When More Hurts Coherence: Why I Cut My Own Work in Half

For a long time, I thought generosity meant making things bigger. More blog posts, more freebies, more value given away.

So when I decided to create a free brand resource, I did what I always do. I made it rich, thoughtful, wide-ranging. It was designed to give founders everything they might need to find their footing. It was carefully written and deeply considered—but it didn’t convert.

Why? Because the main feedback I received was that I was giving too many options, and too much information.

In trying to give away value, I had forgotten what a brand really needs: coherence and orientation. It needs to offer a clear path that shows clients that you will take them from point A to point B, and what will change for them by the end of the experience.

When abundance obscures meaning

This is a pattern I see often in businesses.

We assume more equals better. Bigger logos, more words, fancier features. We keep adding because we’re afraid that if we don’t show everything we know, we won’t be taken seriously.

Meaning doesn’t come from accumulation, but from positioning.

The problem with my original resource wasn’t that anything in it was wrong. It was that it wasn’t clear. Was it an introduction? A diagnostic? A deep-dive? A workbook? A manifesto?

It was all of them, which meant, functionally, it was none.

People didn’t need more information. They needed a clear path forward.

What I learned by stripping it back

So I did something that felt surprisingly uncomfortable. I cut it.

I removed sections and collapsed pages. I let go of things I was proud of. I kept only what served one clear job: something that let the reader step back and see the gaps between how they wanted their brand to feel, and how it was actually showing up.

Now the resource wasn’t trying to do ten jobs. It was doing one thing well: creating awareness.

Why this matters for your business

This pattern shows up everywhere. Beautiful websites that say nothing, offer suites that overwhelm instead of orient, messaging that tries to speak to everyone and ends up landing with no one.

We add because we’re anxious. We decorate because we’re unsure. We build layers when what we really need is a spine.

The same is true of brands, offers, and resources.

What I kept

The Brand World Audit exists because of this process. It’s a distilled version of what I believe matters most at the beginning of any brand: atmosphere, presence, voice, story, invitation, and coherence.

If you’d like to work through it, you can access the audit by joining the Studio Founded newsletter. It’s where I share this kind of thinking, alongside the tools and reflections that shape how I build brands.

This piece is part of my ongoing exploration into branding as cultural commentary. I’m Hannah Shaw, founder of Studio Founded, a design practice and resource library for founders.