Branding?
Really?
Are you going to be one of those guys who are like, “Yeah, when I was a youth I was in a punk rock band. Now I sell sh-t to people who really should be spending more time with their families, and less time working, but can't because they have to buy this sh-t that I sell, because I'm just so f-cking good at selling it.”?
If you are, you suck.
Sellout.
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In the past, whenever I expressed my interest in branding to friends and family I was often met with surprise, and once with contempt. I have few brand loyalties, am ignorant to many brands, and I’m not a very good consumer. (I once wore a single pair of sneakers for almost six years before buying a new pair. See below.) So naturally, when I told folks of my branding interests, I was often asked why?
I have to admit that I do have a love/hate relationship with the idea of branding. There exists the side of me that thinks it irresponsible to help companies and corporations position themselves to, ultimately, sell more products. Yes, I acknowledge that there are many products out there that are necessary, helpful, responsible, etc., but I also acknowledge that there are so many more products out there that aren’t. Is it possible to work in branding and not be one of the ‘bad guys?’ This is where my reservations lie.
Moral compass aside, the part of me that loves branding loves pretty much everything about it. I find it to be an extremely difficult avenue of design. It is one that involves, I believe: the largest research component, the most developed and thorough process, the greatest range of design challenges (think of all those brand touchpoints!), and the most critical minds. These are the reasons I love branding. Incidentally, I also get a kick out of designing logotypes and marks.
My enthusiasm for branding currently surpasses my reservations. This is why I choose to study branding.
What about you? Why branding?
Why Branding?
2 comments:
I agree with you. I do too also have this inner struggle with the idea behind branding. When you speak of branding, most people would be quick to think of said-evil companies like McDonald's, Wal-Mart, Microsoft/Apple, etc due to their success from intensive branding. Because branding has allowed these companies to rise up to the top (and in some cases allowed them to bypass the law), there's a stigma that branding is bad, or unethical. But it's important to understand that this sense of evil is only created through the flawlessness of branding. We analyse and compare these companies and think to ourselves - "They're not as nice, or as flawless as they present themselves to be". This is the outcome of successful branding - it shows no flaws or negative aspects of a company or group. I believe this is the aspect of branding that most people find offensive and untrustworthy and that it manipulates and changes perspectives.
That being said, branding in itself is not a bad thing. It is a means of communicating the ideals and beliefs of a company or group to the masses, and this communication should be genuine and truthful.
It is important to understand your role as an advertiser and designer. You have the ability to manipulate those who you're communicating to.
Don't let your friends turn to the dark side.
I think most of us, we like branding, we are conscious of the dark side of it. It just depends if you let yourself fall in it. However, should I consider myself evil if I decided to work for Coke, and Nike; I mean, in Latin America their ads and branding is great. They tie their brands one of the their bigger passions, soccer, and they do it brilliantly. I won’t say I am shamed for wanting to work in those firms branding Nike and Coke, don’t part of our job is provoke owe and fascination, but we have to understand we have to do it responsible. Simply because one works for a small company, it doesn’t mean that the company is ethically correct. Big companies are blamed of contamination and sweat-shops, but would not a small company use the same sweatshops because the production would be cheaper?
I would say that branding is necessary and part of our lives, we are the ones that decide what path are we going to take and how manipulative we want to be.
Here is a link for a nice ad for coke that is originally from Argentina, and it was so well done that Coke used it around the world in all different languages:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcWsHxTZ0SI
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