new ideas

As I continued to observe the city I found the prominence of many different sub cultures throughout the city. I thought about what defines these people and there identity within this subculture, How could I tell these people were part of this subculture without speaking to them.
I found that I could identify members of a subculture through what they were wearing, where the were, and the products I saw them with.

This lead be to the observation that sub cultures are defined by their consumer behaviour. What people buy and spend their money on, what products they bought, and where they spent there money all added to the identification of a sub culture.

A strong example i though was he sub culture of bikers, or even Harley Davidson bike riders. They are defined by the products they surround themselves with, the leather jacket, the bike itself. The reason I agreed with this observation is that if I took the jacket, the hardly logo, the bike away (the products they spend their money on, or their consumer behaviour) away, then who are they?
Are they still considered to be part of that subculture, or is it these products that define the identity and define them as part of a subculture.
If you took away the jacket, the bike, the harley logo, are they still a biker?

Another strong example i though was the hipster subculture. Not only did the clothes they wear, and the products they surround themselves with define them as part of that subculture, but also where they  spent their time. We can all agree there are certain bars or cafes that hipsters spend a lot of time at. This added to the defining elements of the subculture and the idea that consumer behaviour defines a sub culture. If you take away his alternative fashion, his moustache, the macbook, and take him out of the hipsters cafe. Is he still considered a Hipster?




These are some of the Haiku's I cam up with to back up this idea

This is my iphone

It is my identity

Nothing else matters

This is my iphone

There are many like this one

But this one is mine

this brand defines me

without it I am nothing

This is my logo

Without it I am no one

Who else could I be

My identity

Always the freshest new brands

What else could I be

My identity

Brands, brands, brands, brands, brands, brands, brands,

I am lost without

My identity

Cigarette, coffee and beer

No need for a brand

Who am I again?

My identity is gone

Please return my brand

Brands connect people

Consumer, community

I will not be lost

What could define me?

Without my brand I am lost

Look in the mirror