Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits

Brand Thinking

It follows the same casual format of the her renowned Design Matters podcasts, and here are a few stand-out quotes from inside.

“Branding is an experience, and advertising is a temptation.”
— Bruce Duckworth

“What I really, hugely, and antagonistically dislike is the attempt to quantify the unquantifiable. And if you are a branding consultant, you have to accept that there are a lot of things you just cannot quantify.”
— Wally Olins

“Brands exist in the minds of the people who interact with them.”
— Brian Collins

“I have great admiration for designers for many reasons, but when called upon to defend how they create value for the corporation, they could have said, “Without us, you don’t have access to culture.” But they haven’t.”
— Grant McCracken

“About 98 percent of all the work we do is rejected. It’s a very wasteful process.”
— Bruce Duckworth

“Most of the brands that I’m interested in have a similar sensibility. You’re able to identify them without ever having to see a badge, logo, colour combination, or any type of sign.”
— Deedee Gordon

“The only requirement of a symbol is that it have substance underneath: The first thing to do is to try to establish the substance. The style comes after the substance. Only then can the style help the substance, and vice versa.”
— Wally Olins

“It doesn’t occur to most people that everything is designed — that every building and everything they touch in the world is designed. Even foods are designed now.”
— Bill Moggridge

“We should tell more young designers not to worry about what they’re going to do with their design careers. They should start their own brands. Designers should create their own beautiful brands that can change the world.”
— Karim Rashid

“Our objective is not to get an award-winning design into the market. Our objective is to sell more stuff for our clients.”
— Bruce Duckworth

Brand Thinking

The section with Nike’s former creative director Stanley Hainsworth can be read here on Fast Company. Thanks for piecing this one together, Debbie. Great addition to my little library.

Get a copy from Allworth Press, or on Amazon.com / Amazon.co.uk.

A few more good books.


Comments

8 responses to “Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits”

  1. This book is at the top of my list to get. It seems like a great read.

  2. Me too – looks interesting.

    Have you read it yet David?

  3. Well worth picking up, Dave. I’ve read most of it over the past couple of weeks.

  4. Great- will check it out once I get a break from MW3 (or add it to the Christmas list)

  5. Not the “usual” sort of book cover?I quite like it. Is the spine is foilblock gold or just yellow? Can’t tell from the photo…

  6. It’s a gold foil. Hardbacks are much nicer without the dust jackets.

  7. todd sledzik Avatar
    todd sledzik

    Maybe I need to be more informed, but I still get a touch nervous when people say, “you need to create a brand.” I think of “branding” as using design, communication strategies, and business sense to shine a spotlight on what one does best. Brands, as Brian Collins’s says “….exist in the minds of the people who interact with them.” Unless we’re assuming complete control over the thoughts and attitudes of people, I prefer “brand positioning” to “creating a brand.” Maybe I’m caught up in semantics?

  8. great book… great quote…
    a must have book for me

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