An American who hails originally from Minneapolis, Brian first arrived in Russia in 1998 after making his way via courses and employment in locations as varied as his hometown, Nova Scotia, Boston and Poland. He says he was drawn to Russia in many ways by an interest in Russian art in general, and more specifically Russian modernism – particularly the works of Malevich and Kandinsky. No doubt this helped him stay when within a few months of his arrival the Russian economy went into meltdown, and many of his fellow expatriates departed as the Russian business landscape took a turn for the bleak. He and his wife agreed to try and stick things out in Moscow, which they did for two and a half years with BBDL. This gave him the opportunity to see the lay of the land in terms of the branding and design industry as well as develop contacts. Eventually he decided to head out on his own, along with a Russian business partner, Katya Romanova Backes, whom he stresses, has made a lot of things much, much easier than if it had been him and his wife alone.

ID Fabrika’s design work encompasses development of two key themes, Corporate Identity and Brand Identity. This essentially means specific products or services on the one hand, and corporate image – ranging from colour schemes in offices and stationary, through to corporate logos and a range of other imagery. Previously he has worked with the nascent Lebedyansky, and the branding needs of its range of fruit drinks, and Moscow’s Marriott hotels, with their corporate style and differentiation decisions. More recently he has become involved with the imagery associated with some of Moscow’s leading Real Estate players, as the domestic scene evolves into a global player as local property prices spiral and more international companies look to move into Russia. More players means more competition, and where most of the players are providing essentially the same service it soon becomes a battle of perceptions. This is Brian’s field. Those who will soon find themselves arriving in or departing from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo 3 terminal will also find themselves able to avail some of his handiwork courtesy of the work he is doing with the advertising contractor.

‘Design, is basically about problem solving’ is the first comment he comes out with when talking about his work. It's about identifying the needs of the organization in terms of their public and addressing this in a visual sense. It might be the advertising you see on a billboard or TV, or even in a magazine, but far more often it is the subtle messages an organization sends with the color schemes of its offices, the design of the furniture in them, the lettering of its visual communications as you walk down corridors or in public areas, or letterheads on paper and cards. It might include uniforms that staff wear, or the cups and sauces of the coffee they provide. All of this says something about an organization, be it a company, a social club, a political party, or even a public utility or administrative section of public service. Even if it hasn't been thought out in advance, and stems from various functional requirements or purchases, it still says something to those who intertact with it, which is why more and more companies are thinking about it.

Sometimes themes work and sometimes they don't. Nobody really has to be told that Coca Cola has everything from signage to street furniture in red and white, a tree pointer star could mean almost anything to anyone but most of the world associates it with a Mercedes, and it would be an almost surreal experience to head into a McDonalds where everything from walls and fittings to staff and packaging was in shades of deep blue of grey. But organizations large and small can get things wrong. British Airways discovered the expensive way that removing the Union Jack from livery of some of its aircraft in pursuit of greater international appeal could cost it some core customers for whom that very association was part of their attraction for the airline. It's a good reason for thinking about design and style and mental associations with the visual.

In wondering about the why's and wherefores of what works and what doesn't Brian quickly reveals that he isn't a businessman who has become interested in what his business is, but rather someone who has made a business of his interest, and thinks and wants to talk about it for its own sake. Almost straight away he will take you beyond the realms of an ordinary entrepreneur by bringing Plato into the conversation, by noting that what is happening with the Russian visual perceptions world is a move from what the most famous of Greek philosophers would refer to as pathos or logos, towards what he would refer to as ethos. Organizations large and small are starting to come to the idea that you don't get people interest in your message by appealing to their logic or their emotions, that their products or services are better, cheaper, or more effective, or that you'll be cool, intelligent, sexy, funny or whatever by using them. They are drifting towards promoting themselves as an ethical entity first, against which other messages can be delivered as needed, but promoting their credibility, or ethos, first. Brian sees this as being one of the biggest changes in his time in Russia.

Its all a long way from the days when he was leafing through the phone directory looking for lawyers to advise him on what was the best way to set up a company in Moscow. This year ID Fabrika is opening an office right back where Brian started in Minneapolis, but he's still expecting to spend the vast bulk of his time in Moscow. He's confident that the growth of Russia's middle class consumer society will continue no matter who takes over the political reins, and that more organizations will be looking to work on their perception by the public. And when they want to talk with someone and get a few ideas about what their options are and the implications of these then ID Fabrika and Brian Erickson won't be far away.

Brian Erickson of ID Fabrika