ISSUE 014:
What are the mechanisms that raise people, places, or things to become icons?
I’ve been fascinated by the moment of shift - when a sleepy coffee shop becomes a buzzing community hub, when a casual social hour morphs into a full-fledged cultural trend, or when a humble neighborhood store turns into a must-see destination.
To understand these transformations, we have to go beyond branding or surface-level appeal. These shifts are driven by meaning, relevance, and emotional resonance. They emerge when something once utilitarian takes on symbolic and cultural weight - when it begins to fulfill not just a need, but a narrative.
At a foundational level, human behavior is motivated by biological impulses: sustenance, safety, sex. But layered on top of those are deeper desires - curiosity, connection, belonging. As society evolves, so do the forms these desires take. That evolution gives rise to movements, aesthetics, and modern “tribes.”
Let’s explore how this transformation unfolds, stage by stage.
Stage 1: Function (Utility)
Every icon begins with utility. A gym helps people exercise. A bar serves drinks. A coffee shop provides caffeine and a place to work.
But younger generations - especially Gen Z and Millennials - are far more intentional in how they assign value. Function alone isn’t enough. They weigh cultural alignment, identity, and values alongside utility. As a result, we’ve seen a cultural reevaluation of formerly mundane spaces.
Take fitness, for example. What used to be purely functional - lifting weights or hitting a treadmill has evolved. Today, boutique gyms, run clubs, and wellness studios are becoming social epicenters. These aren’t just places to sweat; they’re spaces where people seek identity, community, and even romance. Many now refer to run clubs as the new dating scene. Why? Because they offer more than exercise - they offer connection, curated around shared values like health, ambition, and self-improvement.
Stage 2: Gathering (Community)
What makes something truly sticky - what turns utility into culture - is the act of gathering.
Unlike past generations, who found community in churches, workplaces, or neighborhoods, today's adults often have to construct their own tribes. Lockdowns and remote work only intensified this need. As institutions falter or fragment, many seek out “third spaces” - neither home nor work, but something in between. These become the new meeting grounds, chosen with care and often laden with shared meaning.
We no longer fall into community by default - we opt into it. And when people regularly return to a place not just for what it offers, but for who it attracts, the location begins to transform. It becomes a container for identity formation. This marks a major shift from how community functioned just a generation ago. As people challenge our nations fundamental structures, values, morals and ethics, forming subsidiary communities across the vast digital landscape, the pillars that once supported community have eroded or have gone into question.
In our atomized society, community isn't inherited - it's constructed. Places evolve when they align with both cultural relevance and human need. The transition happens not in the physical structure, but in the perception and emotional connection people form with it. When a space begins to serve more than its original function - inspiring, connecting, or representing something larger - it transforms. It becomes a symbol, a brand, a cultural beacon. Over time, frequent participants begin to internalize the places or experiences as part of their personal identity and the more business-savvy providers of those services then capitalize on them.
Stage 3: Identity Formation
At this point, what was once a place becomes a platform. It’s no longer just a yoga studio or run club - it’s a lifestyle brand. And in the era of social media, identity is something we not only shape, but perform.
Platforms like Instagram and TikTok reward aesthetic alignment. Wearing the right gear, posting the right photo, showing up in the right place - encourage curating and broadcasting your identity - signaling who you are and what you stand for. People begin to buy products or attend events not only for their features, but for what they represent. Being part of a movement gives those people something to post about - a metaphorical megaphone that projects and advertises those peoples values, lifestyle, and interests.
Because of the vast levels of information now known about companies and those who work within them, transparency and authentic values become paramount. Consumers don’t just care about what a brand sells; they want to know who is behind it, and why it exists. In turn, brands that resonate on a values level thrive - not because of advertising, but because they tap into the collective need for meaning with those products becoming an expression of their identity.
