A brand is commonly used to connote an identity or image that is made to be perceived and experienced by people. Often, it is used by companies to mould their public image to add value to their business. More recently, with the advent of social media, individuals are turning to their own brands.

Being your authentic self while becoming a personal brand is counterintuitive. On one hand, a brand is a formulation of commercial values and meanings that people project on a company, product, or service. It is fundamentally corporate and profit-oriented and must strategically align with a target market while differentiating from competitors. On the other hand, being genuine, truly oneself, is personal, complex, and inward. This contradiction is the personal brand paradox—as one pursues becoming a brand, it takes away the earnest nuances of one’s self and humanity.

How can we then develop a personal brand or identity that can show a part of our actual selves, aiming for genuine self- expression while differentiating ourselves commercially from others in our field of work?

This practice-led research examines this paradox, the boundaries between the self and the personal brand, and those aspects which can be revealed, curated, and hidden. The exploration aims to create an extended personal identity—an extension of the self that interconnects with others: an identity that is more attuned to the self, not necessarily for commercial gain but for self-expression and self-distinction.

The research is conducted in three parts: re:collection, re:flection, and re:curation, through reflective autoethnography and a heuristic methodology. This allows me to examine my memories and collect specific instances with which I can identify. Reflecting on these uncovers my values, biases, and tendencies. The introspected and catalogued moments are recorded through my final artefact, the Memory Card Library. This personal collection of memory cards can then be used to inform and create my extended personal identity.

From an inward perspective, this examination studies the creation of extended identities, potentially providing individuals and commercial brands with an avenue to be more honest, genuine, and personal.