You recognize a Rimowa suitcase, even if you stand at the other end of the baggage claim. Not because of its unique shape. It’s a box with wheels, just like any other suitcase. But the ridges all over its aluminium body make it obvious. Everybody knows that a logo, typography, and colour palette build a recognizable brand. But that’s only the wrapper. A far more subtle element is the design language: how you treat corners, which materials you use, and what patterns your objects have. If you want to sound smart, you can call them brand codes or assets. Those elements work like a logo. Within a second, the brain recognizes which brand the product belongs to. But it is more subtle. Your logo on a product is the equivalent of shouting your name. Using brand codes like surface design, materials, and patterns is a secret message understood only by the right people. A great brand code, for me, is never made up. The brand codes I love come from a functional need and are then simplified. That’s why I love Rimowa suitcases. It’s not the fact that they use aluminium. Since Rimowa became popular, many suitcase brands have introduced an aluminium version. It’s the ridges on the surfaces that make a Rimowa suitcase unique. I love the ridges because they’re functional. Aluminium is a fantastic material because it’s light. A suitcase made of steel would be nearly three times as heavy. And aluminium is soft, so it’s easy to shape. Every Rimowa suitcase starts out as a flat sheet of aluminium that’s then pressed into shape. The process is called deep drawing. But a soft material isn’t what you want in a suitcase. Airports aren’t gentle with our luggage. Because aluminium is soft, it gets dented. But unlike plastic, dents don’t just pop out. To make their suitcases stiffer, Rimowa presses ridges into them. The ridges make the aluminium stiffer. A thin sheet with ridges can be as stiff as a much thicker sheet without being as heavy. Rimowa got the idea from old airplanes. Engineers used corrugated aluminium to make the body panels stiff and keep them light. After Rimowa’s rebranding in 2018, the company turned this functional element into a brand code. It simplified the ridge pattern and used it in its graphic design and across other products. Bottega Veneta has the second brand code I adore. Its Intrecciato weave pattern makes its handbags so recognizable that it doesn’t even need to use its logo. To someone unfamiliar with the brand, it’s invisible, but if you know it, it’s like a secret sign. That’s what makes brand codes so powerful. Like the Rimowa ridges, the weave has a functional origin. You get the pattern by cutting leather into thin strips and weaving them into a fabric again. Bottega Veneta wanted to make its leather goods soft and flexible. By cutting leather into strips, it becomes softer and more flexible. Instead of forming folds, it drapes elegantly. You have brands that need their logos to show that a product belongs to them. And then there are the really desirable brands that don’t want to be recognized by people who aren’t in the know. Those two brand codes are my favourites. But I dislike that both brands have started using them everywhere. Bottega Veneta now uses the weave on perfume bottles. It shows that it’s their perfume, without any functional need. Rimowa launched a leather goods line with ridges as the key identifier. Every time a brand code replaces the hard work of creating a recognizable design language, it loses me. Just look at the car brands struggling to find an identity without a massive front grille. If a brand code needs to work for the next hundred years, you can’t just invent it out of thin air. It has to have an origin. I’m sure your brand has many design elements that could become an incredible brand code. You have to find one and make it simple so your true fans become aware of it. Educate them about its origin and why it exists, and they’ll tell the story to everybody who wants to hear it. The brand codes I love have a functional origin, are as simple as possible, and are used sparingly to keep them rare. Together, they turn devoted customers into insiders and indifferent rich people who just buy trendy stuff into outsiders. True luxury has become less about logos and more about knowledge.