Bloom Thinks: Culture Series Part 3

Humans created culture to be a social glue. Tribes and crowds are bound together by the beliefs, customs and norms they share. Without it we’d all be sad and lonely souls - trapped inside our own heads.

No thanks.

Culture is in our nature. And it depends to a great extent on our eyesight. Our eyes are among the best in the animal kingdom. Our sight is sharp, we recognise a lot of colours and our eye-sockets are in the front of our heads. We process, think about and remember stuff in pictures.

So we’re good at recognising and interpreting visual signals. In social life that means facial expressions and body language. In cultural life that means symbols, like clothing, jewellery, makeup or tattoos.

From an early age we can process these signals instantly, often sub-consciously. They tell us whether a person is friend or foe, whether they share our beliefs and values, whether we can collaborate with them to get things done.

If this is how people navigate culture, then it’s impossible for brands to connect culturally without a built-in design strategy. Some of the most enduring, effective brands of our times launched with a visual identity that clearly signalled the sub-culture it wanted to play in.

Oatly plays in food war sub-culture – the ongoing open conflict between carnivores and herbivores. So Oatly’s identity – shouty type, confrontational TOV, metallic colours, stencilled style – is combative.

Method plays in home beauty sub-culture. So Method’s identity – display-worthy cues from cosmetics, wellness and fragrance – takes cleaning products out from under the sink and onto the worktops.

Ben & Jerry’s plays in hippie love and activism culture. Love is the generously indulgent ice cream. The activism is the consciousness raising and support of political causes. So Ben & Jerry’s identity is messy, rootsy, naturalistic and DIY.

All these brands are designed to mirror the way humans have always interacted with culture. Their visual assets and design style signal what the brand believes in and the tribe it wants to connect to. Their visual identities endure over time because these beliefs are deeply held – never a passing fad or an aesthetic trend.

Take note this doesn’t stop them reacting to shorter-term happenings. Ben & Jerry’s hippie ethic is generous, diverse, accepting. It’s this certainty that allows its ltd editions and collabs to be spontaneous responses to stories, causes and events the brand wants to shine its light on.

A person would struggle to be accepted in cultural crowds without displaying the right codes. Try going to a goth night in Sweaty Betty. It’s the same for brands. You can’t play in culture without looking the part.