We recently connected with Tanita Schneider and have shared our conversation below.

Tanita, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

We all talk about impact. About making a difference. About more sustainability, better conditions, or progressive developments. But what truly makes a difference? What actions and decisions actually contribute to changing something? What exactly is meaningful, sustainable, ethical, or fair? This is what I asked myself and it is one of the reasons why I started my own business as a brand designer: I am convinced that we can make a difference with design, communication & creativity.

When I started working full-time as a brand designer at the end of 2019, one of my main reasons and greatest motivations was to make a difference as a brand strategist and designer. Right from the start, I collaborated with purpose-driven companies and founders. Alongside creating brandings for natural cosmetics, fair-trade coffee, sustainable jewelry, ceramics, interior designs, I also worked with many solo entrepreneurs in the mindfulness, yoga, coaching, and sustainability sectors to develop their brands and share them with the world. I firmly believe that design isn’t just about making things ‘pretty’ on the surface, but it’s a tool to make authentic personalities, relevant content, and compelling topics accessible and visible.

One incredibly inspiring person, who truly makes a difference with her vision and work, is Luisa from Café del Cielo with whom I work together for over a year now. Cafe del Cielo is a small coffee farm situated at 1800 meters high in the Colombian Andes. The name ‘Coffee from Heaven’ or ‘heavenly coffee’ is indeed fitting. Cafe del Cielo produces high-quality specialty coffee – ethically, sustainably, fairly, consciously. The supply chain is drastically shortened, ensuring that the coffee is delivered to your home in the fastest way possible, without cumbersome intermediaries and detours. Because behind every cup of coffee, there are many actors: the coffee growers who lovingly care for each coffee plant and deserve fair wages for their work, nature, but also a balanced ecosystem with an incredible variety of insects and birds that need to be preserved and protected.

Being able to support Luisa with my brand strategy, corporate design, packaging design, to give expression to her vision, and to make her project visible means a lot to me.

Tanita, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Tanita Schneider and I am living in Munich, Southern Germany. I work self-employed as a brand design freelancer since 2019 and with my creative agency „align studio“ that I founded last year – supporting soulful, sustainable businesses to become authentically visible and seen.

I would describe myself as something between a creative free spirit and structured process person. Being convinced that we CAN make a difference with design, communication & creativity, I combine brand strategy and design to create emotional, holistic brands that have an impact and light up the world. For me, design is not about sprucing up and artificially staging a facade, but a tool to show individuality and create connection. A way to make identity visible and accessible in the world.

I always follow my three words “Essence – Emotion – Energy”. Three words that always flow into each other – in my life, in all creative projects and in every project with my clients. My concept of holistic branding – and of life itself. Identity, design, external impact – essence, emotion, energy.

While still working in a big corporate agency some years ago, I realized that many soulful/impactful companies and entrepreneurs are still not seen. They create impactful projects, make a real difference, but they don’t feel like their current branding reflects their identity or just don’t know how to become visible in our (digital) world. As I am a soulful, sensitive and purpose-driven human being, I wanted to support them in creating a strong strategy & authentic design.

After my design studies and classic agency jobs, I quickly realised that I couldn’t live out what really drives me in a permanent position: To be empathetic, free and creative at the same time – and to work from human to human. What was pushed aside at the time, what had no place in the “hard” agency world, what was out of place and what I always saw as a weakness, has turned out to be one of my greatest strengths in recent years: To empathise with other people, to understand them, to see them – and to make them visible in their very own way.

I love deep conversations, early morning coffees, doing anything creative with my hands, long sunset walks, beautiful architecture – and travelling the world.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

One of my key values is authenticity. It never felt right to put myself out there in a staged or faked way. I started using Instagram when the platform was really new and it always felt intuitive and real.

Over the years, as I started my own business, Instagram has become more than just an inspiration platform for me—it’s simultaneously a networking event, a marketing channel, a community, a portfolio, and a reference. I’ve developed a love-hate relationship with it. At one point I asked myself “How can I distance myself more from followers/topics that don’t resonate with me?” and “How can this channel be a creative space again, while still being my most profitable marketing channel?”

What if Instagram isn’t just a social network, but real connections can form?
What if it’s not about triggering and manipulating, but about evoking emotions?
What if the goal isn’t to stage something artificially, but simply to be ourselves?

I changed my perspective and created an image, that really helped me:

Imagine your Instagram channel (assuming you’re self-employed and your Instagram channel is the storefront for your offerings) as your boutique. A place where people gather, products are displayed and sold, exchange happens, and inspiration is sparked. How would this boutique look? Whom would you welcome, and who would need to stay outside? How would you set up the boutique? How big would it be? How many people could fit inside? How would you interact with the visitors? What language or dialect would you use? How would you make yourself or your brand palpable? How much time would you spend in your boutique? Where would your focus lie? What would the atmosphere and energy be like inside? What experience, what emotion would customers have on-site?

Of course, you can use a different images – an office, a coworking space, a big party…

For myself, I envision my Instagram Channel as an artist’s studio – a place where I can unleash my creativity and consciously design. A place where I’m inspired and inspire others. A place where people are encouraged to think, unwind, and tap into their own creativity. A place where people can work on sustainable, impactful and purpose-driven projects together – grow, connect and create together.

This image really helped me to build a community on Social Media. To show myself as I am, share whatever inspires me, convey emotions and build trust and relationships. And of course all of this helps to reach my target groups and potential dream clients.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

“People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

What if that’s precisely it? About feelings, emotions, connections?
What if numbers and revenues, all triggers and achievements, are actually secondary?
What if success is a matter of definition and profit an illusion?
What if, at its core, it’s about us ourselves and the feeling we convey?
What if authenticity, genuine connection, and true value are exactly what the world needs?
What if through that, we become successful again, allowing creativity to flow and intuition to guide us?
What if the greatest success is touching, inspiring, and moving people?

The quote above has accompanied me every day for the past few years. The quote is an anchor for me – in life and in my role as a brand designer, mentor, strategist. It’s a constant reminder for me not to be distracted and influenced by external numbers and facts, but to reconnect with my unique drive and true vision.

When we operate through emotions, when we stop staging an artificial facade, maintaining a strategically correct image – we become genuine. When we start being ourselves, with every quirk, every mistake, every authentic uniqueness – we build real connection. When we are ourselves—vulnerable, authentic, distinctive, special – that’s when we can touch, inspire, and move people. And isn’t that the greatest success we can achieve?

Following this mindset helped me the most to build an authentic reputation in the market. I follow my values, have my boundaries, keep my standards, create high quality projects, but always stay true to myself and others. Creating an emotional experience around your brand and business is what helps you stand out in the market – and build a longlasting relationship with clients and networks.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tanita-schneider.de/en/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tanita.schneider/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanita-schneider-26b085109/
• Other: My Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.de/tani0046/ My creative agency align studio: https://align-studio.de/en/ Spotify “roots to fruits” (German Podcast): https://open.spotify.com/show/0R1tQBhQAok4E1kbCVgkzX Apple Podcast “roots to fruits” (German Podcast): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/roots-to-fruits-der-podcast-%C3%BCber-kreativit%C3%A4t-personal/id1663259064

Image Credits
Isabel Wallace, align studio