Which of our Northwest corporate icons are doing the best job of harnessing design to advance their brands?
Jack: Nike and Starbucks. Rick: Both Starbucks and Nike have used design to define marketing strategy. In the case of Nike, their original shoe designer is an architect. He defined the importance of design to that company early in their development. Allen: Good design is harmony between brand conveyance and brand experience. The examples that portray that to me are Costco, Washington Mutual and UPS. What good design is not is brand conveyance in the purely aesthetic dimension. From that point of view, I’m going to argue that Costco is as strong as Starbucks. The Costco merchandise and stores are in tune with their target audience. The Costco logo is an important part of conveying that. Anne: I think Costco is a huge missed opportunity for design to add value to a brand. Creating a great (and appropriate) visual brand for Costco would be my dream project. Allen: There is just no direct correlation between high design and success of business. Anne: There is an implication that high desig
