Identitet till salu : Träskons resa från vardagsföremål till varumärkt produkt

Sammanfattning: The broad aim of this essay is to examine the different variations of the wooden clog throughout the ages, beginning in the 13th century and moving onward to the present. Geographically speaking,the paper focuses on wooden clogs from western Europe and Sweden especially. The different versions of the wooden clog are presented chronologically and compared accordingly. As the analysis inches closer to the present-day clog, aspects of branding, commerce and advertising grow more relevant. Visual semiotics is used to analyse how certain messages are communicated through the design of the clogs in question. It is evident that not only the style of the wooden clog has changed throughout the years, but the shoes inherent meaning too. The present-day clog possesses (unlike its predecessors) a capacity to express the wearer’s identity, be it one’s gender or ancestry, by means of design.