A couple of weeks ago, AIGA South Carolina members and guests were treated to a lecture by Debbie Millman, one of today’s most influential designers. She is the president of Design for Sterling Brands in New York, the national President of AIGA (professional association for designers), a contributing editor at Print Magazine, a design writer at FastCompany.com, a contributor to Brand New (UnderConsideration.com) and Chair of the Masters in Branding Program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In 2005, she began hosting the first weekly Internet radio talk show about design, “Design Matters with Debbie Millman”. Her most recent book is entitled “Look Both Ways: Illustrated Essays on the Intersection of Life and Design.” Pause. Question: How does one person manage to do all of that?
Debbie took the audience through a historical look at our relationship with brands. She started by taking us back 50,000 years ago and discussed the “Big Brain Bang”— how the human mind starting developing and separating cognitive and emotional function: 30,000 years ago humans began “making” and “marking”; 10,000 years ago we began beautifying ourselves — not for each other, but for religious beliefs. Crests, shields and flags were decorated and designed for identification by the mid 12th century. The word “branding” is derived from the word “brond”, which means to mark, or to burn, and later became known as “brand” in the late 19th century when farmers marked their cattle for identification. Trivia: the very first trademark registration for a product was for The Bass & Co Brewery (the red triangle), which was registered under the UK’s Trade Mark Registration Act of 1875.
Debbie continued to discuss five waves of modern branding. Here’s a brief recap:
Wave 1 (1875-1920)
• Industrial Revolution
• Mass production and homogenization of products
• Coca-Cola brand became popular
• Trademark Act of 1906 (stated that products could not mislead or make false claims)
Wave 2 (1920-1965)
• Brands became anthropomorphic, and incorporated a story or a benefit
• Morton Salt developed a tag line, “When it rains it pours”
• Betty Crocker image created, one of the best-known women of the interwar years — (and someone who never existed)
Wave 3 (1965-1985)
• Brands became self-expressive
• Brands became a part of our lifestyle and culture (Nike)
• Levi’s designed a revolutionary way to make jeans through the use of rivets
Wave 4 (1986-2000)
• Brands became synonymous with “experience”: enter Starbucks
Wave 5 (2000 – present)
• Rise of the Internet and all things digital: ipods, smart phones, etc.
• Online social communities now provide companionship (or a sense of it)
• Brands have become connectors (example, Livestrong bracelets)
• Brands have the power to create emotional bonds and offer connections between our most basic instincts
It’s interesting to look at how branding originated and to be aware of the different waves that have occurred. Obviously, there are some underlying needs from which branding originated, which are still very relevant today: integrity, honesty, identification, connection and the desire for emotional bonding. Check out this link that Debbie shared that might suggest what’s to come: www.pranavmistry.com/projects/sixthsense. Pretty amazing. Thanks to AIGA SC and Debbie for a great lecture.
