Branding Fatigue

I noticed this response to an article on National Public Radio. It�s understandable that a media organization would make well-intended efforts to editorially chunk a diverse and every-growing body of content�especially one that�s on so many minds today. It just makes sense. But the approach can also be excessive, which is the opinion of listener �Juan Ensalada.� What�s more, it proves the point that taxonomies can be taxing.

Since establishing this blog, I�ve been hooked on, and perhaps even zealous about, branding pieces according to what I envision as foreseeable series, such as Connecting Bits, Nifty Idea and Design Portfolio Spotting. I try to consistently stick to the topical arc for each editorial umbrella, but Juan�s comment comes as a reminder: Don�t go overboard with batch-labeling, lest you find yourself with an over-engineered collection of content. Not to mention an audience that grows confused by, if not downright skeptical of, your brand-trigger happy tactics. This echoes an aspect of graphic designer Adrian Shaughnessy�s essay on the Obsessive Branding Disorder a book by business writer Lucas Conley. Shaughnessy observes that the book�s author �nails the problem: � � branding, when it�s consistent, provides us with clarity and simplicity in a progressively hectic world. But branding has become unhinged from its initial principles, and its aims have become increasingly exaggerated and warped.��

Branding fatigue may be a close relative to trade/service-mark fatigue. Striving for honesty, helped by consistency, should curb the perceptual wormhole-effect that branding may induce.