A History of Branding: Lessons for Today

Richard Shear is Founding Partner and Chief Creative Officer of Invōk Brands and a founding faculty member of SVA’s Master’s in Branding program. With a five-decade design career and a passion for visual history, he explores how global consumer culture shapes today’s brands in his new book A History of Brands. This week on On Brand, he joins me to discuss the evolution of retail, the enduring impact of packaging, and why the future of branding begins with the past.

About Richard Shear

Richard is a founding faculty member of the Master's in Branding program at New York’s School of Visual Arts and a Founding Partner and Chief Creative Officer of Invōk Brands. His 50-year design career has been influenced by a fascination with visual history, driven by a curiosity for the culture of consumer brands, and guided by rich experience in brand identity and package design.

Richard’s SVA course focuses on the origins, evolution, and current status of retail brands, building awareness of the rich legacy and growth of global consumer culture and its intrinsic connection to the evolution of visual history.

What brand has made Richard smile recently? “That’s easy,” Richard shared. “Barbie.” Specifically, Richard points to their newly released Barbie with Type 1 Diabetes.

Connect with Richard on LinkedIn as well as the Invōk Brands and Branding at SVA websites. And check out Richard’s new book A History of Brands wherever you like to shop.

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Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet!

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