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3-3Critical Design

Sep 11

📌 Complete before class

https://www.binky.rocks/

Section titled “👉 Activity: Why Unbrand a Corporate Logo?”
ExcerptSection 3.1.1

Borrowing, appropriating, and transforming works of art has never been a one-way communicative activity. As much as artists borrow from consumer culture, corporations also help themselves to the work of artists and counterculture groups in their marketing and advertising materials.22 Additionally, in the “real world” you will have plenty of opportunities to create boring, promotional material, so you should use this chance to create something experimental, fearless, and honest! Start by exploring some reasons why you might want to perform such a critique in your design.

  1. Create a list of positive and negative effects of corporations. These can be general or spe- cific. If you are in a classroom, you might work with a partner. For example, a positive effect might be shared wealth in the form of generous donations, and a negative effect might be environmental hazard.
  2. Support your ideas by providing one company that exemplifies the effects you listed. For example, TOMS shoes donates a portion of its profit to “grassroots good,” while Exxon was notoriously responsible for one of the worst oil spills in US waters. Consult a repu- table news article to confirm your ideas with facts.
  3. Collect examples of the company’s branding, including logo variations, style guides, and in-context uses. How might you alter them to account for the information you explored above? Select a specific representation to use in your unbranding. It may be helpful to identify something about the brand it represents that you feel is inauthentic or could use context.

📌 Homework