Not that long ago, branding was a concept that applied only to large companies and mass-produced products. But as the tools for marketing and promoting products and services have migrated into the social networking sphere and become easy and inexpensive for anyone to employ, branding is evolving into something that is being engaged in by nearly everyone, whether they are aware of it or not.
I just read a very timely book called “The Brand Within,” by Daymond John, the force behind the FUBU clothing line, which pointedly describes this phenomenon: “From the day you’re born, you’re branding yourself as some thing or other. You can’t help yourself. Might not even realize what you’re doing, even as you’re doing it. Until the day you die, you’ll advertise your character, your integrity, your passion, your faith, your background…all on the back of every choice you’ll ever make as a consumer of goods and services and ideas, from the clothes you choose to wear to the person you choose to marry to the house or apartment you choose to occupy…Every move you make will establish or re-establish your position, and shape and re-shape how the world looks back at you.”
My partner and I are realizing that whenever we take a photograph or execute a design or illustration for someone, we are helping them establish or reinforce their brand. And a brand no longer needs to spring forth from a logo or corporate identity program…every profile photo, Twitter post and blog comment one makes tells the world something about the person sharing it. In our design and photography work, part of our job is to get to know our clients well enough to be able to translate their personal and/or professional style into work that is a reflection of their philosophy and values. And as we have clarified our mission as a company that helps our clients brand themselves in various ways, we’ve created a new tagline for ourselves: “Capturing your style, defining your brand.”
At last, the shoemaker’s children have shoes.
