The complex and arcane nature of heraldry might appear to make it redundant in contemporary visual communication. Yet for branding there are lessons to be learned from blazon, the vocabulary of heraldry.

The arms above are those of Catherine Middleton, being those recently granted to her father, but born by blue ribbons and in a shape that reflect her unmarried status. Upon her marriage this Friday, the shape will change to a shield. The blazon for this coat of arms is Per pale Azure and Gules a Chevron Or cotised Argent between three Acorns slipped and leaved Or. This description may seem unintelligible, and, indeed, for most of us it is. However, to me Russia’s Cyrillic or China’s character alphabets are equally unintelligible, as I simply have not learned them.

The use of visual elements to communicate comprehensive concepts and important meanings extremely rapidly is powerfully demonstrated by heraldry. There are numerous terms that articulate precisely the miscellany of colors, shapes, position, attitudes and components of every aspect of the coat of arms. It is not for the uninitiated. Fortunately, various heraldic authorities around the world will guide those of us entitled to the grant of arms in their design. The College of Arms in England states: (more…)

Yves Béhar was design alliance OMAha’s recent guest speaker and, in outlining his attitude to design, referenced the need for design to give people a sense of participation. He elaborated by asserting that “Participation is the new brand loyalty.” That is an intriguing thought on many levels.

Fuse Project’s work designing Puma’s Clever Little Bag is both incredible design and environmentally sensitive. For Puma it is a great way to extend their brand presence in other promotional ways, beyond the product delivery end point. The concept is good for us, good for Puma, good for the planet. It is hard to argue with that, although I still wrestle with the tension between endorsing the utility and sustainability of multi-functional design and the desire not to be co-opted as a naive advertiser for the company.

Participation in brands in other senses has included (more…)

After my last post about crowd sourced design, I rather enjoyed Rob Walker’s Consumed article “Banana Democracy” here in today’s New York Times Magazine. The piece explores Chiquita’s public competition for designs for stickers on its bananas. Arising out of the popularity of a web-based design-your-own sticker tool (some 25,000 people took part, apparently), the company decided to extend it into a competition. Public voting on the 1,355 entries starts tomorrow.

Walker goes on to refer to the “pop” nature of this design framework. DJ Neff, the Chiquita art director for this campaign, is quoted as describing this as the creation of “a familiar association with an unfamiliar dynamic.” Walker, in turn, suggests that “A big part of being ‘pop’ anything these days is prodding the masses to participate directly.” It is this element of the crowd sourced design competition that makes me wonder about the authenticity of connections between the brand and its audience. My last post queried the ethical nature of these public design frameworks, but Walker identifies another aspect, which is the brand stewards’ desired enhancement of attachment and meaning between a brand and its audience through this sort of interactive contributory evolution. (more…)

The excellent WNYC radio station program, On the Media, recently aired the conversation here between host Bob Garfield and Michael Samson, the co-founder of crowdSPRING.com. The website is a crowd sourcing resource for designers and those seeking design services. The question, which Garfield explores, is whether this is putting established design businesses out of work and exploiting cheap labor or is it advancing the democratization of design, and many other fields of collaborative creativity? (more…)

Gravestones are not typically viewed for their design innovation and appeal. They may evoke a sense of solemn reverence, inspire an interest in the life and times of the person being remembered or provoke a fascination in the passing of time and our mortality. They may even be a Wonder of the World, as the Egyptian Great Pyramid of Giza is. But in my favorite American cemetery you will find three examples of stunningly contemporary, unique personal headstones.

The gravestone above is for Walter Paepcke and is to be found marking his grave in Aspen, Colorado. Paepcke, a wealthy Chicago industrialist, is regarded by many as the founder of contemporary Aspen, including the Aspen Institute, Aspen Ski School and Aspen Music Festival and School. Among his most notable friends was acclaimed Bauhaus creative, Herbert Bayer. One of Bayer’s most visible contributions to Aspen was the design of the Aspen Institute and the Aspen Meadows Resort. As well as the building’s architecture, which evinces Bauhaus design principles, the grounds feature earthworks that add to the Bauhaus environment.

More memorable for me, however, are the grave marker designs that Bayer conceived for Walter Paepcke’s monolith, Bayer’s daughter, Julia’s geometric squares and the offset wedding cake style for his mother in law, Mina Loy. Loy herself was a fascinating woman having lived a life of astonishing Bohemian experiences, and deserved such an original, captivating headstone.

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So, what design gravestone should I have? Will you submit some suggestions? I look forward with intrigued interest …

I will leave you with a few lines from a favorite poem by Rupert Brooke, to set the scene:

“If I should die, think only this of me:
That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England.”