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

翻译人员: Wanting Zhong 校对人员: Ethan Huang

Thirteen point eight billion years ago,

138 亿年前，

the universe as we know it began with a big bang,

我们熟知的宇宙 诞生于大爆炸，

and everything that we know and are and are made of was created.

我们所知、所是、所构成 的一切都由此诞生。

Fifty thousand years ago,

5 万年前，

our brains underwent a major genetic mutation,

我们的大脑经历了一场 重大的基因突变，

which resulted in the biological reorganization of the brain.

从而发生了生物性重组。

Some scientists call this "The Big Brain Bang."

有一些科学家称之为 “大脑大爆炸”，

Others call it "The Great Leap Forward,"

也有人称之为 ”大飞跃“。

这是我更喜欢的叫法，

which I prefer.

It's so much more poetic.

因为它更富有诗意。

This is when Homo sapiens began to evolve into the modern species that we are today.

正是从此刻起，智人开始进化成为 我们今天这样的现代物种。

The Great Leap Forward activated most of our modern abilities:

大飞跃激活了我们 大部分的现代能力：

abstract thought, planning,

抽象思维、计划、

cooking, competitive labor,

烹饪、竞争性劳动、

language, art, music

语言、艺术、音乐

and self-decoration.

和自我装饰。

After the Great Leap Forward,

在大飞跃之后，

there was an explosion of stone toolmaking,

石器的制作呈爆发式发展，

more sophisticated weaponry

诞生了更加复杂的武器，

and, 32,000 years ago,

32000 年前，

the creation of our first sophisticated mark-making on the cave walls of Lascaux.

我们在拉斯科（Lascaux）的洞窟壁上 创造了最初的复杂符号。

It's not a coincidence that we've gone from documenting our reality

我们从把现实生活记录到 拉斯科洞穴墙壁上，

on the cave walls of Lascaux

进化到发布在脸书的实时动态墙上

to the walls of Facebook.

并不是一个巧合。

And, in a very meta experience,

通过一次非常全面的体验，

you can now a book a trip to see the walls of Lascaux

你现在可以在脸书的动态墙上

预定一趟去参观 拉斯科壁画的旅程。

on the walls of Facebook.

Approximately 10,000 years ago,

在大约 1 万年前，

men and women began to array themselves with makeup.

男人和女人们开始用 化妆品打扮自己。

They started to self-decorate.

他们开始进行自我装饰。

But this wasn't for seductive purposes; this was for religious convictions.

但这并非出于性吸引的目的， 而是为了宗教信仰。

We wanted to be more beautiful, purer, cleaner

我们想要在我们认为比自己

权力更高的人或事物眼中，

in the eyes of something or someone

显得更加美丽、纯洁、干净。

that we believed had more power than we did.

There is no culture

在人类历史记载中的

in recorded human history

所有文明，

that has not practiced some form of organized worship,

都进行过某种形式的 有组织的崇拜，

which we now call "religion."

现在我们称之为“宗教”。

Six thousand years ago, in an effort to unite people,

6000 年前， 为了团结人民，

our ancestors began to design telegraphic symbols to represent beliefs

我们的祖先开始设计 图形符号以表达信仰，

and to identify affiliations.

并识别隶属关系。

These symbols connected like-minded people,

这些符号将志同道合的人 联系到一起，

and they are all extraordinary.

且它们都非常独特。

These affiliations allowed us to feel safer and more secure in groups,

这些隶属关系让我们在群体中 感到更加安全和放心，

and the sharing created consensus around what the symbols represented.

而分享的行为则创造了对于 符号所表达意义的共识。

With these marks, you knew where you fit in,

有了这些符号， 你就会知道自己的归属，

both for the people that were in the in crowd

这既适用于那些群体中的人，

and those, as importantly, that were excluded.

同样重要的是，这也适用于 那些被排除在外的人。

These symbols were created in what I consider to be a very bottom-up manner:

我认为这些符号是由 自下而上的方式创造的：

they were made by people for people

它们由人民创造、服务于人民，

and then shared for free among people

然后在人民中免费传播和分享，

to honor the higher power that they ascribed to.

以此对他们拥护的更高权力 表示敬意。

What's ironic is that the higher power actually had nothing to do with this.

讽刺的是，这些更高权力 事实上与这一切并无关系。

These early affiliations,

这些早期的隶属关系

they often shared identical characteristics,

通常都有相同的特点，

which is rather baffling

考虑到我们在地球上的分散程度，

given how scattered we were all over the planet.

