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Why You're Not Consistent

  • Writer: Sophie Haren
    Sophie Haren
  • Apr 23
  • 2 min read

Updated: May 5

Most branding systems are not built to support you. They’re built to support a fantasy version of you. The aspirational you. The you who always has great photos, perfect lighting, a fresh idea, and three hours to design a post.


That version of you doesn’t exist.


You know what does exist?


Tired you. Over-it you. “Oh shit I forgot to finish that” you. “This offer ends tomorrow and I still haven’t promoted it” you. “I had a whole strategy but now I’m in a depression hole” you.


And your branding needs to work _for_ that version of you.


If your brand only functions when you’re in peak performance mode, it’s not a brand system—it’s a trap. And it’s time to stop blaming yourself for not being able to keep up with something that was never built with you in mind.


Consistency isn’t about willpower.


It’s about friction.


The more decisions you have to make, the more resistance you’ll feel. The more resistance you feel, the more likely you are to bail.


That’s not a personal flaw—that’s how brains work. Especially if you’re neurodivergent. Especially if you’re creative. Especially if you have small kids a and are sleep deprived. Especially if you’re a person who is already doing literally everything else in your business alone.


So when your brand is abstract with no clear structure? That’s friction.


When none of the templates that you bought actually work without gorgeous photos that you don’t have time to take? Friction.


When you have four different “brand fonts” but you can never remember which one is supposed to go where? Friction.


When you’re scrolling Canva to try and find an icon for “brainstorm” and can’t decide if you want a cute pastel kawaii one, or a hand drawn one, or a clean outline, or a clean filled in or...


You’re not dumb. Your brand just isn’t t structured well enough for you to use. It’s too abstract, too precious, and too hard to reach for when you need it most.


And every time you skip a post or bail on a newsletter or stop showing up for a week because it just felt like _too much_—you blame yourself. You tell yourself you need to be better. But really, you just need things to be simpler.



It’s using minimalist principles to save your brand. It’s about eliminating friction. Reducing decisions. Building branding _around how you actually work_—not how you wish you worked.


Because when your branding is easy to use, you actually use it.


When you know exactly what font, color, and format to default to, you can start creating _before_ your brain talks you out of it.


When your brand system is built to support your lowest energy day, you’ll be shocked how much more consistent you become.



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Hey I'm Sophie

Your Design Deferral Partner

I build brand systems for real people with real energy cycles—not fantasy selves with infinite motivation. If your best effort looks like slouching in bed and knocking out graphics between snacks, we're on the same page.

After years of designing brands and templates in and out of corporate, I kept seeing the same thing: everything fell apart in real life. The brand books were gorg—but they weren’t usable. The templates? Confusing. Overwhelming. Often just more “stuff” people had to manage.

Then Canva changed the game.

Suddenly, brand guidelines were being handed to everyday users. Not designers. Not marketers. Just people trying to post something that looked decent without falling into a shame spiral.

 

So I stopped trying to make better brand books—and started building better systems for people who needed to break in their branding so they can finally feel comfortable using it.

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