The Problem with Branding Everything

I stumbled upon a book by the iconic graphic designer Paul Rand at the local library. Design Form and Chaos was published in 1993. (He passed away in 1996.) Throughout his book, he discusses contemporary graphic design and what separates good design from trendiness. His own work is used as a starting point. For those that don’t know, Rand designed the IBM logo.

Many things struck me throughout his book but this statement in the introduction really stood out to me:

Most great art, isolated in museums or private collections, is perceived as something different — existing on a pedestal…On the other hand, most design (great or otherwise)…is so much apart of everyday experience that eventually it finds itself not on a pedestal but on a rubbish heap.

The above startling comment is even more true 23 years after it was published. Graphic Design and Marketing have entered the mainstream consciousness because of the digital revolution: inexpensive computers, easy-to-use graphics software, online content creation and sharing platforms. Everyone is branding and designing, therefore everyone has an idea of how they want to be perceived. Once your image is created in the competitive online space we call the internet, you must also…have opinions to separate yourself from competitors. This is called brand positioning at your fingertips.

The Accessibility of Graphic Design and Marketing

Interest in art and design has always existed. Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. Picasso said that. As we age, creating art and design at a professional level is usually left to trained experts. But there are always hobbyists. Usually, their audience is themselves, family and friends. Professional graphic designers and marketers have a different and typically larger more complex audience(s). It means understanding market research, aesthetic concepts (color, typography and images) and spending a great deal of money. Because of the investment, it is no secret that employers who hire graphic designers place a premium on formal training and proper experience. But a few brave souls seem to have a gift for figuring this out on their own without a college education. Today, everyone believes they have the potential to be this exception. More power to them!

As Paul Rand states, the barrier to entering the graphic design and marketing fields was already low because neither requires any licensing or accreditation. But the internet completely flattened that barrier.

Now anyone can enter the field, right?

The creative professional fields love giving the appearance of meritocracy. That’s why we loved American Idol, right? An obscure person becoming famous and respected is what many dream of. We forget that this show rejected thousands along the way to find the ‘one.’ Also, not all American Idol winners have had successful careers. Professionally, completing art/design education, places you at the starting line. In today’s digital economy, you can start without an art/design education and place yourself at the starting line. But you must bring something to help you compete. There are enough Youtube stars that are using graphic design and marketing to attract an audience. So, they made the meritocracy…real. 

The Growing Importance of Global Brand Logos

The creative fields continue to evolve because of information and communications technologies (ICTs). Since personal branding is the rage right now and social media has democratized industry conversations, opinions are everywhere. But the digital revolution, while flattening the entry barriers to graphic design and marketing, created a paradox: Graphics and images have become less important because they are easily accessible. (Does anyone remember clip art print catalogs? LOL) But logos for global brands have become more important. I can hear some of this in Paul Rand’s introductory statement.

For example, branding isn’t just a company’s logo anymore. Some say it is what customers say you are. So, companies spend time listening on social media. Now, individuals have the power to influence a company’s brand strategy. When people band together on social media to complain, businesses respond. In the last 5-7 years, there have been consistent online complaints about new logos from global brands. Gap’s new logo was clowned so bad in 2010 that they went back to the original one. In 2014, a Youtube video was made comparing airbnb’s logo to a woman’s genitalia. Uber rebranded and was laughed at. These comments are coming also from people who aren’t even in graphic design and marketing. Global brand logos seem to be approaching a level of veneration.

The Impermanence of Political Campaign Branding

As various politicians attempt to climb the greasy pole of winning the U.S. presidency, their branding is out there. Its cheesy and corny filled with Americana. We accept it because its temporary and helps us think about what is important and who we should dislike. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton, by far, has the best branding. She started campaigning earlier than the other candidates and had time, without distraction, to establish her logo and visual identity system. (Read my commentary on her logo.) But Bernie Sanders is gaining with his ‘movement oriented’ branding that is grabbing the millennial vote. On the Republican side, Rand Paul (before he bowed out) understood the power of branding. But he has now been eclipsed by Donald Trump, the master brander. We are saturated in political campaign branding (and I will be glad when it ends).

But, here are 4 reasons why global brand logos have become MORE important:

1. Easier to access  – Global brands are all over the internet. They use their visual identity systems to create easy-to-use portals and spark conversations about different issues relative to their brand. 
2. Becoming religious artifacts – Logos are identifiers and symbols. Because of content marketing and smarketing, consumers are seeing logos constantly. It is becoming a form of secular iconography. Whereas typical spiritual practices are time consuming, global brands are providing cafeteria-style quickly digestable images and experiences. 
3. Simplicity – Art/Design school teaches that a logo should be unique. But global brands understand that they also need to be simplistic. The Target logo is not unique but memorable. It is a well known graphic attached to a retailer that has been successful marketing visual simplicity and clarity to its audience.
4. Branding on steroids – Everybody brands. Even Grumpy cat is becoming a brand because of its meme virality. Kim Kardashian and Beyonce work hard to brand themselves as natural beauties. But no one sees the crew of make-up artists following them. Global brands make sure you dont see how they do their magic UNLESS it is a part of their marketing campaign. We accept the premise that its okay to be marketed to all the time. 

When everything is branded, its hard to know what is real vs. what is commercial. Its also difficult to know where real power lies in our society. This has always been the case in celebrity culture and politics which have their own bizarro universes.

But the power of branding is mainstream now.

Apple, Inc. has been in the news lately defying the U.S. government’s request to access the phone of the San Bernadino killers. Apple is a global brand with consumers around the world even though it is located in the U.S. Pew says 51% Americans want Apple to unlock the phone. But we cannot deny that Apple’s brand influence has some effect on consumers’ views. Many people like Apple even if they don’t own an iphone. That credibility carries weight and Apple is banking on it to weather this storm. However, I suspect that if this creates consistently bad PR, they will find a win/win situation.

Smart entertainers are encouraged to develop cult followings to broaden and maintain their brand influence. This is how rap artist 50 Cent could market vitamin water even though mainstream rap music is not associated with healthy living. Some fans have stopped drawing the boundary between what is real vs. fake because there is enough digital content from their idols to keep them distracted. Alot of branding and marketing efforts convince us we can have content/product right now all the time. For example, I heard celebrity debutante Marie Osmond promote Nutri System (which sells weight loss products) on the radio by starting with this line: “I want to look good but who has time to work out?”

We all ask that question but truthfully, it is not based on a healthy reality.

Whether you are religious or not, this excessive branding has spiritual and moral implications for children and youth who grow up awash in media. I am a brand consultant and I am still saying this. What emotional and spiritual void does branding fill? What does it distract us from? Are we worrying too much about how strangers perceive us? So, did you take the blue pill or the red pill?

“You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” –Morpheus

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