Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Jay B Jones

Here’s a common scene in my house:

A character on tv uses poor grammar.

I hilariously point out the mistake.

My wife exercises patience as we rewind to catch the dialogue I spoke ov— over which I spoke.

Now, was I right? I mean, no, I was and am wrong for incessantly talking over The West Wing. But about the grammar? Josh Lyman may have ended a sentence with a preposition, but so what? Is that even wrong? Or, rather: Who gets to decide?

(My wife hopes it isn’t me.)

In linguistics, two approaches describe the way a grammar is built: Descriptive and Prescriptive. The names are helpful: A descriptive approach describes the way people use a language and outlines the rules they follow; a prescriptive approach prescribes the rules speakers should use. Angry nerds on message boards debate the merits of each approach (though they actually work together), but my question is one of authority. Again: Who gets to decide?

I find this interesting, and perhaps you will too, because it reflects perspectives that shape how we engage in parts of life so far above and beyond grammar.

Are you a prescriptivist or a descriptivist?

Want to play along at home? Do you follow your gut or stop to ask for directions? Do you see a specialist for a possible medical condition or do you watch your symptoms and self-treat? Do you follow Julia Child’s recipes down to the quarter teaspoon, cleaning as you go, or do you lick the spoon because batter’s actually tasty, I know it contains raw eggs, and I’m perpetually eleven?

In these silly, but maybe real, examples, the former tends toward the prescriptive, the latter to the descriptive.

Let’s get real. Do we raise standards of living by lowering taxes for the wealthy or the poor? Are ethics dictated by universals rights and wrongs or by what an individual thinks best? Is there one way to God or many?

Again, the former follows the prescriptive shape, the latter descriptive. The former is top-down, the latter bottom-up. Prescriptivism is extrinsic, descriptivism is intrinsic. In the broad ways I’m applying it, the prescriptive seeks rules, experts, standards and officials, while the descriptive values individuality, self expression, autonomy and grassroots.

Branding

Branding strategists and designers talk about their craft many ways (and with all kinds of grammar). But as I write, I’m careful of the language I use because of how it defines the concepts. How we discuss brands and branding reveals what we believe about them.

As a designer, do I create brands or branding? Do I imbue qualities in a brand or extract them? Is the value in a brand intrinsic, borne of functional qualities, or is it extrinsic, an emotional connection that resonates in the mind? Are we selling features or benefits? Is branding an exercise in prescription or description?

A brand designer can approach her craft on either side of the spectrum; both have their place and both can be effective. But here is where I’ve buried the lede: The best, most compelling branding, like the richest, realest, most dynamic outlooks in the rest of life — from theology to politics to relationships to, yes, grammar — merge the two perspectives. Look through either lens, overlap them slightly, and you’ll find truth; the branding can still be effective, though the image might be incomplete or blurry. Stack the lenses (so the Venn diagram looks more like the Monopoly Guy’s monocle and less like John Lennon’s glasses) and find a more whole, actualized picture.

When you see a brand as a collection of inherent, tangible qualities, a collection of ideas and emotional connections, and a range of experiences between the extremes, value multiplies. When a designer leverages the prescriptive and descriptive, crafting an identity that both reflects (descriptive) and adds value (prescriptive) to the core of a brand, the results are powerful — truth multiplied by ambition.

And frankly, the process is a lot more rewarding this way, both for the designer and for her clients. People sense B.S. People are also emotional and aspirational. Describe the brand, prescribe something higher and better, let each side hold the other accountable. Everybody wins.

So Who Gets to Decide?

I said everybody wins! As in most things, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Prescriptive and descriptive. Both. Or neither. (Do we need me to coin a term?)

Happily, when it comes to tv-drowning grammar expositions, this is good news for me and my marital bliss, as it offers an opportunity to say those three magical words that keep a marriage vibrant: We’re both right. (Also: I love you.)

Last words:

“Humans like to think of themselves as special and different from one another. Some people like to think of themselves not only as special and different but also as better than others.”
– Dori Tunstall

“When the functional differences are negligible or hardly exist — for example, in terms of price or quality — there is a requirement to create an emotional difference.”
– Wally Olins

“People confuse the symbol with the reality.”
– Wally Olins

Branding: Top-down or Bottom-up? was originally published in prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Branding: Top-down or Bottom-up?

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