Branding is for cows, stories are for people

That was one of the real gems from the Brand New conference in SFO last week, a thought from Bruce Mau’s studio shared by Paddy Harrington. I love their thinking, their philosophy, their design and their modesty.

It was super inspiring and a real honour to speak amongst such a fantastic bunch of people.

A few things stood out for me: “Move fast and brake things”, Facebook’s unofficial mantra, summarised the the work that was shared by Everett Katigbak and Ben Barry. Great to get an insiders view of the hackers culture and how little corporate Facebook still is.They also showed some beautiful films made to help shift perception of Facebook, from just fun to meaningful and useful.

Brilliant to hear Vince Frost and see his always stunning design, also how he made the difficult transition to such a distant market (geographically I mean), and what a strong story of great work and success.

A real gem was Studio Infinito from Peru. Their work is an explosion of energy and optimism. And their humble approach to design makes it all so much more appealing and interesting to look at.

It was a real pleasure to meet Matteo Bologna you could easily mistake him for a lunatic, if the work wasn’t so amazing and considerate. His thinking on how typefaces speak even when they’re not saying anything is so relevant to the making of voice for a brand. His obsession with typography combined with a Roberto Benigni je nes c’est quoi made him the star of the show.

Armin’s comments and wit throughout the conference, were a good reminder not to take it all too seriously. It’s just branding after all. Not rocket science.

I think we all left with a similar feeling, that when brands work, they are about much more than image or logos, but coherence between what you do and what you say. Between all aspects of the offer, product and image. At the end, it’s about joining the dots to create exceptional experiences.

Thanks everyone for a great time!

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(Marina Willer)