As we saw in Frasier, there is a difference between individual fancies, which also leads to a difference in individual consumption. Not consumption as in food but consumption in terms of what people purchase and what they look for. In "Branding the Individual," the article speaks of how people can define who they are through what they buy, allowing the brand to speak for themselves. Like in Frasier, his father takes pride in his old, tattered, but still as comfortable than the day he bought it Barcalounger. Frasier, on the other hand, attempts to boast his "Wassily" chair and Eames Lounger, but his father, with concern for comfort rather than brand, is not impressed, nor does he even take notice of what Frasier is trying to tell him. This is the concern for design that most people associated with presenting themselves as modern and professional have. While someone like Frasier's father, a retired police officer, takes pride in alluding to his hard working man mantra; a guy who just wants to come home and sit in his favorite chair after a long day's work. This type of person is certainly not apprehensive about what the label says, as long as it does the job. Now, for someone like Frasier, with an interest in surrounding himself with righteous goods, will look for that designer brand, whether or not it actually does the job right or not, for instance, the Wassily chair didn't look too comfortable, however, it's modernist design, bearing all the essentials to a chair, but bending them in a stylistic and sheik way, caught Frasier's attention. But it seems that it wasn't so much the actual visual and dimensional qualities of the chair that attracted Frasier, the reason he put it in his living room was because of it's brand.
In "No Logo," we see how the branding business works. It is because, as Frasier has exemplified, people will go blindly for the brand without putting any thought towards primary importance of the jacket or sneaker. This type of consumerism has led companies, such as Nike, the one mentioned throughout "No Logo," to divert the majority of their budgets to the brand name. As this article was less about design, and more like an outcry for jobless American factory workers, it does relate to the same aspects of the the Eames lounger article as "Branding the Individual." It reinforces how the brand has become such a strong force in the market of nearly anything, that companies have sought out cheaper labor overseas, Therefore allowing them to spend more money on advertising and developing the brand.
This is much like the success of Fabien. Calvin Klein goes to him for the photo shoot of his new underwear line for his well crafted, "oxygen" added, touch, but also the name Baron Fabien is also due to his name, and essentially, his brand if you will.
-"The Eames Lounge" compares the different types of success the a modernist designer piece of furniture with a more blue collar, practical purpose of the Barcalounger. Referrencing the same things Frasier has to say about the people who value labels as opposed to those who value comfort and accessability.
-"No Logo" makes note of the success of brand names, mainly Nike, and how that affects the budget scheme of such companies. Saying they sell out their domestic production facilities to cheaper overseas factories that will do the same work for less money with no regard for patriotism or countrymen with honest jobs.
-"Branding the Individual" is about how consumers rely on the brands they are partial to in order to present a certain image of themselves. Basically saying that the brand defines the Individual.
-"Bing! It's Fabien!" is a report on the vivacious designer Baron Fabien and how he works and who he works with. Basically giving a daily agenda and a quite humorous account of a Calvin Klein photo shoot with Marky Mark and Kate Moss.
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