这其实挺令人费解的。

We constructed similar rituals, practices and behaviors

无论我们置身地球上的何处，

no matter where we were anywhere on the globe.

都构建了相似的 仪式、习俗和行为。

We constructed rituals to create symbolic logos.

我们创建了仪式去创造 象征性的符号。

We built environments for worship.

我们建造了用来朝拜的环境。

We developed strict rules on how to engage with each other

我们设立了关于 食物、发型、出生、死亡、

with food, with hair,

婚姻与繁衍

with birth, with death,

等一系列严格的规则，

with marriage and procreation.

以规范与彼此相处的方式，

Some of the symbols have eerie commonalities.

有些符号之间有着诡异的共同点。

The hand of God shows up over and over and over again.

神之手反反复复地出现。

It shows up as the hamsa hand in Mesopotamia.

在美索不达米亚，它是哈姆萨之手。 （常见于爱神伊南娜的护身符）

It shows us as the hand of Fatima in Islam.

在伊斯兰教中，它是法蒂玛之手。 （法蒂玛：先知穆罕默德之女）

It shows up as the hand of Miriam in Judaism.

在犹太教中，它是米利暗之手。 （米利暗：先知摩西之姐）

Now, when we didn't agree on what our beliefs and behaviors were

当我们的信仰或行为

和他人无法达成共识时，

in regards to others,

if we felt that somebody else's were incorrect,

如果我们觉得别人是不对的，

we began to fight,

我们便开始争斗，

and many of our first wars were religious.

最初的很多战争都是 由宗教问题引起的。

Our flags were used on the battlefield

在战场上，我们用旗帜表明

to signify which side of the battlefield we belonged to,

自己属于战场中的哪一方，

because that was the only way to be able to tell friend from foe.

因为那是唯一区别敌我的方式。

We all looked alike.

毕竟我们长得都差不多。

And now our flags are on mass-manufactured uniforms

如今，我们的旗帜则出现在

大量生产的制服上。

that we are making.

Logos on products to identify a maker came next,

随后诞生的是产品上的标志， 用于分辨生产厂家，

and brands were given legal recognition on January 1, 1876,

而随着商标注册法案的问世，

品牌在 1876 年 1 月 1 日 开始被法律认可。

with the advent of the Trademarks Registration Act.

The first trademarked brand was Bass Ale,

第一个商标品牌是 Bass Ale,

and I kind of wonder what that says about our humanity

我很好奇第一个商标品牌 是酒精饮品这件事

that first trademarked brand was an alcoholic beverage.

阐述了我们人文文化的什么特点。

Now, here is what I consider to be

我认为，下面我要展示的应该是

the first case of branded product placement.

第一个品牌植入的营销案例。

There are bottles of Bass Ale behind me

在我身后的是爱德华·马奈 （Édouard Manet）

with the logo accurately presented here

于 1882 年创作的知名画作，

in this very famous painting in 1882 by Édouard Manet.

其中的数瓶巴斯艾尔酒上 准确地画出了商标。

One of the most widely recognized logos in the world today

当今世上最具辨识度的商标之一

is the Nike swoosh,

就是耐克的对勾，

which was introduced in 1971.

它于 1971 年问世。

Carolyn Davidson, a graphic design student,

这是当时的一位平面设计学生 卡罗琳·戴维森（Carolyn Davidson）

originally created the logo for 35 dollars.

的原创作品，卖了 35 美元。

Upon seeing it, Nike CEO Phil Knight stated,

耐克的首席执行官菲尔·奈特（Phil Knight） 在看到标志的第一眼时说，

"I don't love it

“我没那么中意它，

but maybe it will grow on me."

但我可能会渐渐喜欢上它吧。”

Maybe it will grow on me.

也许我会渐渐喜欢上它。

But why is the swoosh so popular?

但是这个对勾为什么如此流行？

Why is the swoosh so popular?

那么这个对勾为什么如此流行?

Is it the mark?

是因为符号本身吗？

Or is the marketing?

还是因为它的营销手段？

And what can we make of the fact

我们又应如何看待，

that the Nike swoosh seems to be

耐克的商标看上去像是

the Newport logo upside down

倒过来的新港香烟的商标，

or the Capital One logo on its side?

或者是左右翻转之后的 美国第一资本金融公司的商标？

That is not the only logo with a shared identity.

