Brand Design: Why are Coke cans red?

The vibrant orange and blue of the New York Knicks became ubiquitous during the recent NBA finals, appearing on celebrity outfits, subway decorations, and social media. This widespread visibility, coupled with the team's championship win after 53 years, captured significant public attention. Branding, the process that makes entities like companies, products, services, sports teams, museums, and cities unique, plays a vital role in consumer decisions, influencing choices beyond taste, quality, and price by shaping associations with brand identity.

Graphic designers Jens Müller and Katharina Sussek, from the Düsseldorf studio Vista, authored "The Elements of Brand Design." Published by Taschen, the book meticulously guides readers through brand design in seventeen chapters. It uses varied examples, from the 1964 Tokyo Olympics to Leibniz butter biscuits, to illustrate the significance of colors, shapes, typography, sound, and artificial intelligence in branding.

Despite its modern aesthetic, highlighted by a neon green cover, the book delves into the ancient roots of individual signatures. Müller and Sussek explain that early Homo sapiens likely used visual symbols in cave paintings for group distinction, though this remains speculative. However, the necessity of modern branding emerged with the industrial age, initially focusing on packaging. Müller notes that companies soon realized extending consistent design to shop windows and posters enhanced corporate recognition, thus evolving the field of branding as we know it today.