In Goods we Trust -- Signature Value / Paola Antonelli -- A Brand New Britain? / Jonathan Woodham -- Branding = Distinctive Authenticity / Stefano Marzano -- Brand Associations through Advertising / Charlotte Cotton -- Diesel-For Successful Branding? / Jane Pavitt -- Wolf Brands in Sheep's Clothing / Russell W. Belk -- Ties That Bind: Brands, Consumers and Businesses / Patrick Barwise, Andrea Dunham, Mark Ritson -- Why Do We Buy Counterfeits? / Kent Grayson -- Consumer Proactivity / Mark Ritson -- Japanese High-School Girl Brand / Sharon Kinsella -- At Home with the Joneses / Jane Pavitt -- All the World's a Store: the Spaces of Shopping / Aaron Betsky -- Packaging Petroleum / Helen Jones -- From Object to Experience / Guy Julier -- Great Mall of the People / Andrew Bolton -- Supermarket Futures / Rachel Bowlby -- Branding the Individual / Jane Pavitt -- Moving Things / Celia Lury -- Thinking with Things / Celia Lury -- Hello Kitty / Gareth Williams -- Brand Not-So-New / Alison Clarke -- The Point of Purchase? / Gareth Williams.

The proliferation of brand names fills our visual world and affects our daily lives. From soft drinks to couture fashion, the power of the brand to influence tastes and preferences is undeniable. This innovative book, published to coincide with a major exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, takes a challenging but entertaining look at international consumer culture at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Ranging across fashion, design, and media, brand.new sets out provocative debates about brands, design, and consumer habits. How are brand identities constructed? How do designed goods reflect or reinforce the brand message? How do different cultures and communities respond to so-called global brands such as McDonald's and Coca-Cola?

Critics, historians, sociologists, and designers, as well as voices from the business world, offer a wide spectrum of opinion on subjects from shopping in China to the branding of personality. In thought-provoking essays, they map out the economics and business of branding; look at personal and social identities in a global, commodified world; investigate the shopping experience from mall to web site; and raise ethical and social questions for both brand and consumer.

With more than 200 color illustrations, including eighteen feature spreads on a variety of logos and advertising images, the book provides a wide-ranging look at retail, branding, and consumer behavior from around the world. Essential for all students and observers of modern culture, this invaluable survey will particularly appeal to those interested in advertising, product design, and fashion.