这还不是唯一 有相似之处的标识。

This next logo is a logo that has a shared identity

下一个标志则和其相似物

with wholly different meanings.

有着截然不同的含义。

As a Jewish person,

作为一名犹太人，

I believe that this logo,

我相信这个标志，

this swastika,

这个纳粹的 “卐”，

is the most heinous logo of all time.

是历史上最令人发指的标志。

But it actually has a rather surprising trajectory.

但它的历史轨迹 其实挺令人惊奇的。

The word "swastika" originally comes from

“Swastika”（西方语言的 “卐” 字）来源于

the ancient Sanskrit word "svastika,"

古梵语的 “svástika” 一词，

which actually means "good fortune,"

本意为 “好运”、

"luck" and "well-being."

“幸运” 和 “吉祥”。

In the early 1900s, before it was appropriated by Hitler,

1900 年代初， 在该标志被希特勒挪用之前，

it was used by Coca-Cola

可口可乐曾经将它用于

on a good luck bottle opener.

一款好运开瓶器上。

The American Biscuit Company prominently registered the mark

美国饼干公司高调地 注册了该标志，

and put it on boxes of cookies.

并把它用在曲奇盒子上。

The US Playing Card Company registered the mark in 1921

美国纸牌公司也在 1921 年

for Fortune Playing Cards.

为其好运扑克牌注册了该标志。

The Boy Scouts used the mark on shoes in 1910,

美国童军在 1910 年 把这个标志用在了鞋子上。

and the symbol was also featured on cigar labels, boxtops, road signs

这个标志也曾出现在 雪茄牌子、商品印花、路牌，

and even poker chips.

甚至是扑克筹码上。

Even the Jain made use of the logo along with a hand of God

甚至连耆那教也在数千年前

把这个标志和神之手一起使用。

many millennia ago.

These marks were identical,

这些标志是完全相同的，

but with use as a Nazi symbol,

但被作为纳粹象征使用后，

the impact became very, very different.

其影响就变得非常、非常不同了。

The hand of God,

神之手，

the Nike swoosh

耐克对勾，

and the swastika:

和 “卐” 字：

they all demonstrate how we've been manufacturing meaning with visual language

它们都显示了数千年以来，

我们如何使用视觉语言 创造意义。

over millennia.

It's a behavior that's almost as old as we are.

这个行为几乎是人类与生俱来的。

Today, in the United States,

如今，在美国

there are over 116,000 malls,

有超过 11 万 6 千个商场，

and they all look pretty much the same.

它们看上去都大同小异。

There are more than 40,000 supermarkets,

在美国有 4 万多家超市，

and they each have over 40,000 items.

每家超市里有超过 4 万件商品。

If you went shopping for bottled water,

如果你去买瓶装水，

you'd have over 80 options to choose from.

你将面对超过 80 种选择。

Since their launch in 1912,

自从 1912 年面世以来，

you could choose from over 100 flavors and variants of Oreo cookies.

奥利奥有超过 100 种口味 和变化供人挑选。

Now, is this a good thing

这到底是好事

or is it a bad thing?

还是坏事呢？

Is a plethora of choice necessary in a free market?

琳琅满目的选择 在自由市场内真的有必要吗？

I believe it is both a good and bad thing,

我认为这既是好事也是坏事，

as humans are both good and bad,

就如人类也有好有坏，

and we're the ones creating and using and buying these brands.

而我们是创造、使用和购买 这些品牌的人。

However, I think that the question

但是，我认为

of whether this behavior is good or bad is actually secondary

比起明白这其中的原因——

为什么我们最开始 会有这样的行为——

to understanding why --

why we behave this way in the first place.

这种行为是好是坏 其实是次要问题。

Here's the thing:

重点在于：

every one of our mass-marketed products

我认为每一件大量营销的产品

are what I consider to be top-down brands.

都是自上而下的品牌。

They're still created by people,

它们仍然是被人为创造出来的，

but they are owned, operated, manufactured, advertised,

但是它们是由企业 拥有、运营、生产、宣传、

designed, promoted and distributed by the corporation

设计、推销和经销的，

and pushed down and sold to the consumer for financial gain.

并且被向下推行及销售给消费者， 以赚取金钱利益。

These corporations have a responsibility to a P and L

这些企业需要对利润表负责，

with an expectation of an ROI

对投资回报率有所期望，

and have names like P and G and AT and T and J and J.

