Newest TED Videos - Debbie Millman: How symbols and brands shape our humanity | TED

"Branding is the profound manifestation of the human spirit," says designer and podcaster Debbie Millman. In a historical odyssey that she illustrated herself, Millman traces the evolution of branding, from cave paintings to flags to beer labels and beyond. She explores the power of symbols to unite people, beginning with prehistoric communities who used them to represent beliefs and identify affiliations to modern companies that adopt logos and trademarks to market their products -- and explains how branding reflects the state of humanity. Debbie hosts the TED Audio Collective podcast Design Matters with Debbie Millman--one of the world’s very first podcasts about how incredibly creative people design the arc of their lives. Listen to Design Matters with Debbie Millman wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to the TED Audio Collective: https://www.youtube.com/TEDAudioCollective Visit http://TED.com to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized Talk recommendations and more. The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You're welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a Media Request here: http://media-requests.TED.com Follow TED on Twitter: http://twitter.com/TEDTalks Like TED on Facebook: http://facebook.com/TED Subscribe to our channel: http://youtube.com/TED