A Bit of Brand History
Brands began when humans named people, animals, and things for basic needs, which included recognition, identification, communication, and differentiation.
Although today we think of brands in a commercial context, they have been used throughout centuries.
For example, not long after the development of printing to reproduce books, artists began the practice of establishing symbols or logos to identify and promote their art.
Let’s consider the brand story of the artist Albrecht Dürer.
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was one of the most successful and celebrated artists of his time. Dürer was known widely for his engravings, paintings, and printmaking. His most iconic work, a self-portrait dated 1500 (shown above*) displays a stylized monogram in the upper left half of the painting that became his logo or mark to identify his brand. Dürer’s popularity was so strong, that patrons would purchase a painting or print based solely on the presence of the artist’s logo.
Unfortunately, Dürer’s popularity encouraged forgery of his work. In 1506 Dürer brought what is considered to be the first art forgery case to the court in Venice.** This intellectual property lawsuit was placed against another artist and a printer who copied his painting Christ Among the Doctors in the Temple. The Venice court agreed with Dürer and instructed the forgers to remove Dürer’s logo from their reproductions; however, they were allowed to continue selling the copies as “after Dürer.”
Unfortunately, the illegal copying of successful brands continues to be a problem for many firms, organizations, and individuals. Nevertheless, this early bit of brand history set the stage for many artists, poets, writers, and other artisans to differentiate and value their work with a branded identity.
*Source: Wikimedia Commons contributors, "File:Albrecht Dürer - 1500 self-portrait (High resolution and detail).jpg," Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Albrecht_D%C3%BCrer_-_1500_self-portrait_(High_resolution_and_detail).jpg&oldid=450783551 (accessed August 16, 2022).
**Charney, Noah, The Art of Forgery: The Minds, Motives and Methods of Master Forgers, New York: Phaedon Press, 2015.