Signs of Life Why Brands Matter

Signs of Life: Why Brands Matter is a new polemic from renowned design guru and author Stephen Bayley. Drawing on colorful examples, Bayley offers a detailed look at the evolution of the design industry, celebrating the rich history behind recognizable brands and lamenting their possible decline.

Brands and branding have permeated our lives at every level, from the corporate, with the instantly recognizable Coca-Cola or FedEx logos, to the cultural, when the city of New York became synonymous with the 1977 ‘I heart New York' graphic design. At its peak, advertising and branding expertly portrayed a world of value and desires.

However, as conventional advertising becomes redundant, and younger affluent buyers suffer from consumer fatigue, brands are becoming more vulnerable and are under more pressure to adapt. Distinctive presentation on cigarette packaging has already been banned in the UK and some other countries, with a question mark over whether alcohol and other ‘sin' products, such as sugar and fast food, will logically follow.

In Signs of Life, Bayley explores what makes a great brand, and unpicks some catastrophic failures along the way. He argues the case that far from being pernicious, manipulative voodoo, brands and branding should be regarded as the contemporary equivalent of folk art. Brands aren't just about the logo, but about culture and creativity, and they make an enormous contribution to our economy. If brands are under threat, in turn both culture and economy would suffer.

Signs of Life offers a fascinating insight into the mind of one of design's most influential thinkers.

Stephen Bayley is an author, critic, columnist, consultant, broadcaster, curator and founding director of the influential Design Museum in London. Over the past thirty years his writing has changed the way the world thinks about design. He is the author of Death Drive, one the most talked about books of 2016.