Alan Siegel On Branding and Clear Communications

Butzbach, West Germany: 1st Lt. Alan Siegel, age 22, slid to a stop in his used red Triumph TR4 roadster and opened the door for his passenger, a much older German named Georg. The improbable duo was off on a photographic expedition, the first of many, seeking bucolic views for Siegel to record with his new Honeywell Pentax 35mm camera. Wrangling 8-inch Howitzers was hardly boring, but off duty, Siegel grew restless. An ambitious young man not given to wasting time, he took up photography and darkroom technique with Georg. He made photos of military maneuvers and published them in Army journals, which pleased his commanding officer because Siegel's candid shots helped publicize the battalion's activities. This was good for recruitment, good for the CO's ego, and especially good for Siegel. For it was in Cold War Germany during the early sixties that he discovered his creative side. Here he began developing an aesthetic and an analytic acuity that served him throughout his career as a master brand builder; a strong visual sense that guided his life's work helping to reinvigorate the communications strategies of corporations and institutions, their products and services, throughout the world.