Welcome to the final episode in our special four-part series on design. Brands are everywhere and sometimes feel so omnipresent that it’s hard to know what counts as one. So we’ve invited designer, educator and Design Matters podcast host Debbie Millman to help us make sense of brands. At its core, Debbie says, branding is the process of manufacturing meaning to come up with a shared symbol. And it’s something we’ve been doing for thousands of years. Today, Debbie and Lilah discuss the history of branding and its relationship with design, and the relatively recent phenomenon of ‘personal brands’. Debbie also shares insights from nearly two decades hosting Design Matters.
-------
We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap and we’re on X @lifeandartpod. You can email the show at lifeandart@ft.com.
-------
Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):
– Lilah recommends Debbie’s interview with cartoonist Lynda Barry: https://www.designmattersmedia.com/podcast/2019/lynda-barry
– Here are the latest episodes of Design Matters: https://www.designmattersmedia.com/
– Debbie has written seven books. Here’s Brand Thinking: https://www.debbiemillman.com/brand-thinking
-------
The FT Weekend Festival is coming back, and will be in Washington, DC, on May 4! To book tickets, go to ft.com/festival-us and use our exclusive discount code: weekendpodcast.
-------
Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart
------
Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How to develop your taste in art, with critic Ariella Budick
‘La chimera’: everything you’d want in an Italian film
Introducing Untold: Power for Sale
Viet Thanh Nguyen on adapting 'The Sympathizer' for TV
Coming soon: China, the new tech superpower
Using AI as a tool for creativity
Life as a chef in the West Bank right now
‘Challengers’: Zendaya serves up tennis and sexual tension
Why Olivia Rodrigo might be our last pop superstar
Culture chat: Is Taylor Swift’s new album too much?
Spring cooking tips with chef Ayesha Nurdjaja
Culture chat: ‘Civil War’ is not the film you think it is
How to process the news when it all feels bad
Design Series: The fashion of ‘The Devil Wears Prada’
Design series: Jonathan Adler on making your home your own
‘Love Lies Bleeding’ with director Rose Glass
Culture chat: Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter
Design series: the hidden meaning in our benches and lampposts
Travel chat: planning a trip this spring? We have tips
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
FT News Briefing
Money Clinic with Claer Barrett
FT World Weekly
Grimms’ Fairy Tales
Just So Stories
FT News in Focus
FT Banking Weekly