i was thinking about the very subject when i found this article on Curved White. I went into design because i love art as expression, but i love design as a high-minded concept of combining utility, intent and elegant form to convey ideas to more than one capitalist philistine at a time. forgive me if this sounds communist, but imho design - marketing, branding - is [useful] art for the masses. a brand tells you something about what it is you are considering. okay, we’re using it to advance capitalism… i’ll explore that another day.

Whether its pet food or a Prius, you are not meeting a stranger in a brand when you have heard its name and been introduced to it before making transaction. The idea is that you are meeting a friend whom you may trust, and not a fly-by-night gypsy caravan of questions. (no offense to gypsies - creative industry is essential to the market)

The point is connection. In every interaction is a tentative “Hi… what’s your name..?”; design in all its forms - ads, logos, promotional booklets, web representation etc - introduces with manners and stylized cordiality the crowd of faces in a way that organizes and tailors the meetings to your tastes.

My big idea is that if you create something, anything, with intelligence and respect for the recipient, you’re not just adding to the pile of meaningless pablum frivolously presented to the world. You might, in some way significant if only to you, change it. Just a little.