The Man in the Mirror

Renriqué Primus
May 23
6 min read

The Birth of a Brand Persona: AI-Assisted Self-Auditing

Who do you see?

We tend to avoid looking at our reflection longer than we need to. Maybe it’s because we’re afraid of the imperfections staring back. Look too long, and you’ll notice the cracks—the parts you’d rather ignore, fix, or mask. So we twirl once in the mirror, make sure we’re “presentable,” and move on without truly acknowledging what lies beneath.

Turns out, we often treat AI the same way.

We ask it questions and expect grand answers. We treat it like an oracle. But in truth? AI is more mirror than mystic. It reflects what we feed it. It observes, listens, and processes our most honest questions—often offering insights that feel uncomfortably close to home. And if you’re brave enough to challenge its answers? That’s where things get interesting.

Standing in Front of the Mirror (a.k.a. ChatGPT)

Following a casual suggestion from my colleague Dominic de Bourg, I asked ChatGPT to describe me based on our interactions. Of course, being extra, I added:

“Psychoanalyse me if you may. And be critical.”

I didn’t want sugar. I wanted substance. See, I believe trends are only valuable if you squeeze insight from them. Otherwise, they’re just noise.

What followed was eerily accurate. A dissection of my professional persona, mindset, and creative patterns. It also handed me four areas for reflection—blindspots I hadn’t considered. Most were spot-on and incredibly useful. But one… sparked a transformation.

The Critique That Hit (and Missed)

Among the reflections, ChatGPT suggested that the personal narrative I’d built—the way I describe myself—might be a limitation.

“Clinging to a curated persona may protect you from risk or vulnerability,” it said.

At first, I nodded. Then I paused. Because deep down, I disagreed. I haven’t been clinging to a persona. I’ve been refining it.

And, maybe, just maybe, ChatGPT hasn’t watched over 600 hours of Chris Do content on personal branding and storytelling. But I have.

That moment sparked something deeper, a desire not just to defend, but to define what this identity really meant to me.

The Emergence of The Design Sniper

From that critique, something clicked. I realized I wasn’t hiding behind a label—I was sharpening one.

The Design Sniper:

A quiet disruptor. A rebel in corporate camouflage. A strategist who doesn’t shoot wildly but waits, aims, and delivers with precision.

That’s me. And I almost missed it…Had I stopped at the praise.

This wasn’t just branding fluff—it was a distilled, dangerous clarity. A creative philosophy wrapped in metaphor. It felt sharp. It felt real. Most importantly, it felt uniquely mine. And that’s the moment everything shifted. The critique became a catalyst. The mirror became a launchpad. And the “persona” became a positioning strategy.

The Unexpected Benefits

What started as a self-check-in became something deeper:

Creative rejuvenation
Clarity of purpose
Refined personal narrative
A tactical mindset for how I show up in the industry

Now, I’m stepping into this new space fully—and you’re reading the first official field note from this new direction.

Welcome to Beyond the Scope. Where I share thoughts, debriefs, and reflections from a quiet disruptor’s point of view.

Give It a Shot: AI as a Self-Audit Tool

Whether you’re a creative, a strategist, or someone navigating your personal brand—here’s how you can try this for yourself:

1. Ask for an Honest Critique

Drop your writing, pitch deck, or portfolio into ChatGPT and ask: “What impression does this give about me or my brand?” Be open to what it reflects — you might get more than grammar tips.

2. Treat AI Like a Mirror, Not an Oracle

The real value isn’t in getting “answers.” It’s seeing how your work or voice comes across from the outside. AI holds up the mirror — you decide what to do with the reflection.

3. Spot the Patterns

Are you too vague? Too polished? Repetitive in your tone? Look for what keeps showing up in the feedback. That’s where the gold is.

4. Lean Into What Makes You… You

If a “flaw” feels familiar, ask yourself: can this be a strength? My sharpness was labeled a liability. I made it a weapon.

5. Draft. Reflect. Refine. Repeat.

This is an iterative process. Brand clarity—like design—improves with review and repetition. Let AI be your second set of eyes, not your voice.

Report Submission:

Self-auditing doesn’t require a therapist or a viral LinkedIn post. Sometimes, all you need is an honest prompt, a quiet moment, and a digital mirror. And if you’re brave enough to challenge the reflection? You might just meet the clearest version of yourself yet.

