Your First Album Was Probably Your First Identity Crisis

What The Monkees, Nirvana and Arrested Development taught me about identity, belonging and the things we choose to say something about ourselves.

The first record I bought was The Monkees.

Not exactly a dangerous start. No concerned teachers. No parental intervention. Just four lads pratting about on telly with extremely good hair.

Then came CDs.

Nirvana’s In Utero and Arrested Development’s 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of...

Which is a fairly spectacular identity crisis for two purchases.

But that was the point.

Music had stopped being something I simply liked. It had started saying something about me. The clothes changed. The posters changed. The people I paid attention to changed. Somewhere along

the way, taste had become identity.

That still interests me.

Good identity design works in much the same way. It isn’t about bolting a personality onto an organisation because somebody decided purple feels innovative. The useful stuff is already there. History. Attitude. People. Little behaviours nobody thought were important.

The job is to find the bits worth recognising and give them form.

That’s why authenticity beats polish. People are surprisingly good at spotting when something is trying too hard to be something it isn’t. Nirvana in a shiny corporate blazer would have been ridiculous. The Monkees in corpse paint probably wouldn’t have helped either.

Identity isn’t costume.

Fashion wants you for a season.

Identity wants you to stay.

Slán,

Nx