Branding Love Letters

Star Wars is an American sci-fi franchise and logo designer Ian Paget's favourite brand. Ian's been feeling the force since he first saw C-3PO on a VHS sleeve as a child. While developing his career as a logo designer, he has come to realise that these are more than films. Star Wars, he suggests, is a primal brand that can teach entrepreneurs how to build a lasting following.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: www.pilgrimage.design/26-sta...

Marshall is a British amplification company and designer Radim Malinic's favourite brand. A wall of Marshall speakers at a Motörhead gig changed everything for a 90s teenager called Radim. He'd never heard anything like it. As he grew up, this sound soulfully wove its way into his own creativity. This is a love letter to a brand that's a million miles from the boardroom.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: www.pilgrimage.design/25-mars...

Thankyou is an Australian social enterprise and strategist Levina Kusumadjaja's favourite brand. Ending extreme poverty by selling personal care and cleaning products? Impossible. But that's exactly what Thankyou have set out to do. In the process, they have faced giants of global capitalism and brought devoted supporters into their ranks. Levina is one of them. This is her love letter to a fearless brand looking inequality...

Discover what I'm on about at pilgrimagedesign.substack.com/p/free-branding-workbook

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: www.pilgrimage.design/23-fifteen-minutes

What is this podcast?

Case studies in brand loyalty, equipping you to better connect with your audience. In each episode, a top guest picks their favourite brand. I then invite them to unpack why it means so much. As they share, we gain invaluable insights into what makes audiences ti...

Marmite is a British savoury spread and strategist Keva Epale's favourite brand. Love it or hate it, you can't ignore it. A brand built on conflict and division? Surely that can't work. But, as Keva explains, Marmite's use of friction is precisely why it is so successful, especially in a world where everyone seems to be playing it safe. She shares why this strategy (if done right) should be adopted by more companies...

The Beatles are a British rock band and community manager Flora Aliaga's favourite brand. An Argentinian father playing 'Let It Be' for his five-year-old daughter. That's how this love story started for Flora, who was transported to another world when she discovered those four voices, those lyrics, those personalities… This episode dives into why The Beatles stir such profound emotions and asks: what can they teach ...

Liquid Death is an American canned water company and print design expert Dave Hopkins' favourite brand. "Who does that?!?" is a question that Dave has been asking himself since this subversively silly brand sprung into his life. Yes, it's mountain water with heavy metal branding. And, according to Dave, it reveals a lot about how to wrap a serious mission in an entertaining shell.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: www.pilgrimag...

Let's say you're a startup developing an app. Or an NGO launching a social enterprise. Or a niche content creator. In other words, you're not a massive brand (at least not yet). This episode is FULL of growth advice for small brands like yours, drawn from ways that bigger brands have resonated with their audiences. Because multinational companies and local coffee shops have the same aim: emotionally connect with individ...

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is podcaster Steve Folland's favourite brand. Listening to Simon Mayo on Walkman. Rushing home to watch 'The Broom Cupboard' after school. 'Ski Sunday' signalling the end of the weekend. Steve's childhood is wrapped up in warm memories of the BBC: a trusted friend with whom he has journeyed ever since. Expect to hear why this is a brand that—perhaps like no other—ge...

IKEA is a Swedish furniture retailer and strategist Anneli Hansson's favourite brand. Narnia, Hogwarts, IKEA... For Anneli, they're all offering the same thing. Because when you step through the doors of that big blue warehouse, you get to experience almost endless possibilities. And 'experience' really is the key word. This episode is a (very Swedish) journey into the wonderful everyday.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: www.pil...

Harvard is an American university and visual strategist ⁠Tosin Odugbemi's favourite brand. It started with 'Legally Blonde'. Or maybe before. In fact, Harvard has always been in Tosin's consciousness, representing the peak of human accomplishment. But studying her master's there hasn't been a Hollywood fantasy. Today's episode is a raw love letter to an oxymoron of a brand: both monolithic and radical, i...

How did I become a freelance graphic designer? Why did I start this podcast? What's it like to live as a digital nomad? How did I find my niche? What have been the successes and challenges on the journey so far? In this special episode to mark one year of Branding Love Letters, I share some of my story. All while going for a hike (sorry about the windy weather). Welcome along!

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: www.pilgrimage.design/15-freela...

Sway is an American biotech company and green graphic designer Emma Fanning's favourite brand. In 2017, Emma was mocked for suggesting that graphic design should be sustainable. But that didn't stop her from pioneering a successful career in green design. This led her to Sway, who are developing a plastic alternative. Today's episode is a tale of packaging, greenwashing and seaweed.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: www.pilgrimage.de...

Starbucks is an American coffee shop chain and music producer Just Wisdom's favourite brand. Military bases. First dates. Cross-country pit stops. All threaded together by a green and white siren: the icon that lets Patrick Forbes (a.k.a. Just Wisdom) know he is home. For him, Starbucks has become much more than a cafe. It is a refuge, a place of tranquility and a constant in a constantly-changing world.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: www...

Kerrington's Heart is a Kentucky-based non-profit and graphic designer Danielle Meadows-Stinnett's favourite brand. Danielle loves superheroes. But the heroes she's met through this locally-rooted organisation don't wear capes. They are children experiencing congenital heart defects, their families and their caregivers. This is the story of an early-career branding assignment that became a mission, a cause and a com...

AFM Safecoat is an American building products line and healthy building expert Andy Pace's favourite brand. Andy knew something needed to change in the construction industry when three of his colleagues on a job were rushed to hospital with breathing problems. That was thirty years ago, when the word 'green' was simply a colour. He found a small company called AFM that was ahead of the curve, pioneering non-toxic materi...

Franco Manca is a British pizza chain and media producer Thomas Thorogood's favourite brand. When he was at university, this pizzeria hosted some of Thomas' happiest memories and most creative conversations. He keeps returning, deliberately seeking out Franco Mancas across the UK. Whether it's in Cambridge, Edinburgh or Brighton, stepping through their doors always feels like a homecoming.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: www.pilgri...

Annie's is an American organic food company and strategy consultant Kathy Guzmán Galloway's favourite brand. Among the brash primary colours of the central aisle, Annie's softer tones always stood out to Kathy. As a mum, she also appreciated that their products didn't sacrifice health in pursuit of convenience. This is a story of brand distinctiveness, bunnies and macaroni cheese.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: www.pilgrimage....

Jennifer Lopez is an American singer, actress, dancer, businesswoman and Connie Steele's favourite brand. Connie, who is a future of work expert, believes that J.Lo has lots to teach us about personal branding in the modern world. She unpacks how J.Lo's fundamental strength is her breadth, with a career-long refusal to be pigeonholed into one category.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: www.pilgrimage.design/8-jlo

Connie's website: ww...