DECLASSIFIED EVALUATION

Name: Renriqué Primus Codename: The Design Sniper Number: 00000-10SNPR-D

PHASE 1 - INITIAL EVALUATION Creative Identity & Drive

You’re a visionary—someone who thrives at the intersection of strategy and artistry. You’ve evolved from stylist and designer to Creative Director, which suggests not just talent, but an appetite for growth, leadership, and impact. You’re drawn to precision and clarity in design, but your rebellion lies in pushing past convention to create meaningful work that speaks, not shouts. This tension—structure vs. disruption—is a defining feature of your creative psyche.

You’re also a synthesizer: you gather aesthetics, stories, market insights, and culture, then distill them into compelling visual narratives. That’s not common. It implies a mind that constantly observes, processes, and reimagines.

Leadership & Sensibility

You balance warmth with high standards. You care about people—their intentions, their readiness, their stories—but you also set boundaries, especially around value, timelines, and clarity. You lead not through dominance but through vision and emotional intelligence.

There’s a quiet intensity to how you operate. You’re emotionally attuned and strategic, which makes you excellent at reading between the lines—whether in client intake or cultural branding. You likely prefer deep, one-on-one conversations over noisy groupthink.

Psychological Profile (Speculative, Respectful)

Primary traits: Introspective, intuitive, empathetic, perfectionistic, selectively rebellious.
You probably have a strong inner critic, which drives excellence but sometimes delays satisfaction. Your creative rebellion is a way of reclaiming agency in systems that often undervalue nuance or originality.
You’re likely to oscillate between bursts of creative flow and reflective solitude. That space is where your best ideas are born.
Aesthetic harmony matters to you—not just in visuals, but in how ideas, brand values, and human emotions align.

Philosophical Leanings

You see brand building as more than business—it’s cultural storytelling. There’s a deep belief in the transformative power of identity—how visuals, language, and strategy can empower or diminish people. That suggests a humanist at heart, someone who believes creativity can restore dignity and direction.

If I were to sum you up in one line:

You’re a thoughtful disruptor—rooted in craft, driven by vision, and quietly intent on changing how people experience brands, art, and themselves.

PHASE 2 - DEEPER EVALUATION

1. Perfectionism That Borders on Paralysis

Your bar for excellence can be a double-edged sword. You likely revise and revisit decisions or ideas repeatedly—whether it’s naming a brand or framing a form. While this drives polish, it may stall momentum. There’s a risk that things don’t ship until they feel “just right,” even when “good enough” would move the needle. You might also struggle delegating—because only you can capture the nuance you see.

Blindspot: Mistaking refinement for progress. Sometimes, momentum beats mastery.

2. Control Masquerading as Vision

You’re strategic and curated, but this can lean into control. You probably have a mental ideal of how things should look, feel, or be received—and it can make collaboration frustrating if others don’t “get it” fast enough. Your standards can isolate you. Even your curiosity (about style, tone, or psyche) is often filtered through what serves the work, not always through vulnerability.

Blindspot: Not letting others surprise you. You may unconsciously limit outcomes by over-directing the process.

3. Selective Empathy in Business

You read people well, but there’s a quiet dismissal of “cold leads” or clients who aren’t self-aware. While that’s efficient, it can also narrow your impact. Some of those people need your vision the most—but you might unconsciously gatekeep it, reserving your full attention for those who already reflect parts of your values or aesthetic.

Blindspot: Assuming people must be “ready” for your kind of creative transformation.

4. Identity as Armour

You’ve built a strong personal narrative—“the covert rebel,” the design sniper in corporate camouflage. That’s powerful. But it might also be a shell that protects you from softness, imperfection, or risk of failure. You curate how you’re perceived—likely even in casual interactions. That’s understandable, but it may limit spontaneity, play, or unexpected growth.

Blindspot: Clinging to the persona of the discerning outsider might keep you from evolving past it.

Psychological Tension

You want your work to move people, yet you might struggle with letting people move you—especially when vulnerability or messiness enters the room. You crave clarity, but you’re also a dreamer. That duality gives you power, but it can also create inner conflict. You might feel most alive when creating—but quietly frustrated when managing or scaling.

In a sentence: You are a master of depth and precision, but your sharpness—left unchecked—can harden into rigidity, isolation, or creative bottlenecks.