A Very Brief History of Branding

We will be painting with a broad brush and taking a bird’s eye view of how brands, logos, and marketing have evolved over time. Starting around the 1960s branding has evolved in roughly 20 year periods. 

1960s

At this time branding was very basic and meant to convey to consumers a simple message. Businesses just wanted a logo that was recognizable so that they could differentiate themselves from competitors. 

Below we see the logo for Chase Bank which was created in 1961. There is nothing especially creative about the four shapes that are linked together to form the logo.  

The TDK logo below is slightly more ornate but not by much. TDK is a technology company and the crisp lines do convey a degree of sleek professionalism. Big bold block letters and geometric letters were common at the time. 

Not everything was so bleak and boring though. Below is the UPS logo during the 1960s. The bow on top of the logo is a particularly fun addition for the shipping business.  

1980s

During the 1980s brands evolved and started to incorporate more and more color into their branding. At this time a brand was meant for more than differentiating yourself from your competitor. Businesses wanted to use their branding as a way to attract consumers to them. Below we see some examples of flashy logos that started to appear in the 1980s

Early 00s

The early 00s was a time when business started to become more socially conscious. The goal now was not to just differentiate yourself from competitors or attract consumers. This time period was a time when businesses wanted to show how they planned to give back to their local, national, or worldwide community. 

The TOMS logo below belongs to a footwear company whose founder witnessed shoeless poverty first hand in Argentina. The blue stripes in the logo resemble the blue stripes in the Argentinian flag. It is widely known that TOMS is a for profit company that donates a large portion of their profits to charity. 

There may not be anything distinctive about the Free People logo below but it is widely known that the women’s apparel business is extremely eco friendly. 

In some ways branding has stayed the same with clear distinct block letters but the first 20 years of the twenty first century have been defined by brands who want to broadcast to consumers that they are a charitable or socially conscious business. 

2020s

We are potentially at the start of another 20 year cycle of branding. What can we expect? Creative tools are in the hands of more people, and technology has advanced to a point where individuals and businesses are connected and capable of presenting their own distinctive brand to the world. I believe we can expect brands to become even more unique and varied. Be prepared to see brands that are custom made to display their specific style and message to the world.