Brook, R., 2012.

Building as Sign: Architecture in the Image Economy

The use of the term 'brand' has become prevalent, its permeation, from a consumer context, simply acting as an indicator of where to make a purchase, into a socio-spatial domain, that can define, streets, districts and cities, is one indicator that western cities have ultimately arrived at a consumptive juncture. The term is applied without being hindered by scale; a city may have a brand or be branded as successfully as a neighbourhood, a shop or a consumable object. The notion of brand that is critical here rests within an ostensibly objectified condition, that of the 'sign', though it is acknowledged that branding does not always assume physical properties. Brand image is part of the city's super-organism and the strength of a brand can allow subtle gestures to imply its presence.