As the world becomes ever more complex, as it becomes a little bit more uncertain, and especially as the ability for others to create noise increases, I think we're going to find ourselves falling further and further into symbolism and tribalism.
That's my prediction. And part of the reason I say that is because symbols and tribes give us an ability to communicate without having to speak necessarily the same language, the same jargon, or even have the same context.
A symbol gives us somewhere to start
Take the Christian cross. You can go anywhere in the world, find another Christian, and have a general sense that you and I are probably similar in some ways. We don't need to sit there and explain our entire backgrounds to understand what that symbol might mean to each other.
Or take McDonald's. You can go to almost any McDonald's in the world, see those golden arches, and feel a little bit of reassurance. Don't worry, it's familiar. I have a general idea of what the food will taste like, what kind of experience I'm going to have, and what I'm walking into.
The menu may be different depending on the country, but the arches have done some of the communicating before anyone at the counter has said a word.
Now think about bumper stickers. Someone can have a sticker on their car about being environmentally conscious, or supporting certain rights, or belonging to some particular group. You might never speak to that person, but in a few seconds you have a general sense of something they want the world to know about them.
That's the point I'm trying to get across. We use symbols to communicate things about ourselves, and increasingly, I think brands are becoming one of the ways we do that.
Why is the Apple logo facing everyone else?
Take an Apple laptop. When I've got it closed, the Apple logo on the cover is not facing me the way it faces everyone else when I lift it open. Think about that for a second. I already know I'm an Apple user. I bought it. So what is that logo saying to everyone else in the room?
For someone, it might signal creativity. Someone else might read it as a technology preference, or perhaps something about the kind of work I do. The associations vary, but the logo has given them something to read.
There's a good bit of history here too. Earlier Apple laptops actually displayed their logos the other way. Former Apple employee Joe Moreno explained that Apple initially prioritized helping owners orient the closed laptop correctly, even though the logo appeared upside down to onlookers when opened. The company eventually reversed that choice.
So I wouldn't argue that Apple's original design decision was purely a branding exercise. What fascinates me is what the open laptop communicates now, in the room where the owner is using it.
A logo carries the story someone wants to tell
In my own life, there have been products that I simply buy because they work, and products where having the logo means something to me. If I'm buying paper clips, I generally find the cheapest option and use it. I don't spend much time wondering what the paper-clip company stands for.
But if I'm paying a premium to have a brand's logo on my clothing, that logo is probably communicating something. It could be the kind of person I want to be, a community I want to belong to, or a story I want other people to recognize.
And here's the line I kept restarting my recording to get right:
In a world in which we struggle to communicate, the logos, the stickers, the brands that we choose to surround ourselves with become a way for us to communicate with the world.
What does that mean for your business? Before you ask how to make your logo bigger or put it in more places, ask what it's supposed to say. What are the words, the feelings, the associations that someone should have when they see it?
In my Brand Echoes work, that's where we begin. We get clear about the things we want people to remember and repeat. A symbol becomes much more useful when someone can actually tell you what it means.
And as the world gets noisier, I think the question becomes even more important. When someone wears your logo, or carries it into a room, what are they communicating about themselves?
About this teaching
Edited primarily from my November 3, 2026 spoken recording. The connection between uncertainty and increased symbolism is my prediction, not an established measurement of social change. The historical clarification on Apple's laptop logo is from former Apple employee Joe Moreno's first-person account.
