Going beyond the brand

Everywhere we shop these days we are being inundated with “The Brand.” If we tell our children that we are going shopping for Sunlight, Wonder and Quick they expect us to come home with detergent, bread and chocolate sauce. A few generations ago this would have sounded absurd. Some brands have become so synonymous with their product that we actually interchange the label for the product. Have you ever said: Please pass the Kleenex instead of the tissues? This trend has now invaded the home decorating market. Paint, fabrics and furniture lines have become part of the “collections” of designers such as Martha Stewart and Ralph Lauren. We have seen their faces on television, in magazine advertisements and heard about them on the radio, so we have been led to believe that they must be the best. These designers have become popular not on their merits for original design, but as a result of mass marketing. There is very little that is unique in any of the popular “collection;” their originality seems to be linked to their ability to package and display items in a manner which evokes a nostalgic mood. The danger in allowing this trend to continue is that our decisions are being shaped by the power of the dollar instead of the form, function or quality of workmanship of an item (or pieces) and we risk losing the know-how to discern the difference. A century ago the Arts and Crafts movement influenced furniture, decorative arts and building design. This movement came about as a result of social upheaval. Artists and craftsmen of the late 1800s and early 1900s began to produce works that spoke out against the mechanical age and industrialization. These artists wanted a return to the simpler more pastoral ways of life. Modern consumers seem to be yearning for the same mood. The current movement is Retro, a looking back to what is perceived as a simpler time before computers and televisions transformed our way of doing things. The difference between these two movements is that the emphasis in the Arts and Crafts movement was on workmanship and attention to fine detail in the production of new works of art, furniture and home decorations while Retro is a borrowing of ideas, mass production with the emphasis on beautiful packaging, the artist versus the consumer. Good design has become equated with high sales volumes. This does not bode well for the future of the design industry. How did this happen? Television programming became an integral part of family life in the most recent generation for practical reasons, as a source of news information and also as a form of inexpensive entertainment. The marketing industry saw the potential of this captive audience, which increased the power of the media, and their role changed. The media no longer reports the trends. They have the power to determine them, influenced of course by the retailers. Subtle advertising, like the kinds of clothing worn by our favourite television personalities has changed the way we shop. We have become such a brand-conscious society, that “keeping up with the Joneses,” means knowing which labels are the most prestigious and ensuring that we have them. It has become acceptable to shop not out of real need for a useful item, but to add pieces to our personal “collections.” We purchase everyday household objects the way past generations purchased art. The problem with this concept is that unlike art pieces that are timeless, these mass-produced affordable household items need to be replaced on a regular basis as colours and trends change or the items fall apart. We have become trapped in a web of consumerism. Is there any hope for the design industry? The reality that design has become an “industry” explains some of the problem. Individual artists are now represented by huge conglomerate marketing agencies. If we are looking for individuality and creativity we must look beyond the brand. As informed consumers we can act on our awareness of brand marketing by supporting the local artisan, demanding quality workmanship and originality of design.

Image courtesy of stock.xchng.