Every brand looks the f*cking same. And I’m so done..

Written by someone who’s seen one too many cookie-cutter brands on the ‘gram.

Lately, I’ve been scrolling through Instagram and feeling this creeping sense of déjà vu — brand after brand, looking like some beige, pastel, personality-devoid version of each other.

Have we all collectively skipped over colour? Personality? Edge? Everyone’s “clean but quirky", “bold but minimalist” and it's giving shared Pinterest board. But also? It’s absolutely killing creativity and original thinking.

And here’s the kicker:

I started to see brands that were looking just. like. mine.

Which is SCARING me.

Because if I’m feeling that?

You should be too.

Originality is on life support.

Trends are not strategy, but we're stuck in this loop of copy + paste culture where the italic serif logo reigns supreme, the neutral tone of voice is oh so palatable and IT ALL LOOKS THE EXACT SAME.

The brutal truth.

When everything starts blending together, your originality dies. When your originality dies, your edge disappears. And when your edge disappears?

So does your audience (byyeee 👋)

You can't out-market, out-price or out-content your competitors when you're busy trying to be them (insert mic drop noise here).

Some of us are no longer building brands. We're building replicas. Pinterest-friendly replicas that check all the right boxes but say nothing real. There’s no tension, no contrast, no conflict, no perspective, no drama!

This isn't just about the visuals. The voice, the language, the energy — it’s all starting to feel a little too templated. Like there's this invisible little cheat sheet for same same brands.

Originality isn’t just a “nice to have” anymore — it’s your entire edge.

And in my years of experience, the one thing that actually creates originality, is the one thing people skip because there's no tangible outcomes. Because it takes work. Because they'd rather have a brand than do the work underneath. They're skipping the strategy.

Real, rooted, uncomfortable brand strategy. The kind that forces you to ask:

What do we believe in? What are we really saying? Who are we for? And why would anyone care? Not what colour palette is trending or what tone of voice is getting engagement.

We’re fucking bored.

We, as a society, as consumers, have become obsessed with polish, with micro trends, with fast moving content and going viral, but forgotten that the power of a brand comes from what it stands for. From the perspective it holds. From the space it claims — unapologetically. A good brand doesn't just look different, it thinks different. It communicates different. It feels like a person, not a product.

The brands that actually cut through right now are the ones that make you feel something. They have a pulse. A personality. A point of view. A fucking opinion. They don’t just copy trends — they challenge them. They don’t just talk — they say something. And they’re not afraid to show you exactly who they are, even if that means turning a few people off. At least they’re turning heads.

There's a good chance that a beige brand could be swapped out with three others in their industry and no one would notice. That's a scary thought. Because then what sets them apart? What draws consumers? What speaks to the audience's desires? If that's you, this is your sign. Stop. Strip it back. Ask harder questions. Find the guts of it again — because it's there. It's not lost.

Being forgettable is the biggest threat to your business right now — not pricing, not competition, not the algorithm.

We don’t need more brands.

We need braver ones. We need brands that say something honest and unexpected. That take a stand. That aren’t afraid to be weird, bold, specific, different. The world is saturated with sameness — your individuality is your loudest competitive advantage.

So for the love of all things good, don't be fucking afraid to embody it.

Because the moment you start blending in is the moment your brand stops working.

And I don’t know about you — but I didn’t start a business to just blend in.