February 2010

This could equally apply to Facebook as well as Twitter, and its actually from Facebook that I picked up this example.

There is a difference, and the later seems to often be mistaken for the former. In all spheres of design, simplicity implies a level of functionality; that a problem has been responded to with a measured economy of elements. Minimalism often discards functionality for adherence to style.

We've reached an age in branding where the line between product and brand has blurred to become one. So much so that we, as consumers, have subconsciously formed a new discourse of symbolism.

I want you to have a look at the following images and identify a brand relative to each.

So it went that Chanel, the Parisian fashion house, had a show around October last year. The models in the show had a flattering little detail drawn onto them in the form of a tattoo which they kept for show as they swaned around Paris after the event.

Garance Dore, fashion illustrator come blogger, found that the tattoos were going to be commercialised in Chanel boutiques – a touch of marketing genius, Garance opined. And it probably is. Something so simple and quite beautiful that resonates with a market.