How names, logos, icons, trademarks or product designs endow products or services with a recognisable presence and a collection of associated values or aspirations on the part of the customer.
Its roots lie in vagabonds’ literal branding with a ‘V’, robbers with a label on the left eye, or military deserters with a ‘D’, all with a red-hot poker that immediately makes the bearers of such brands identifiable to society as a whole.
In the latter part of the 20th century, branding could be applied to clothing, cigarettes, cars, food, drinks, ‘new universities’ and many other goods and services. Powerful brand identities range from Levi Strauss denim jeans to Louis Vuitton suitcases and Apple computers to Adidas sports goods. By buying specific products, such as these customers, they may symbolically align themselves with particular lifestyles.
Source
Woodham, J. (2004). Branding. In A Dictionary of Modern Design. : Oxford University Press. Retrieved 28 Jan. 2021, from https://www-oxfordreference-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/view/10.1093/acref/9780192800978.001.0001/acref-9780192800978-e-120.
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