Why do Brands need to create original content ?

Nowadays, we could find almost every beautiful visual, photography and idea on the internet easily, so, what is original content and why does it matter to a brand? 

For me — it is human touch and creative vision. As a creative director and photographer who works for brands and companies, I have to study my client brand’s vision, story and their goal, then create visuals that can reflect their DNA and be able to uplift the brand awareness.

Photo : Fashion shoot 2026, Creative Direction : @Marykatefreelance @Mjaylai | Photography : @Mjaylai | Model @Hanna.lub | Dress : @Ritaqaranbach

Original content is an expression of the Brand’s value and vision, a journey or conversation and this conversation could help you connect with your audience and potentially become your customers. There are a lot of brands in the U.K. market specially in London, a brand able to stand out requires a lot of elements, time, resource and planning, but the most important are — Unique Personality, Vision and Story. People in London value brand uniqueness and authenticity more than anything else. The brands which can share their experience, core value, and story have a higher chance to let people see them, then increase engagement and market awareness. 

Photo : Brand photography for Note to Self Candles, 2026

As a person who loves fashion, photography and design, seeking inspiration and collecting ideas seems like a daily vitamin. I collect those inspiration seeds from daily life like movies, art exhibitions, books, but some seeds may also come from who we are, personal experience, upbringing and our core values etc, ; as well as what culture we had experienced when we grew up also affected us everyday and it would ultimately reflect on our creation. 

Photo : Coffee shop in Hoxton - @Cremerlondon

I am reading an interesting book recently that I bought in Egypt which is called “From CIA to CEO” by Rupal Patel. There is one chapter mentioned : Study yourself / your target like investigating a suspect, follow the leads then you will solve the crime scene —  means knowing your root, strength and weakness will help you find your purpose and what makes you stand out. I found the theory fascinating and never used this angle to discover myself. 

To understand our creativity path, allow us to have time to absorb surrounding inspirations, transform to our own voice —-- is an essential process. It sounds like a personal artistic pursuit, however this artistic pursuit also needs a purpose to exist on the market, such as How it helps the brand? Why does it matter for a brand to find an actual photographer to create your original content? How do those original content and photos help startup brands stand out in the market ? If everyone is a brand, what does it look like and what is the value in it?

These questions I asked myself everyday and the practice never ends. We have to preserve human touch and emotion in our work because our audience is human. For instance, I am always a fan of brands like Aesop, Salt & Stone, Yojhi Yamamoto, Alexander McQueen etc because they are extremely well-designed, minimal, original and those elements align with my beauty sense and core value.

I also believe Less is More philosophy and quiet beauty are the loudest statements. I hope I will continue to create poetic and timeless visuals that represent my core values and also help more brands to grow.

25 Oct 2026

By Mjay