• Preview of FUSE 08

By Le Vin Chin

What goes into the design of a brand?  From the initial brand concept to the final branded object, the 11^th annual FUSE: Brand Identity & Package Design Conference (April 16-18, at Pier 60, Chelsea Piers, New York City) will debate, analyze and share trends, concepts and tools for the creation of brand excellence.

With workshops, symposia and conferences tackling every aspect of design and brand strategy, packaging innovation and design, and trend identification and realization, the focus will be the synergistic, holistic development and use of branding within and alongside a company’s strategies and culture.

Billing itself as THE destination for brand design leaders, this year’s FUSE will, as always, feature a stellar cast of renowned names and brands under one roof.  Taking over from Philippe Starck last year (who provocatively declared that brand is dead and “the only brand is yourself”), this year’s keynote speech will be given by superstar architect Daniel Libeskind.  Claudia Kotchka (of Proctor & Gamble), Gael Towey (of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia) and Augusten Burroughs (author, “Running With Scissors”) also feature on the speaker list, as do a who’s who of the world’s leading brands (3M, Estee Lauder, Colgate-Palmolive, GlaxoSmithKline, Hasbro, Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly-Clark, Mattel, Bacardi, Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola, Del Monte, Starbucks, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Boeing, Visa, among the many leading lights from the worlds of academia, media, packaging, furniture, apparel and retail).