Carrying Memory Through Branding Design

When Fabric Holds Memory

While walking through the Do Ho Suh: Walk the House exhibition at Tate Modern, I was impressed not just by the delicacy of his fabric structures, but by the weight of what they held—memory, migration, and identity, in transparent thread. The complexity of every stitch felt like an act of remembrance, challenging my understanding of home, space, and identity. His installations made me ponder my practice as a designer: How can we also carry and hold memory through branding?

Branding with a Shell on Its Back

Suh’s work reminds us that home is not necessarily fixed. Sometimes, it is something we carry with us. His see-through fabric structures are more than architectural replicas—they are emotional blueprints, stitching together moments of life across countries and continents. This concept of mobility and memory resonated with me, especially as someone who has moved between cultures. His practice reminds me that branding is similar to a snail—it carries memory and identity on its back wherever it goes. Just like a snail has its home on its back, branding carries the stories behind a service or product, creating a sense of belonging no matter where it goes.

When discussing identity in branding, we often refer to visuals, voice, and consistency. But there’s a deeper aspect—how design identity can evoke memory, emotion, and a sense of place. It’s not just about recognition, but resonance. I view branding as emotional architecture that invites people to feel something familiar in new environments, like Suh's work.

Building Emotion into Brand Spaces

One project that comes to mind is our work on Mollie’s, a hospitality brand where the challenge was to create an experience that would immediately feel like home. We weren’t just picking colours or building a website, we were creating a space that could make one feel warm and comfortable. It was about creating a consistent but fluid identity that could hold emotional depth. We wanted to make visitors feel at home, even when they were miles away.

Designing Across Time Zones

For me, this is also personal. I grew up in Hong Kong, and moving to London meant leaving more than just a place—it meant leaving behind a sensory world: the sounds, languages, textures, and smells that shaped my everyday life. As a designer, I always ask myself how I can incorporate that world into my work. How can I translate those intangible memories into something people can experience too? Suh’s work gave me a new way of thinking about this. His approach does not simply replicate the past—he reimagines it, creating space for memory to coexist with the present.

Design a Vessel for Belonging

Design, much like memory, is always evolving. It travels with us. And perhaps that is the power of branding—it gives form to the formless and helps us hold onto what matters most. Whether we build identities for global brands or create strategies for small businesses, we always shape how people remember, connect, and feel. We’re designing a kind of home not built from bricks, but from meaning.  

By Kelly Ho