Leadership

Friday, August 5, 2016

See this Instagram photo by @_leeclowsbeard * 24 likes

_leeclowsbeard on Instagram by Jason Fox inspired by Lee Clow. 

What is the purpose of a logo?

Brian Solis continuing a conversation about logos, after it was discovered that a few modern logos look a lot like logos from a design book: 

Without purpose, a logo is merely design. If it’s borrowed or if it’s completely original, it makes no difference if it’s unrelatable. In the end, a meaningful logo is a symbol of what you stand for and what you aspire to do or be that attracts me to stand with you. It’s how you bring that purpose and meaning to life, in every moment of truth, that shapes my experience.

Style Over Everything

99u:

From the earliest age, we’re taught to strive for perfection. We’re supposed to attend the best schools, get straight A’s, and win Olympic gold medals while we’re at it. To achieve this, we need to have impeccable grades, flawless technique, and unmatchable skills. Once in a while, our society makes a half-hearted attempt to say, “be who you are,” but it’s usually within the context of a winner’s story — someone who wasn’t pitch perfect on paper but still ended up on top anyway.

Talk to career artists and art directors, however, and they’ll tell you that the key to getting commissions and hired full-time isn’t artistic perfection — it’s artistic expression. Those that hire creative talent want, and pay handsomely for one-of-a-kind voices that shock, provoke, scream, joke, and wow — even if they are a little messy at times. Speaking in your own voice is the smartest thing you can do to distinguish yourself from the crowd. And let’s be honest, it’s much more fun. Someone can always come along and be a “better” artist than you, but no one can take away your style. It’s defensible, something you can lean back on regardless of trends and something you can sell that others can’t (one-of-a-kind = more valuable!).

There's nothing more boring than perfect. 

Meet The Man Who Saved Apple

Patrick Hanlon profiles Craig Tanimoto for Forbes:

Lee Clow, Chiat/Day’s worldwide creative director and one of the creators of ‘1984’ came into the room. He walked along the walls looking at ideas, pausing at some and totally dismissing others. He was looking very quickly to get an overview of the work. When he came up to Tanimoto’s campaign he stopped and looked.

He turned to Tanimoto and said. “Shouldn’t it be ‘Think Differently’?”

“No,” answered Tanimoto.

Clow thought about it for a minute and agreed. “You’re right.” He turned to the group and announced, “Everyone’s working on this. I want to blow this execution out.”

The Fracking of Attention

Martin Weigel, Head of Planning at Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, has written a keenly observed essay on the role we play everyday in, well, fracking people's attentions: 

So attention is personal – what we attend to defines our reality.

Attention is finite – it is a scarce and thus valuable resource – not just to those who wish to monetise it, but to those to whom it belongs.

And attention is hackable – the world is overpopulated with those skilled in the art of capturing and redirecting attention for their own purposes.

Surely then, we have a responsibility – dare one say, an ethical duty – to the audience.

And to the attention we see to hack.