THE STATE OF BRAND IDENTITY TODAY
When I was growing up, brand design was very expressive with wild graphics, heavy textures, catchy tunes, and phrases all designed to grab our attention. These design efforts were a reflection of the average consumers’ lives which were more straightforward at the time. Social media didn’t exist, and the internet was just getting rolled out. The landscape for brand expression was limited compared to what it is today, so the louder the brand, the better the connection.
Today, we're simplifying brand identity design. Great brands are now minimal, functional, and more engaging than ever. They still have the same energy, but with an efficiency that we have never seen before. Every execution has a purpose. This is a result of the information age we are currently living in. We experience everything all the time, making our lives more complex, broadening our interests and refining our goals. We are more conscious of our choices and constantly sharing and expressing ourselves. It's like we've gained independence from who we used to be.
The pandemic brought with it a sense of solitude that awakened a self-discovery in people that they didn't realize they needed. The once-invisible barrier that separated work and life now intermingles freely without any agenda. This liberation meant different things for different people; some discovered new hobbies, while others were able to take their work anywhere and find new avenues for inspiration and connections.
Netflix Responds to a TikTok user’s video.
Looking back at some of the first logos ever used, Stella Artois, Twinings Tea, Bass Ale, Shell Oil, and many others were designed with the purpose of creating a recognizable symbol that could represent their business. This was incredibly successful, especially in an era where companies mostly used type or intricate and complex designs that lacked consistency. The idea of a mark was unique, impressionable, and stood out.
Fast forward to today, and the branding landscape is saturated with logos, brand marks, colors, and typography. So much so that it almost dilutes the impact a brand identity once had. Of course, brand giants like Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Microsoft, and Nike are not affected by this since they have ingrained themselves in modern culture. But what about the up-and-comers? Are logos as important as they once were? In some ways, yes, but in most ways, no. The logo only has relevance now because it's expected and deep-rooted within our culture. But it's not to say that the impression has the impact it used to.
New York, NY - Nike & Corteiz Colab Air Max 95.
Nike drops release purchase location.
Nowadays, brands are engaging with us in more impactful ways. In modern branding, all the components that make up a brand's identity are now making the impact that a logo once had. The user experience, engagement, values, and expression that a brand brings with it is what separates it from everyone else. These impressions are what people will remember about your brand.
Someone who studies or works in branding may say that brand engagement is separate from their company’s identity. This is technically true, but that's not how the consumer or user views it. They see it as an impression, a story, a disruptor. For example, we all know who Barack Obama is, but what do we truly remember about him or anyone that makes an impression on the public? It's their actions.
So for brands that can do and say more, as a creative director and strategist, I sometimes like to build the brand in reverse. I start with the bigger picture and work backwards. I believe today more than ever, brands need to be culturally engaged to be relevant. They need a presence where their interaction in the world is like that of an actual person - a person acting on self-interest, exploring, discovering, experimenting, and creating. If I were a brand, what would I do? What are my values? How can I engage with people from the individual to the audience? What could that start to look like?
As we immerse ourselves deeper into the digital world, openly sharing and documenting our daily lives, enriching ourselves through our differences, and becoming our own biggest supporters, we find ourselves increasingly involved in modern culture. With the rise of artificial intelligence, software can now perform tasks that were once reserved for people, freeing up more time for us to do things we really want to. As we embrace this shift, we gain more control over our destiny, and the more we interact with the digital world, the more transparent our reality becomes.
For more established brands, the ability to take a humanist approach towards people and its influence on our culture can facilitate the creation of a unique identity that feels alive and responsive, like a ghost in the machine. When I say "individual," I don't mean that people will start to view brands as real people, but rather that a brand's engagement with its audience will become more personal. We will start to see a shift in which brands market themselves like individuals, where to the consumer it looks as though they are acting in their own self-interest rather than a marketing stunt. While people on the other end of the spectrum will market themselves like brands, competing for attention, engagement, and brand endorsements. As a society, we have witnessed a shift in how we perceive our interests - for the majority of people our interests are no longer just hobbies or passions but have evolved into a lifestyle that we embody. Our immersion in a culture of marketing and advertising has brought about a new norm in which self-expression is synonymous with branding oneself.
Bear in mind that these are radical theories that I firmly believe will bear fruit, albeit not in the immediate future. Such a paradigm shift requires future generations to fully take hold. Consider how brands have transformed from purveyors of goods to ethical agents that operate on the basis of moral action and societal expectations. If you said to someone 50 years ago that companies would be all about empowering people and making the world a better place, they would laugh you out the room. The progress we've made so far has been unpredictable, so we can definitely expect brands to evolve in ways we've never witnessed before.