By Aristos, Vera & Eunice
Our discussion with regards to branding:
• Graphic designers are providing a service to suit the style of the brand that is represented by the clients. Graphic designers can offer ideas, knowledge and skills, but at the end of the day, it is the clients who decide the outcome and direction. Just as Nick Bell points out in his article: “Graphic designers have proven themselves to be the obedient and loyal subjects of industry… “. It is therefore vital for a designer to be balanced and neutral. This is because the nature of the job depends on answering the client’s creative brief.
• Our culture background and the society is shaped with a mindset of branding. This is evident in the way we response and behave towards branding and advertising. For example, we would rather not buy a product that is not branded, because we question its credibility, the quality and the standard it offers. Also, we subconsciously brand ourselves with the introduction of new media in our lives. We brand ourselves through facebook, tweeter, youtube, blogs etc. The technological need of communication is evident. Various companies need to incorporate their marketing plans through the new media as well, to be able to target global market and reach target audiences. The cultural institutions also adopt this strategy to reach the global audience.
• The new media formed a digitalised environment that we feel the need to enter. It also allows one to publish books online easily, thus the existence of emagazine, ebooks etc. Do the new media dictate our future? Is it a matter of time before digital library exists? Is it the beginning of the end of the print? Books may become costly acquired collectors’ items. It may just be the right solution for the environment issue we are facing.
LCC MAGD GROUP V 
I want to point out what you just said about the whole credibility issue that surrounds brands nowadays. It seems that our generation is living a “trust deficit”, now stronger than ever. This feeling has probably existed forever, but it became predominant most likely since we developed new technological social and business networks. Actually, we all need this social validation.
You said we would rather buy a product that is branded instead of a non-branded one, hopping for a better quality and standard. But i guess (and hope?) people realize now that brands rather spend most of its money trying to give a “beautiful/look at me/love me/trust me!” image than actually spend money on actions. (BP for example, with its new “ecological image..) We just don’t trust anything anymore!
Otherwise, how could we explain the success of the ‘anti-brand movement’?? My favourite example is the japanese company MUJI (in english “No Label”), directed by Kenya Hara (yeah, again), which differentiates itself by its simplicity and modesty. But no matter how hard the ‘no-branding’ brand tries to design for adequacy, to step away from the brands’ consumerism race, isn’t it inevitable that everything they do ends up reinforcing ‘planet MUJI’ at some point?
I agree with you. It is a vicious cycle. By unbranding something, it becomes a branding strategy.