Book Report: Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits

I picked up “Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits” by Debbie Millman because I was looking for someone to distill the concept of branding into a single piece of digestible material. Pretty early on I realized that this book wasn’t what I expected.

It’s an anthology of interviews with various people in the design world. The conversations typically hinge on branding and design, but they wander off into tangents based on the author’s interest.

This book is worth reading if:

• You’re interested in branding as a concept
• You would like to learn more about the design industry as a whole
• You’re interested in a well-done interview anthology

I particularly enjoyed the interview structure of the book. Millman’s questions are always on the left, while the interviewee’s responses are always on the right. Occasionally Millman will enlarge and bold the text on a point that she feels is significant. While it wastes paper and makes the book more intimidating, it makes it more accessible.

Beyond the reader experience of the book, the interview format was truly enjoyable. Millman does a fantastic job of making this book read like an actual conversation. While some of the interviews may have gone over my head or were less interesting, I could get a good sense of the humans behind the words.

Themes across interviews

There is no overarching editorial by the author to go with the book. She leaves the reader to make their own determinations. From my point of view, there were some commonalities between all the interviews.

• Branding is a way to connect with people
• That connection is forged in emotion
• A brand itself is a mechanism of communication and enables further communication

Another thing I found interesting is that there was disagreement among the interviewees about whether a brand must be authentic. Though several people mentioned that people were demanding more honesty and truth from companies at the time of the book (~2011).

What stuck out to me

I loved that this book provided a way for me to learn from successful people in another industry. It gave them a platform and a way to express deep thoughts on life, business, and society, but in a way that’s still useful. Here’s what stuck out to me:

• There is a penalty for not responding to change and not responding to culture. From Grant McCracken.
• Wit provides depth and soul. It’s the evidence of humanity and can be used in nearly every situation. From Bruce Duckworth.
• When change occurs, we may as well celebrate. From Bruce Duckworth.
• Design for everyone by starting with a vision and accounting for the extremes early. Avoid making a common denominator. From Dan Formosa and Bill Moggridge.
• People want to be seen as exclusive and special. From DeeDee Gordon.
• You can’t do great work if you’re scared. From Alex Bogusky.
• Feel guilty about not seeking to understand harder. From Alex Bogusky.

Specifically, Tom Peters’ chapter was my favorite. His perspective and philosophy were approachable and understandable. It fit my brain really well. He advocated for a design-mindedness to be applied to everything. He also pointed out that people who feel like they are a cog in a wheel can still improve society in some way. The example he gives is that a person in charge of purchasing at Target can influence them to make more environmentally friendly decisions. That person can research alternative products and processes to improve the world while still helping the company. I appreciate that mindset.

The other bit from Peters’ interview that stuck out to me was that he highlights that people need to be horizontally likable now. The industry and world are becoming more connected and, in a way, smaller. Your industry relationships have become the key to your success.