并冠有宝洁、美国电话电报公司、 强生之类的名字。

And that's pretty much the way it's been for the last couple of hundred years:

在过去几百年间差不多一直如此：

a top-down model controlled by the corporation.

一个由企业控制的 自上而下模式。

Until 2011.

直到 2011 年，

That's when we began to see evidence

我们开始看到证据，

of real, significant, far-reaching change.

证明真正的、可观的、 深远的变化正在发生。

The Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street

阿拉伯之春和占领华尔街

proved how the internet could amplify messages

证明了网络能如何放大信息，

and connect like-minded people

并且连接起志同道合的、

with powerful beliefs to inspire change.

拥有激起变化的强大信念的人们。

We witnessed a cultural shift via social media

我们见证了通过社交媒体上的 #MeToo 和 #BlackLivesMatter

with hashtags like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter.

等话题标签发起的文化变革。

In its wake, the discipline of branding

在这之后，品牌之道

has transformed more in the last 10 years

在过去十年内的转变

than it has in the last 10,000,

超过了过去 1 万年内的变化，

and for the first time in modern history,

并且在现代史上第一次，

the most popular, influential brands

最流行、最有影响力的品牌

are not brands being pushed down by the corporation.

不再是由企业向下推行的品牌，

They are brands being pushed up by the people, for the people,

而是源自人民，以及为了人民 而向上推动的品牌，

for the sole purpose of changing the world and making it a better place.

它们的唯一目的就是 改变和改善这个世界。

Our greatest innovations aren't brands providing a different form

我们最伟大的发明 不是给我们喜爱的零食

or a different flavor of our favorite snack.

提供不同形状或口味的品牌。

Our greatest innovations are the creation of brands

我们最伟大的发明是创造了

that can make a difference in our lives

能够对我们的生活产生影响、

and reflect the kind of world that we want to live in.

反映出我们想要 居住的世界的品牌。

In November of 2016,

在 2016 年 11 月，

Krista Suh, Jayna Zweiman and Kat Coyle

克里斯塔·徐（Krista Suh）、杰娜·茨威曼 （Jayna Zweiman）和凯特·考尔（Kat Coyle）

created a hat to be worn at the Women's March in Washington, DC.

制作了一顶在华盛顿特区 女性大游行中佩戴的帽子。

(Applause)

（掌声）（注：特朗普用"pussy"侮辱女性， "pussyhats" 运动对此进行抗议）

This was the day after the presidential inauguration.

这件事发生在总统就职后的第二天。

Two months later, on January 21, 2017,

在两个月之后的 2017 年 1 月 21 日，

millions of people all over the world wore handmade pink pussyhats

世界各地数百万人都戴着 自制的粉红色猫咪帽（PussyHat），

in support of the Women's March all over the world.

以支持世界各地的女性大游行。

The hat was not created for any financial benefit.

这顶帽子并不是为了 牟利而诞生的。

Like our religious symbols created thousands of years ago,

就像我们在数千年前 创造的宗教符号一样，

the hat was created by the people, for the people

这顶帽子是由人民、 为人民创造的，

to serve what I believe is the highest benefit of branding:

旨在达成我心目中 品牌所承载的最大福祉：

to unite people in the communication

通过沟通共同理想

of shared ideals.

将民众联合起来。

The pink pussyhat became a mark for a movement.

粉红色猫咪帽成为了 一场运动的标志。

In a very short time, two months,

在短短的两个月里，

it became universally recognizable.

它在全世界变得备受瞩目，

It connected an audience in an unprecedented way.

以前所未有的方式 连接起了一个个受众。

It is a brand,

它是一个品牌，

but it is more than that.

但又远不止如此。

Today, the pink pussyhat is proof positive

今天，粉红色猫咪帽积极地证明了

that branding is not just a tool of capitalism.

品牌不只是资本主义的工具。

Branding is the profound manifestation of the human spirit.

品牌是人类精神意志的深刻体现。

The condition of branding has always reflected the condition of our culture.

品牌总是能反映我们的文化。

It is our responsibility

而我们的职责是

to continue to leverage the democratic power branding provides,

继续借助品牌提供的民主力量，

and it is our responsibility

肩负起责任，

to design a culture that reflects

设计出一个能够反映，

and honors

并且对我们想居住的世界

the kind of world we want to live in.

表达敬意的文化。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）