Information Architecture--> Branding--> Point of View

I chose the branding essays in part because I found they were the most interesting. I feel that branding is one of the most influential directors of our lives. People have been bought into brands in everything from dust mops to computers. One of the things that interests me the most is the relationship between the brand and the consumer and the extent at which the brand is able to manipulate its audience. As I said the outlines, one thing I disagree on with Naomi Klein is her statement that "This rise of anti-brand activism is a direct response to the dichotomy between the powerful claims brands place on truth and meaning, and the reality of what consumer products deliver and how they are manufactured. The branding economy is a series of broken promises, of unfulfilled desires. It feeds off of all that is truthful in our culture and then ritualistically betrays those truths by using them not for self-knowledge or social change, but as props." Even if they are utilizing our cultural truths as props, they seem to be extremely effective.


In the reading from Richard Wurman's Information Anxiety he talks a lot about perception and how this shapes people's view of the world. These ideas are critical aspects of the branding process. Since people are able to read messages in so many different ways their perceptions of brands are going to vary widely. Wurman mentions that based on our perceptions we are able to be selective about the things that influence us. Branding companies have to do everything in their power to get the consumer's attention because of how easy it is to loose them. Going back to the two essays on branding, the branding companies must identify themselves with something that the general public can relate to and build their brand around that.