Midway up a wall on a platform in Finchley Central tube station in North London rests a plaque to a former employee of London Transport who was never a household name or a famous figure either before or after his death in 1974. Harry Beck was simply a draftsman on the underground who enjoyed meddling with his coloured pencils in his spare time until one day in 1931 he submitted one of his more practical drawings to his employer. The result of this action changed the way millions of London commuters and visitors would view the city forevermore. The London Underground map has since grown to become one of the most recognisable images of the twentieth century and has set the template for transport maps worldwide. Little did Beck know at the time that he had created an iconic brand familiar to millions around the world who have never even visited London. The tube map may not spring to mind as anyone’s definition of what a brand should be. After all its just a diagram to help people find their way around, but it’s instantly recognisable quality is something many global corporations pay dearly to maintain annually.
Of course, unlike a can of Coke, we can’t buy underground rail networks in our local supermarket and take them home with us so, there is little commercial value in having global recognition for something we cannot get access to regularly. But product recognition in the form of a respected brand plays a huge part in our purchasing choices daily. The resignation with which we buy goods and services based solely on the logo, catchphrase or jingle associated with the product is a mark of the success of the brand we are buying and its owners investment in that brand. Not to be confused by the bombardment of advertising which simply informs us of the availability of products, brands themselves engage with our consciousness daily on a more subtle level. Waking up to the sound of the Morning Ireland jingle on the radio we are already connected to the signature...