Brands do more than influence how we buy and sell products and services. They affect how we understand and represent the world. BrandBox explores these effects.
Your hosts are Dr. Tom Guarriello, Mark Kingsley, and Melinda Welch. All have decades of experience in branding and marketing. And all teach in the Master’s in Branding program at the School of Visual Arts. They think of people as people. Not consumers or audiences.
Dr. Tom Guarriello
Tom has spent decades helping people understand their own, and other people’s, minds. After receiving a PhD in psychology, he spent 25 years in clinical practice, then pivoted into organizational psychology. For almost three decades, he’s worked as a brand consultant, much of it in the fashion industry. He is currently at the forefront of the increasingly relevant field of human/robot interaction.
As founding faculty in the School of Visual Arts’ Master’s in Branding program, Tom teaches “The Meaning of Branded Objects,” a course that explores the psychological mechanisms that transform everyday objects and experiences into important, valuable components of every modern person’s lived-identity.
You can learn more about Tom, here. And to hear Tom’s thoughts on our relationships with robots, please visit robopsych.com.
Mark Kingsley
Mark has done many things for many people… as creative director and strategist… creating Ogilvy’s global brand architecture, products for the Guggenheim Museum, feature film titles and John Coltrane album packaging (to name just four). His current studio, Malcontent serves global advertising firms, startups, arts organizations, living legends, Pulitzer Prize winners, and avant-garde string quartets. Mark speaks and writes about design and visual culture, and in 2016, Print Magazine featured him as one of “56 Inspiring Designers Shaping Our World Today.” He currently holds the endowed Melbert B. Cary Professorship in Graphic Arts at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
As an instructor in the School of Visual Arts’ Master’s in Branding program, Mark teaches a class called “Object Lessons.” Responsive to the moment, it considers anything and everything from critical theory to semiotics to TikTok videos.
To learn more about Mark and his work, please visit malcontent.com
Melinda Welch
Melinda is Head of Strategy at Brand Bureau, a multidisciplinary creative studio that develops brands, defines experiences, and designs environments. In collaboration with fellow strategists and designers, Melinda helps brands craft distinct perspectives and express themselves through design to foster deep connection with their audiences.
As a graduate of the School of Visual Arts’ Master’s in Branding program, Melinda works to cultivate community among her fellow alumni, and assists Tom and Mark in teaching their three courses in the program. She also enjoys teaching undergraduate branding and messaging courses at Pratt Institute.
To learn more about Melinda’s work, please visit her LinkedIn profile.
Both Tom and Mark are available to travel (physically or virtually… individually or as a team) for consultation and speaking engagements.