In the late 1990’s, there was an advertisement posted on the Internet claiming that anyone willing to get a brand logo tattooed on their body would receive a life-long merchandise discount on all goods sold by that company. In essence, businesses were propositioning people with the incentive to save money in return for offering their bodies to be used as marketing campaigns; transforming the body into a walking billboard promoting a brand. To everyone’s surprise, the response from people willing to do this was enormous. The ad was later revealed to be a gag and many people were turned away disappointed.

What if something like this really existed? Is it right? Is it ethical? Surely not, but it certainly is intriguing. If nothing else, the mock advertisement proved the sizable amount of people willing to participate in such an agreement. Inspired by the possibility that something like this could and very well may exist in the future, the following is a conceptual business model and design of a tattoo studio whose sole purpose is “branding” people with corporate logos.

The design of the Brand I.D. tattoo studio takes many cues from standard barn design, with the entrance centered in the space and a promenade down the middle with “stalls” on either side. The stalls are used as tattoo stations, where the actual “branding” of the customer happens. There are eight stalls, so eight people can receive tattoos at a time.

The corporate logos available to be tattooed are found everywhere in both the interior and exterior, making the idea of mass marketing and corporate advertising visually abundant. The other meaning of the word brand is also made clear with the choice to use only materials that can easily be branded or embossed. In both the interior and exterior, every surface is branded, reminding the consumer that they are in essence choosing to brand their bodies with these logos.