Are people crazy to drop $499 or more on a product they've never seen or touched in person? In the case of the iPad, the answer is no, because consumers are buying into the Apple brand as much as they're buying a new computing device. Brand expert Simon Spence explains why.

In last week's article, "The Branding of Apple: Apple's Intangible Asset," I looked at Apple's brand and what sort of reactions it evokes from consumers

In the first of these articles I looked at the basics of brands and the way a brand is separate from both the company and the company's products. This week I'll take a closer look at Apple's brand and the values behind it. Design Supports the Brand -- Throughout Apple's history, groundbreaking design has played a key role

Branding is big business at the start of the 21st century. We are constantly drawn to (or repelled from) images and messages from companies who ask us to believe them, join them, or react to their products in a certain way