to an idea. Branding and storytelling bring words, images and judgment together. Over coffee with a SEYA Source, you can explore how those choices work in something you are making.
You might be trying to describe your work, give a small business a clearer identity, or decide which pieces belong in a portfolio. You might also be curious about how someone whose work you admire makes these decisions.
A Source is someone worth meeting for their perspective, knowledge, taste, craft, stories, experience, or personality. SEYA’s beta includes Danielle Hughes on copywriting and personal branding; Nancy Ruzow and Kirsten Quisenberry on branding and brand strategy; Jess Goldsmith on typefaces, lettering and illustration; and Josh Neufeld on storytelling and integrating visuals into a story.
Those subjects offer different ways into a session, a bookable conversation. Choose the person’s perspective first, then find the part of your project you would like to explore with them.
These subjects come from people joining SEYA’s beta. They describe possible conversations; individual session details and availability will be confirmed during the beta.
Personal branding that starts with your actual work
Writing about yourself can feel harder than explaining what you do to someone across a table. On a page, you may find yourself reaching for broad descriptions that leave out the details you would naturally mention in conversation.
Danielle’s subjects include personal branding, LinkedIn, and career narrative and positioning. You could bring your current introduction and a few examples of the work behind it. Talk about what you enjoy doing, which questions people bring you, and what you want a reader to understand.
A question to bring
“When you read this introduction, what do you understand about me? What would you ask to get a more specific picture?”
You can also explore what belongs in a public profile and what you prefer to keep private. A personal brand takes shape through choices about what to share and how to express it. Your own boundaries belong in that discussion.
If the main question is your next professional move, our article on career conversations over coffee explores that direction in more detail.
Finding the idea behind a brand
Before choosing colors or rewriting a headline, you may want to talk about what you are trying to communicate. Who is the work for? What do you want someone to understand? Which detail makes the idea specific?
Nancy and Kirsten both bring branding subjects to the beta. Kirsten also lists mapping an idea into a path forward, which offers a starting point when your project is still taking shape.
Bring a short description, a few references, and the decision you keep circling. You could compare different ways to introduce the idea, or talk about why the examples you admire feel coherent.
A question to bring
“These are the things I want people to understand. Which part would you explore first, and what feels unresolved?”
A focused conversation can help you examine the direction. Any design or writing you want to discuss should fit the Source’s stated session, with the scope agreed before meeting.
Typography, color and what you notice first
A designer’s attention can make a familiar page look different. You may start noticing which words dominate, where your eye moves, or how a change of typeface shifts the feel of the same sentence.
Nancy’s subjects include typography and color. Jess brings typeface knowledge, lettering and illustration. You could explore a page you are making, a visual identity you are curious about, or the difference between a few approaches to the same idea.
A question to bring
“What is this page asking me to notice first, and how would you think about changing that?”
Bring examples at a size you can both look at comfortably. A few images or a small printed selection can make comparison easy. Ask the Source to explain their reasoning, including what they would want to know about the intended audience before suggesting a change.
Choosing what belongs in a creative portfolio
Jess’s subjects include portfolio reviews and mentorship for emerging artists. Josh also offers illustration and comics portfolio review as a subject. If you are deciding what to show, start by explaining who will see the work and what you hope they will understand about it.
Choose a small selection. You might want to talk about the opening piece, the range of work, or how to describe the thinking behind a project. Ask what amount of material fits the session before bringing the whole portfolio.
A question to bring
“What picture of my work does this selection create? Which piece would you want to hear more about?”
Feedback can be a conversation about your intentions as well as the other person’s response. Explain what you were trying, listen to what they noticed, and ask where those perspectives meet or diverge.
Telling a story with words and images
Josh’s subjects include integrating visuals into a story and using fiction structure for real-life stories. You could bring a short account of something that happened, a sequence of drawings, or an idea that keeps arriving as both an image and a sentence.
Talk about where the story begins, whose perspective guides it, and what the reader needs to know at each point. You might ask what an image could show, what the words should carry, or where a pause would make the sequence easier to follow.
A question to bring
“I want to tell this true story. Where would you begin, and what would you choose to show?”
Keep the facts distinct from choices about structure. When a story involves other people, bring material you are comfortable and permitted to share. A café conversation can explore craft while respecting the people whose lives enter the work.
Questions people ask
What branding topics can I bring to a SEYA Source?
Subjects represented in the beta include personal branding, LinkedIn, brand strategy, typography, color, lettering and illustration. Start with one decision and choose a Source whose published session fits it.
Can I bring writing or a portfolio for feedback?
Check the session description and agree the amount of material with the Source. A short introduction, a small selection of work, or a specific page gives you a concrete place to begin.
What if my idea is still rough?
Bring what you have and describe the part you are trying to work out. A conversation about direction can begin with a sketch, a few sentences, or examples that help explain what interests you.
Do I need a business to talk about branding and storytelling?
You could explore how you describe your work, the way a portfolio presents it, or a personal creative project. You can also meet someone because you want to understand how they think about words and images.
Bring a piece of work and a real question
Choose someone whose way of seeing interests you, then bring the detail you would like to look at together. The reason to meet may be one sentence, one image, or a decision that is easier to explore aloud.
SEYA curates purposeful face-to-face conversations with remarkable people in the city’s most vibrant coffee shops. Discover someone remarkable, see the subjects you could explore together, and meet over coffee in a trusted local place.
Explore SEYA with the creative question you would like to bring to the table.