Corporate Identity & Consumption

"No Logo"
The article "No Logo" discusses the value and extreme importance of brands.  Nowadays, rather than working together, brand identities and factory production are in direct competition with one another.  Instead of worrying about the quality of their products, companies are more concerned with how much money they have left over for branding.  However, I would think that most people would want the most for their money.  If I were to buy an expensive name-brand product of poor quality, I would be sure to never buy anything by that brand again.  If I am going to spend money on something, I want my money's worth.  I'd rather buy a good-quality store brand product than a poor-quality name brand one.

The following is a list of key points I came across while reading the article:

• "A product is something that is made in a factory; a brand is something that is bought by a customer."
• True value = "the idea, the lifestyle, the attitude."
• "Superbrands need lots of space on which to stamp their logos."
• Brands live on.
• "Many companies now bypass production completely.  Instead of making the products themselves, in their own factories, they 'source' them."
• "Things are now made cheaply, so there's lots of money left over for branding."
• The needs of brands are important, as opposed to the needs of workers.
• "Manufacturing can be outsourced, which leaves the focus primarily on product development and brand management."

"Bing! It's Fabien!"

The article titled "Bing! It's Fabien!" discusses the many of the likes, interests, and beliefs of French art director, Fabien Baron.  I found many of Fabien's opinions to be similar to my own.  For example, he believes that when too much text is cluttering a page, "you need to let some oxygen in [there.]"  Personally, I am more partial to simple, straight-to-the-point, organized, "clean-looking" designs.  Too much text is often overkill.  The words "simple, direct, honest, and 'forward'" are used in the article to describe a typical "Fabien" design.

The typeface Didot is often mentioned in this article, as it seems to be Baron's typeface of choice.  The author of the article writes (about Baron's designs), "When space is slightly bluer or pinker or browner than white, it is set off with a block of aqua or charcoal or bronze-colored type in the Didot typeface."  He also states that Baron enjoys "Didot, with overlapping, multicolored letters, swimming in oxygen."

One of the most interesting statements I came across while reading the article is the fact that, "Baron finds it hard to articulate his aesthetic; he is not a word person."  This struck me as quite interesting because if one is not comfortable with words, how can one easily incorporate words into one's designs?

I found the following to be key points in the article:

• 'The composition of the text should reflect the meaning of the words.'  "Fabien [Baron] has tossed that principle out the window, more or less.  By changing the size and color of letters in mid-word, by ordering letters vertically as well as horizontally, by using overlapping courses of type arranged in an inverted pyramid, Fabien manages to make the words as graphically interesting as pictures."
• "Modern is clean and young and direct.  Modern is graphic as opposed to classic."
• Fabien's philosophy of life: "Tomorrow is not today.  That is the beauty of the world.  There will always be change.  Tomorrow, people will be different.  So if you don't look forward you might as well do something else."

"Branding the Individual"

Of the articles "No Logo," "Bing! It's Fabien!," and "Branding the Individual," the one titled "Branding the Individual" definitely struck me as the most interesting and informative.  I took three times as many notes on this article as I took on each of the others.  According to this article, "the consumer defines the brand, but the brand also defines the consumer."  Consumers can make or break a brand by how often they purchase it.  The brands that a consumer purchases says something about that consumer.

"We attach much more significance to the purchases we make when we are shopping for leisure; these are the goods that may give us identity or bring to us a sense of belonging."  For example, I put much more time and thought into a clothing purchase than I do a purchase I make at the food store.  I take my time when purchasing things such as clothing and handbags because these are things that I will eventually be associated with it; these are things that I will own and with which I will be seen numerous times.  Like the article says, "brands are used as a means of expressing personal identity and identifying with a collective taste."

According to the author, "Consumption is either a tool for the 'invention' of self, or a process that strips away our individuality."  This statement is definitely true.  By buying certain items and certain brands, one expresses one's individuality and creates the way in which one will be viewed by others.  However, if one were to buy all items and brands bought by many others, that person would likely just blend in with the crowd.

I believe that the following points are key in the article:

• "The post-modern subject, it has been argued, constructs him or her self through the appropriation of goods, 'surfing' through style cultures and 'trying on' personal identities like clothing."
• "The contemporary consumer is pictured as 'the isolated individual, juggling with assorted signs and symbols in a never-ending attempt to construct and maintain identity in a fragmented and ever-changing environment.'"
• "All material possessions carry social meanings... we must think of goods as 'communicators.'"
• "For most of this century, consumption has been associated with not individuality or the 'authentic' self but mss culture and a loss of self.'"
• "Consumption has become our primary mode of living."
• "As new cultural forms emerge, whether in music, literature or fashion, our preferences will adjust."
• "We make meaning with the goods we buy."

"Media, Gender and Identity"

According to this article, "modern media has little time or respect for tradition."  It seems as though we are constantly trying to move further and further away from tradition in every aspect.  Today, society holds perceptions and opinions totally unlike those it held forty, even thirty years ago.  In my opinion, society has become almost too 'outgoing.'  Although movies with sex scenes and Nickelodeon shows with controversial topics such as teen pregnancy are no big deal nowadays, what happened to not having to lock one's front door at night?  Or letting your child ride his bike to his friend's house alone?  We can no longer do such things.  Why is that?  Maybe people have been given too much freedom--they feel free to do whatever they want whenever they want however they want?  I am not quite sure.

In my opinion, one's identity is made up of so many different aspects.  One creates one's identity through personal thoughts, opinions, and experiences.  Although identities are thought to be unique and individual things, it is not unlikely for one to try to be like someone else.  However, such a situation is indeed a personal experience.  Nevertheless, the topic of identity is anything but clear.

The following is a list of points I found to be key in this article:

• "The mass media has become more liberal, and considerably more challenging to traditional standards, since then, and this has been a reflection of changing attitudes, but also involves the media actively disseminating modern values."
• "Role models serve as navigation points as individuals steer their own personal routes through life."
• "The binary division of 'male' and 'female' identities should be shattered...and replaced with multiple forms of identity--not a new range of restrictive categories, but an abundance of modes of self-expression."
• "Contradictions are important because the multiple messages contribute to the perception of an open realm of possibilities."
• "Today, nothing about identity is clear-cut, and the contradictory messages of popular culture make the 'ideal' model for the self even more indistinct--which is probably a good thing."
• "To discuss gender and media is to aim arguments at moving targets."