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Whose mask is it?

by Lora Starling | Mar 11, 2025 | ARTICLE, Future Magnets, Logo truths

We wear masks often to identify a part of ourselves. Masks form a visible interface between us and the rest of the world so we are seen with our chosen tribe, those aligned with the same future aspirations.

We go to war on a flag, display our loyalty to a sports team that rarely wins, wear our religious symbol in the belief that we are aligned with the chosen one and stroke our egos with logos publicised by our celebrity heroes. We even embellish our nails, face, skin or hair to mask our natural appearance that we find unacceptable (says who?)

After time we begin to believe that we are the mask, but whose mask is it? Each version of the above has been carefully designed and delivered by someone else to create their own success. They can’t do this without followers.

Nowhere has this mask been exploited more than by brands. Logos are bait that tempt us with desires including quality, longevity, happiness, nutrition, beauty, health and success and they do it so effectively, we are hooked.

Soft drinks and fast foods are known to have a detrimental effect on our health, but the logos and ads are such fun, why would we not want to be seen participating in that team?

High end fashion brands make sure we see their logos on their clothing such as sweatshirts, scarves, bags, shoes, hats and so on but the clothes themselves usually don’t last whether due to poor quality or strategic fashion change, and inevitably end up in landfill or building further the giant fabric mountains in Africa.

When we look behind the mask we are often confronted with a version of the Emperor’s new clothes, and see how we have fallen for the temptation to identify with a vision created by someone else. Learn to look behind the masks of the brands you love and design your own using the same effective strategies.

Don’t make your own identifying logo a mask. Build it from the core of your heart and the longing of your soul; express your love, not greed, for the future you want, your better place in a better world. That is how we create the change we need, by changing, identifying and sharing our intention. This is what logos do best.

‘You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it.’ Alan Moore, V for Vendetta

Learn to create your own intentional logo at https://bit.ly/4enPTPQ

Two apples said no to be being in my logo book

Two apples said no to be being in my logo book

by Lora Starling | Jun 13, 2013 | ARTICLE, Protecting brands

blog post icon Companies go to great lengths to protect their logos. When I wrote The Logo Decoded I thought it would be good to reproduce some logos in it as examples. But the first two Apples categorically …

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Fighting over a couple of kisses

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Whose mask is it?

by Lora Starling | Mar 11, 2025 | ARTICLE, Future Magnets, Logo truths

We wear masks often to identify a part of ourselves. Masks form a visible interface between us and the rest of the world so we are seen with our chosen tribe, those aligned with the same future aspirations.

We go to war on a flag, display our loyalty to a sports team that rarely wins, wear our religious symbol in the belief that we are aligned with the chosen one and stroke our egos with logos publicised by our celebrity heroes. We even embellish our nails, face, skin or hair to mask our natural appearance that we find unacceptable (says who?)

After time we begin to believe that we are the mask, but whose mask is it? Each version of the above has been carefully designed and delivered by someone else to create their own success. They can’t do this without followers.

Nowhere has this mask been exploited more than by brands. Logos are bait that tempts us with desires including quality, longevity, happiness, nutrition, beauty, health and success and they do it so effectively, we are hooked.

Soft drinks and fast foods are known to have detrimental on our health, but the logos and ads are such fun, why would we not want to be seen participating in that team?

High end fashion brands make sure we see their logos on their clothing such as sweatshirts, scarves, bags, shoes, hats and so on but the clothes themselves usually don’t last whether due to poor quality or strategic fashion change, and inevitably end up in landfill or building further the giant fabric mountains in Africa.

When we look behind the mask we are often confronted with a version of the Emperor’s new clothes, and see how we have fallen for the temptation to identify with a vision created by someone else. Learn to look behind the masks of the brands you love and design your own using the same effective strategies.

Don’t make your own identifying logo a mask. Build it from the core of your heart and the longing of your soul; express your love, not greed, for the future you want, your better place in a better world. That is how we create the change we need, by changing, identifying and sharing our intention. This is what logos do best.

‘You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it.’ Alan Moore, V for Vendetta

Learn to create your own intentional logo at  https://bit.ly/4ayC3rv

Two apples said no to be being in my logo book

Two apples said no to be being in my logo book

by Lora Starling | Jun 13, 2013 | ARTICLE, Protecting brands

blog post icon Companies go to great lengths to protect their logos. When I wrote The Logo Decoded I thought it would be good to reproduce some logos in it as examples. But the first two Apples categorically …

Next Entries »
Facebook shareTwitter shareLinkedin sharePinterest share

Related posts:

Loving the gap

Are logos bad for us?

If Lloyds Bank designed handbags

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