Identity?

I found this in Eye 53  which includes an essay by Nick Bell as part of a feature called ‘Brand Madness’. He quotes the Design Director of the New York Times, Tom Bodkin who says that’ Design should not be the primary means of establishing identity.. It can help define and convey identity, but should not be relied upon to originate it. Identity is the natural outgrowth of a complex set of standards and tradition, not something that can be applied to the outside, like a brand.”