Go Logo! A Handbook to the Art of Global Branding

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Go Logo! A Handbook to the Art of Global Branding198

W

elcome to the Net generation; it’s here, and it’s truly upon us. Unless

you have been stranded in outer space for the past fifteen years, you

know we are talking about the Internet generation, the life-changing,

ever-evolving world of e-commerce and en masse electronic data

transfer. Stick with me, as I step back to 1993, when I first entered the domain of the

World Wide Web.

Netscape Corporation was the new kid on the block then, and it first came to my attention

through a colleague, who at the time was working in Chicago for a software house. “You

have got to see this. Wow,” were his words. “See what?” I kept saying. I just couldn’t see

what all the fuss was about. Basically, two computers were talking to each other—not talk-

ing like you and me, but via a linked telephone network. But here’s the thing: one computer

was in the United States, and the other was in the United Kingdom. Nothing new here, I

was thinking. Networking had been around for a while, and, well, what’s groundbreaking

about this? My colleague persisted in getting me to look at this new technology, and sud-

denly everything became very clear.

Here we were, able to view data, not just as the boring zeros and ones that mean so little

to so many, but as text, pictures, and even sound. Netscape had designed an application that

made all this lively material appear like a page from a book, but moving. It then dawned on

me that this new technology was going to be big. I completely underestimated, however,

just how big it was going to be! Within a year, the smartest global blue chips were scram-

bling to get online and be a part of what we take for granted today.

The Net Generation

GERALD GLOVER, Principal of Twobelowzero in London, England

Gerald Glover studied at Portsmouth University, before completing a degree

in graphics and media communications. In 1997, having worked in London for

various print-based and new-media agencies, Glover set up Twobelowzero in-

teractive media, which brings like-minded people together to undertake online

and offline creative projects. In 2002, Glover moved the hub of the company

from London to Brighton to create a better work/life balance, and, with the

advent of reliable, fast broadband, the company now operates with staff all

over the globe.

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