Think Different: On Studying the Brand as Organizing Device

The purpose of this essay is to analyze the brand as an organizing device that structures not only the sphere of consumption but also that of production. The essay takes its point of departure in an analysis of values. It suggests that values are a correlate of valuation devices and that these evaluation devices constitute a semantic space that is called, for want of a better term, “brand.” The brand as a semantic space makes values visible, providing a platform upon which claims, calculations, and categorizations compete, collide, and sometimes coalesce. The essay concludes by discussing the implications of this argument for, among other things, the higher education sector.