Graphic Motifs, Part 1

One of the weapons graphic designers use to support the wholeness and harmony of a visual identity is the addition of an extra graphic motif. A frame, an area of color, or an unusual layout grid can all work to boost recognition and reinforce the memory of that brand....

Goods, Part 2

For drinks, even more than food, the packaging and branding have to do the lion’s share of the work. Most soft drinks are very cheap to mass-produce—basic ingredients are water, corn syrup, coloring, and a few drops of actual juice—and there is only so much a...

Goods, Part 1

The supermarket is a metaphor for our consumer society; it is the place we go to learn about, select, and buy food and drink, detergent, shampoo, toothpaste, cough medicine and cigarettes, magazines, sweets, and dozens of other things we don’t even really need....

Globalization

Brands generally arise in situations of plentiful production. In the US, there were boom periods for new brands after the Civil War in the 1860s and again after WWII. Manufacturers with extra capacity introduced brands as a way to encourage consumption, and as a...

Gender Issues

Vive la difference! Since women and men are so wonderfully different, it’s no wonder that many brands try to address them in different ways. Where many brands fall down, however, is in stereotyping their audiences and forcing people into unwanted gender roles....

Future of Brands

The discipline of branding is the love child of graphic design, advertising, marketing, PR, and corporate identity. A branding consultancy competes with all of these businesses for both respect and clients— and often finds it must cooperate with all of those fields to...