Brandbuilding vs Worldbuilding

Branding in 2025 feels like an overused buzzword—brand building. Personal branding. Rebrands. All phrases that, at this point, make you roll your eyes — like somebody clapping after the plane lands.

The way branding is talked about today feels boring and generic, and in the process, we’ve lost touch with what it actually is: I believe that branding is the single most important part of any business, individual, city, or even political movement. It’s the foundation of everything.

In the creative industries, branding often gets boiled down to ‘consistency’. Logos. Tone of voice. Colour systems. Visual identity...And while all of this stuff is important, it’s not everything.

I’d argue that if you stop there, you’ve only scratched the surface - It's kind of like that image of the ice burg - branding sits on top of the water, but the world-building is all underneath.

As a creative, your mission shouldn’t be to create a brand— it should be to create a world.

Every piece of work you put out there is art. And when we look back at the most powerful artists, whether writers, painters, or filmmakers, they didn’t just present an idea, they pulled us into their brains. They build an environment where the book becomes impossible to put down, or have you searching for secret meanings in every part of their painting.

For me, that feeling started with Salvador Dali. Growing up, we had his prints hanging in our flat. I didn’t understand the symbolism of the melting clocks or the surreal landscapes…but I was totally roped in.

There was an aesthetic, a mood, a world that existed in the print that young Aaron loved and still loves. After building my own business and working with/for big corporations, old Aaron has realised that actually, that’s exactly what your favourite companies do. They build emotions, atmospheres, and meanings that go far beyond visual consistency.

So, what’s the difference between brand-building and world-building?

A brand speaks to you - A world pulls you in.

You don’t just recognise the logo — you feel it. You don’t want to just buy it - You want to be part of it.

And depending on what industry you’re in, I bet a few examples come to mind instantly.

For me: In fashion, it’s Aime Leon Dore. In tech, it’s Apple. In politics, it’s the Obama campaign.

It’s immersive, emotional, and lasting. It builds communities. It extends beyond the product or the person. And it stands the test of time.

They’re not just creative choices—they’re the foundation of your brand and once you start to see your brand as a world, these five pillars—mood, narrative, language, community, and place—become your tools for shaping it.

1. Mood

Mood is the emotional atmosphere people feel the moment they come into contact with your world. It’s subtle, but powerful—like walking into a room and instantly sensing the vibe or the aura (another word which has been killed by the way).

ALD’s world feels like New York nostalgia with an instagram filter on it—basketball courts, brownstones, heritage. Apple’s mood is clean, with techie precision. The future, but now.

2. Narrative

This is the story your world is telling. Not just your origin—but the journey you're inviting others to join.

When I look at the strongest brands, the common thread isn’t just messaging—it’s meaning. There’s a story under the surface. A mission that makes you feel something bigger than the product.

Narrative turns branding into belief.

3. Language

Language is the personality of your world. It’s not just about tone of voice—it’s about the energy and the vocabulary that gives your brand a heartbeat.

I once worked on a project where we changed three words in a product description—and the conversion rate spiked. That’s the power of careful language.

Every brand has a voice. But a world has a way of speaking—and more importantly, a way of being understood.

4. Community

No world is complete without people in it. The best brands become shared spaces—because they’re built with the audience, not just for them.

In my work, I’ve seen community show up in so many forms: TikTok creators as part of a campaign. Discord chats exploding after drops. Customers defending your brand in the comments like football ultras.

When people feel like they belong, they become storytellers too and that’s when your world really starts to grow organically.

5. Place

Every world needs an environment. And even in the digital age, place still matters.

It’s the aesthetic influence and the vibe people associate with your world.

Maybe it’s a physical place—like a pop-up store in Paris. Or maybe it’s more abstract— like your brand's instagram grid.

And back to Dali, my baby brain didn’t know what surrealism was, but I felt it. That’s what the place does.

These five elements—mood, narrative, language, community, and place—are the ingredients of world-building.

In 2025 when your 16-year-old cousin can start a Shopify dropshipping store, selling glow-in-the-dark hamster hoodies, having a brand isn’t enough, you need to build a world to stand the test of time.