What is the price of global connectivity?
What is the price of global connectivity?
I'm always interested in looking at the design expressions of other cultures, especially when they're communicating the virtues of the bigger global brands. For me, what's insightful about this undertaking, is tracking the visual and experiential subtext of cultural difference. And whether this cultural signature can withstand societal convergence.
As technology, and the internet especially, unites our global community into a single homogeneous tribe, are we gaining the near nirvana of the single, universally captivating visual style, or loosing the precious sense of individualism?
As the world gets every more smaller, is our rush towards a fully connected world, with all its idealistic dreams of freedom of expression, the open spread of knowledge and the empowerment of the individual, a positive triumph in furthering mankind's physical, sociological and economic growth?
Or, in our drive to treat all humanity as equal within the web perhaps as a single point data node, are we in danger of trampling all over the delicate tapestry that makes human life so enriching and full of diversity?
Are you just a number?
With the network effect' of social media sites such as Facebook (where you simply have to choose that platform because that's where all your friend are), we are already seeing the homogenisation of our social and personal expressions. We must all now define ourselves by the criteria dictated to us by the system'. Self expression has no opportunity to take route if there's no input field to articulate such passions.
To enjoy all the benefits of a border-less, freeing, fully interconnected world, are we having to give something up? Good technology sorts, filters, arranges, organises and structures our lives. It delivers left brain solutions in a right brained world. But, this technology only works if we all conform, if we all mold ourselves around pre-defined structures.
If this techno-led conformity becomes natural, as it is for all us Facebookers, will it spread into all areas of life? Will it take hold within music, the arts, cultural thinking? Will we end up paying a high price for all this logically structured easy of use'? Will we become just a number?
Cultural visual expressions
In the UK we once, and I believe still do, have a reputation for subtle, sophisticated, intelligent creative solutions. In the US, the style is much more 'sledge hammer', with a strong focus on the SELL, the money and the technology. In areas of the Far East, design is all about replication, with a strong cultural heritage or copying the masters'. The sub continent focuses on bright colours, vibrancy and an intensity that bordered on the cliche.
These 'signatures' gave us our cultural visual expressions.
Now, I'm not arguing that one is better that another. Each stylistic approach was born out of its own cultural sensibilities. Each design expression a formed by societal heritage and history a way of presenting things in a culturally acceptable way. Our cultural individualism grow through visual and verbal interpretation. The visual styles worked, they attracted people's attention and that's what made people, well, people.
But I do wonder whether the spread of the global identity' program (although I do understand and promote its merits), is eroding territorial self expression. Many westernised brands seem to be dictate a single global' visual style, as well as holistic universal' messaging frameworks.
Having said that, not all brands have the same one-size-fits-all approach. Take the Da Mouth and Puma site, created by the highly talented 30ml. It's a site, created for the Chinese market to promote and sell Puma branded goods. The site feels sophisticated and has a quality you'd expect from its European heritage, yet it displays a vibrancy, colour and vitality that perfectly fits its local, cultural sensibilities.
Human cultural individualism
I believe, that as we move ever forward into our inevitably closer culturally connected world, brands must work hard to ensure the integrate of human and cultural individualism.
In the rush to furnish new markets with brand power, we must not forget what make us who we are. Our millions of years of evolution has led us into geographically tribalistic societies and with it our own individualistic creative tendencies. The web has broken down such structures in a matter of moments.
This is not all bad though. We have plenty to learn from each other. Great creative work has always been forged by cultural interconnections. A healthy cultural mix invigorates, inspires and influences the truly new, fresh and exciting. But it has to be that a healthy cultural mix.
The positive economics of a single unifying message, must be closely countered by the effectiveness of personal ownership and individualised connection. The power to talk to different people in their own way is a powerful link to the aspirations of the web's forefathers. The empowerment and freedom of information is different ideology than simply shaping all information into a single, universal definition.
Open your eyes and you will see
There is beauty everywhere you look. There is community everywhere you look. There is creativity everywhere you look. There are new ideas, new expressions, new ways of doing things and new opportunities everywhere you look.
If we aggregate our lives meaning into a simple, logical, easily searchable, pre-defined criteria, we loose the ability to truly express who we are and what we believe in. If we aggregate the visual world we loose identity, culture and personality. The danger is by unifying the message we relinquish control and complacency take route.
Cleaver brands will see the powerful business benefits of enhancing our individualism. To treat us as individuals. To use technology to enhance the cultural experience, not to homogenise it.
But, already there are equally passionate debates about the security and privacy of the individualised message. To personalise content, one must first know intimate details about you and your life. Details that, in the wrong hands, can be manipulated and used for ill gain. The debate is on (perhaps for another blog post), but what is for sure, we must find a common, effective, accessible middle ground between the destruction of individual cultural expression and the freedom to be lost in the crowd'.
As marketeers, brand builders, advertisers, designers, technologists and visual artists, we all have the responsibility to safeguard cultural expression whilst solving global communication problems.
Creativity unites and bonds, promotes and sells, individualises and groups. Cross cultural sensibility will enhance, it will empower and it will unite, but it must always respect. Creativity works best went it respects its audience, and their cultural values.
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