DK Holland

Recently I have been reading a collection of essays called ‘Design Issues’ edited by D.K. Holland and published
 by Allworth Press and Communication Arts.
 

This passage from an essay called KEEPING PROMISES:THE IMPACT OF BRANDS ON SOCIETY, PART ONE By Holland herself provides an interesting perspective on the ideas I intend to explore on this blog.

‘Clubs, families, and religions have provided identity and a sense of acceptance for the human race since the beginning of history. We've simply traded in the old brands for newer, flashier, more convenient ones. We've quit the country club and joined Polo by Ralph Lauren. The disenchantment in the nuclear family as well as many religions in the America of the 1960s (along with fraternities, sororities, cults, secret societies, clubs) allowed the new phenomena of brands to fill a void, to take root and flourish. This sounds simply appalling, and yet, in a way, it's a very positive evolutionary step. Many cultures, democracies in particular, have encouraged individuality in the twentieth century. And so individuals have incorporated into their lifestyles many different means of self-expression in the form of hairstyles, handwriting, jewelry, clothing, etc. Brands are responding to this by supplying products that, when adopted by the individual “say” to friends, family, and passersby, “This is who I am. This is what I stand for.” In contrast, the cultures of the Orthodox Moslems or Hasidim, for example, dictate a lifestyle code in order to honor God's will and overtly subjugate free will. 
Brands provide, through their products, a lopsided and fallacious sense of belonging (e.g., Members Only, Club Med, Izod), with no dues, no initiation rites, no rules and no obligations (except the literal “buy in”). You're automatically accepted, and you can drop out anytime you like with no repercussions! Can you beat that? And the brand relates to your lifestyle; ergo, the brand has relevance to you. The brand identity provides you with identity. That's the promise the brand makes, and it's a promise it must keep or lose your business. It's a very one-sided deal, not at all the same agreement you make with your club, family, cult, or religion, all of which require a certain degree of effort, commitment, and closeness in exchange for the rewards of belonging. In Judaism and Catholicism, for instance, you must perform certain rituals, study certain writings, and embrace certain beliefs. In turn, you receive salvation, a benefit that is only realized in your afterlife. There's a hefty penalty for dropping out: e.g., if you leave Judaism, as far as other Jews are concerned, you “die,” figuratively speaking. If you leave Catholicism, your punishment is that you are sent to hell, but only after you die, literally speaking.’

Maybe one of the reasons I am so attracted to the shops and businesses I photograph in Spain is that they are not ‘a very one sided deal’. They survive because they encourage and nurture commitment from the community they serve. In Valencia, Coruna, Vigo and Malaga I observed a way of doing business that was formed out of a symbiotic relationship and that involved ritual that was almost religious. These ways of doing business do ‘provide the rewards of belonging’.

Holland edits 'Design Issues' for Communication Arts, she is an advisor for ‘Design Ignites Change’ and amongst many other things Is involved in the TED movement. Her website is well worth a look and contains some great resources.