Vega, an educational brand of The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE) was formed in 1999 in anticipation of the shift in the global paradigm. Conventional marketing and advertising moved toward a cohesion of design, branding and business. There was a reconfiguration of traditional platforms and an emergence of new ones. Brands became far more than just letters and logos, but powerful cultural forces shaping the world as we know it. Brands such as Google, Greenpeace and Apple lead the way. This change in the industry arose an urgent need to educate South Africa's most talented young minds, in preparation for this brave new world. A new school of thought was called for and Vega was born.