Iconography: build symbolic identity within your tribe (& Generative AI sidebar)
We are wired toward tribalism, and iconography gives us a simple visual tool to distinguish "us" from "them."
Sidebar: Generative AI
You might have noticed that every image I’ve used for my Substack posts was generated using DALL*E. Before I dive into this week’s culture series, I wanted to share an incredible “Call to Arms” article published by James Currier at NFX regarding Generative AI. I’ve been excited about this space for months and am giddily working on an MVP for a new idea.
I hope this article will inspire you. Here’s a paraphrasing of a key part of the article:
Those creative moments where you go from zero-to-initial-ideas have always felt so uniquely human. The ideas once thought to come unpredictably only through people’s minds and souls – emerging from talent, or training, often associated with special people – will now be generated by something which is not a human.
In the past week, I’ve used AI to generate AI business ideas. How meta is that!? Reach out if you’re interested in nerding out with me about GenAI.
And now… back to Culture.
Iconography and Symbolism
In our Culture Series, I zoom in on building sustainable culture within an org, noting ways to foster camaraderie in remote and hybrid work models. Thank you for your support. If you like what you see, share this with your colleagues and subscribe to writings on my substack mailing list.
To summarize this post in one sentence: don’t take your internal branding for granted — invest in deploying your company’s iconography within your tribe.
Iconography is prevalent in every thriving faith, religion, and movement. Common symbolism creates unity and identity. We are wired toward tribalism, and iconography gives us a simple visual tool to distinguish "us" from "them."
Examples of iconography in religion
Cross and Coptic Cross of Christianity
Star of David of Jews
Crescent and Star of Islam
Om symbol of Hinduism
Dharma wheel of Buddhism
Khanda of Sikhism
I believe that iconography expands beyond symbols into costuming, colors, and hand gestures:
The peace hand sign for hippie culture
The black overcoat of Hasidic Jewish culture
The shaka hand sign for surfer culture
The hijab of Muslim culture
Logo here, logo there, logo everywhere
For companies, the central icon is the logo. The logo should permeate every element of the corporate culture, not just the header of your website:
Walls in the office, both internal and external
Clothing*
On company equipment, like laptops (or stickers for laptops)*
Mugs*
Sweatshirt/hoodie/tshirt*
Figurine of your mascot*
Desk ornament with logo*
Pins for bags and backpacks*
* Can be used in remote-work environments
Use tokens to commemorate milestones…
You have the power to turn swag into a coveted collector’s item. At Budsies, we created awards when our designers hit milestones like 10,000 plushies designed. We originally made this as framed certificates, but in hindsight, I would have redone this as a special edition Budsies t-shirt or hoodie: a uniform the senior designers could proudly wear to show their status among peers.
…and build a shared history
By giving out event-specific swag, employees who attended events now have a token to remember that historical record. It also gives tenured employees a chance to share stories with newer colleagues as these newer folks ask about the significance of specific pieces: "These are the hoodies we wore when we rolled the first Model 3s off the production line".
Get creative with mascots
Many brands include an anthropomorphic mascot, from Geico's Gecko to Disney's Mickey. Using mascots in customer-facing messaging is obvious, but you should also remember to direct your mascots internally.
At Budsies, our mascot was a goofy red pig named Dongler. He had an adorable origin story and a whimsical personality, and was displayed prominently on our website and marketing materials. We also intentionally used Dongler for internal communication. When our packing team toiled tirelessly in the 2020 holiday season to ensure our customers received their gifts on time, it was Dongler on the big poster we mounted in the office showing gratitude to our version of front-line employees. Every new employee also received a mini plush Dongler (shameless plug: get a plush of your mascot here). This gift gave every employee a symbolic totem with which they could interact. These mini Donglers often found their way into mischievous scenarios around the office (e.g., when someone ate all the donuts, the obvious culprit might be Dongler sitting by the plate with crumbs in his plush mouth).
ROI
Some leaders view spending money on swag in the same bucket as office perks. But, unlike blowing cash on a fancy dinner that will likely be forgotten or ping pong tables that won’t be used, branded symbolism endures and fosters team identity.
Iconography is the symbolism that unites your tribe. While other perks reward mercenaries, investment in iconography encourages missionaries.
Next week: Vision
Millions of humans have coalesced around beliefs in God(s), messiah, heaven, afterlife, souls, and other principles that cannot be seen or touched. We have built massive temples, colonized the world, and created nation-states with over a billion people driven by beliefs of a future, unseen outcome better than our present, visible one.
How do you create a vision big enough to inspire a massive following?