Idea for June 2021: Bildung

My idea of the month is Bildung

…the German word for education and, in particular, self-education. I’m fascinated how it includes the word Bild, meaning image or picture or pattern. In the same way, the French word for training, formation, has the concept of form deep inside it. So education, training and learning are all about taking shape, finding your shape, forming yourself – and not just informing yourself. It’s like the way that image and form are baked into the concept of a brand - a brand, you could say, is an idea fused with a form, or a strategy made real in a design. In this sense, the two halves of my life - branding and education - are very close to each other.

My image of the month is mustard

I’m not a huge fan of mustard, but I’m fascinated by this lid, because Colman’s mustard hasn't actually been made in Norwich for years. And yet brands like to have homes. And Norwich has many more than you’d expect - Aviva, Barclays, Bernard Matthews, Colman’s, Kettle Chips, Lotus, Naked Wines, Start-Rite, Virgin Money and many more. Why is Norwich such fertile ground, I wonder?