Branding

When you think of a product, what do you visualize? Is it a name, a picture, a logo or graphic element? Today we call it "branding." We found this wooden crate for Diamond Ginger Ale outside an old hardware store in Woodbury, CT. It was a product that the Diamond Bottling Company began selling in the 1860s. It's distinctive branding lasted more than a century before the company went out of business, but there is no doubt about the significance of Diamond Ginger Ale as an all purpose family beverage, sort of a carbonated cure-all. It didn't need television or radio; its unique branding was enough.

There are a few television commercials that I find so annoying, that I would never consider their products because I associate the annoying sounds and visual images with the product they are promoting. In other words, it has become part of their branding. I guess I'm just not drawn to babies in cribs with adult voices convincing me to buy investment products, full insurance coverage pitched by people in white suits, or a Dennis Kucinich look-a-like sliding down a drainpipe holding a bottle of vegetable juice. And how about an animal with an Australian accent or mischievous, talking bullfrogs?

I worked for a designer many years ago who always reminded me that, "Simplicity is the essence of design." I think it especially applies to the rapid-response culture in which we all operate today as we are constantly exposed to so many messages and so much branding. Keep it simple, keep it unique, on-message, consistent, and timeless. Who knows, maybe it will become a classic like Diamond Ginger Ale.