"They coulda picked someone much better: http://notnews.today.com/2008/08/21/30/"

- David Gerard

"Microsoft's certainly no saint, but I think their bad reputation is a bit exaggerated. If you think about it, they've had to deal with problems that largely come from simply being so...big. With so many users dependent on Windows, it's a huge task to try and evolve the program while keeping as many things backward-compatible as possible (and there were some sacrifices -- Adobe CS2 on Vista anyone?). Aside from a [relatively] small percentage of hiccups, Windows in general is pretty stable, as long as you know how to keep yourself out of trouble. And again, most of this "trouble" simply comes from the fact that Windows is so much more prevalent and used that there's a more established underbelly of annoyances such as viruses, spyware and the like. It could stand to use some improvement, but at least MS does have a decent product to work with. I'm not trying to defend them too much -- their branding is loose, at best.

But there are far worse culprits jumping on the bandwagon (brand-wagon?) than MS. And this is a situation we face all too often as designers -- making a product attractive through clever design, advertising or marketing. And that's really what the new "branding" is all about. Creating an image around the product that may or may not be backed by any real substance.

There is such a demand for surface branding from the general public that companies are literally scrambling to play catch up with those who are generally perceived as strong brands -- Apple, Target, etc. Take a look at Dell's current website; it's a practical carbon-copy of Apple's site, from the navigation to the photography.

There's not one serious sporting car in Toyota's entire lineup. But there are plenty of cars that "look fast" -- from the swoopy Solara to aggressively kitted-out, automatic Camry "Sport Editions" and Corolla "S" models. The all-too-familiar sight of the Prius outfitted with an Apple sticker on the windshield is perplexing -- Apple's at the back of the pack in "green-ness". But all that clean, shiny design sure looks environmentally friendly.

In today's world, looking cool is what matters. The examples could go on and on, from restaurants to retail outlets to music and movies. Subtlety, honesty, the danger that comes with having real values or a real personality -- the true aspects of a brand -- it's not as important anymore, at least in the mainstream eye. People only seem to really trust you if you're "branded"."

- alvin