Strands of Genius: The 4 Dimensional Rebrand, Protecting Creativity, Brands Are Religions
Strands of Genius: The 4 Dimensional Rebrand, Protecting Creativity, Brands Are Religions
Guest curated by Marisa Zupan
This year we’re aiming to highlight 50 creative thinkers that have inspired us, by giving them the opportunity to guest curate this newsletter, Strands of Genius. Marisa is the CEO and founder of United Sodas of America.
:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, MARISA ZUPAN ::
LOCATION: Brooklyn, NY
PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: United Sodas of America
When people ask me where I'm from I usually say somewhere in the triangle between Vermont, Italy and Ohio. My family is very academic so I spent a lot of my life nerding out and going deep on all things from Star Wars to Hatshepsut (look her up, she's so rad), so when I started in Branding/Advertising I became a strat and never looked back. After 12 years of working on brands for other people, I decided to make one of my own and that's (just the tip of the iceberg of) how United Sodas of America was born. Today, I'm the CEO of that company and digging every minute of it.
Editor’s Note: We’ve known Marisa at a distance as she passed through agencies and roles we knew well in New York City, including Anomaly, 360i and Undercurrent. We’re always excited to see agency folk turn their skills towards their own business, and even more so when that business is an awesome cpg product, which is a far from simple endeavor. Plus -just look at them!
:: THE LINKS ::
THE 4 DIMENSIONAL REBRAND
This rebrand of the SF symphony by COLLINS is one of the best I've every seen because, in addition to type, color, and graphics it incorporates a fourth dimension, sound, so seamlessly and intimately. The result is "an ever-responsive, evolving visual system that brings to life the dynamic qualities of classical music itself." This feels obvious for a music brand, however, sound is becoming a key part of every single brand and this one does it masterfully. (Fast Company)
PROTECTING CREATIVITY IN AN INDUSTRY MACHINE
This interview about "The Office" between Brian Baumgartner (Kevin) and show runner Greg Daniels sheds light into how such an unconventional show could happen within the soulless "factory" that was network television in the early '00s. He says: "The show had to be handmade, it couldn't be a factory product." Daniels goes on to explain how he was able to sell the idea and create an environment that allowed for the beauty of The Office to happen and thrive. Relevant to any creative industry. (Spotify)
BRANDS ARE RELIGIONS TOO
Now that I have your attention with this clickbait headline, listen to my interview on the podcast "IN THE SAUCE" where I talk about approaching a brand as a conceptual space made up of symbols, rituals, words and ideas. I was a Religious Studies major so don't let anyone tell you an obscure liberal arts education isn't applicable to life skills ;) (Spotify)
Looking for more from Marisa Zupan? Those enrolled in The School of Stolen Genius will receive a deep dive from her in their inbox shortly! You can access all our expert interviews for SOSG here.
:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::
:: City :: Toronto
:: Book :: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
:: Podcast :: You're Wrong About
:: Album :: This week, Discovery by Daft Punk 😭
:: DAFT PUNK ::
Thanks for reading! If you found any of this as interesting as I do and want to connect please do reach out on LinkedIn or Insta.
Marisa Zupan
marisa.zupan@gmail.com
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
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