These trends reveal a kind of spiritual vacancy - not in the religious sense alone, but in the broader sense of collective meaning, shared ritual, and belief-based belonging. The experience begins to stand for something beyond itself. Aesthetic and ideology converge. What I think is happening, as foundational systems falter or get scrutinized, people turn from the larger collective mindset away towards subsidiary communities - often niche, sometimes fleeting, and frequently within the digital space.
Because those collective identity has diminished, our field of influence becomes catered towards what we want rather than what is - so we project what we feel rather than accept what we are. More people seek to find, affirm, and reinforce their individualism with the hopes that projecting those thoughts and ideas will help them find other like-minded individuals. This results in a form of recent mindset I call oxymoronic tribalism.
“I want to be different like everyone else.”
“We are united because of our differences.”
Stage 4: Symbolism
This is where tribalism kicks in. A logo or ritual becomes shorthand for an entire belief system. That boutique gym? It’s not just about fitness anymore - it now signals ambition, discipline, even moral alignment with the logos and icons associated to those people becoming the signals that project their ideals. Participation becomes a form of performance, and what was once niche becomes a badge of honor.
Ironically, many of these movements evolve alongside satire, remix, or rejection. Gen Z in particular plays with symbols, often flipping them for humor or rebellion. Cottagecore, for example, emerged partly as a nostalgic counterweight to hustle culture. It romanticizes simplicity while serving as quiet protest.
In this phase, ideology and aesthetic converge, creating a layered experience that allows people to feel part of something larger, even as they express individuality.
Stage 5: Movement
Eventually, once the symbolism resonates deeper, the message spreads wide enough and the emotional charge is strong enough, symbolism becomes momentum. The experience morphs into a movement. It’s no longer just something people enjoy - it’s something they live by. The concept now has an emotional gravity, its aesthetics and values have been adopted by a community and it becomes a reference point, not just an experience. This is where the concept “tips,” in Malcolm Gladwell’s sense. A brand becomes a belief. A trend becomes a subculture. The personal becomes political, cultural, or commercial. People don’t just like it—they feel it.
Social media amplifies this process, turning micro-experiences into macro-movements. Algorithms accelerate what feels resonant. Memes spread values. Hashtags organize identity. And as more people align with a cause, product, or lifestyle, the icon emerges—charged with history, emotion, and collective energy.
In conclusion, we live in an age where individualism and tribalism exist side by side—what I call “oxymoronic tribalism.”
“I want to be different like everyone else.”
“We are united because of our differences.”
As traditional institutions lose their grip, people turn toward micro-communities that reflect their curated selves. In doing so, they assign extraordinary value to the ordinary. The coffee shop becomes a statement. The gym becomes a sanctuary. The playlist becomes an identity.
In the end, icons are not born—they’re built, collectively, emotionally, and often unconsciously. They are mirrors for our aspirations and symbols of what we seek most: connection, meaning, and belonging.
-CB
Utility → Community → Identity → Symbolism → Movement
Utility: The base function (coffee, exercise, clothing)
Community: When people begin gathering around that function
Identity: When people see themselves reflected in it
Symbolism: When the place/person/thing starts representing values beyond itself
Movement: When this symbolism catalyzes broader change or replication
Psychological & Sociological Lens
Dig into theories of:
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – How spaces satisfy deeper psychological needs.
Baudrillard’s Simulacra – The idea of places becoming more symbolic than real.
Tribalism and Identity Formation – People don’t just go to a place;
they join a lifestyle.
How to Expand: Tie these theories back to the evolution of social spaces and consumer behavior.
Contrast Across Generations
Examine generational shifts in where and why people gather:
Boomers and malls vs. Gen Z and co-working cafés.
Fitness as a status symbol among millennials.
The shift from nightlife to “daylife” (brunch, yoga, juice bars).
How to Expand: Use surveys, studies, or anecdotal evidence to highlight changing values over time.
“This place is hands down the coolest spot!"
Great selection of unique products and a wonderful staff.
Reading between the lines. Running beyond the tracks. Adventure Running in Nature’s Playground