The phrase, told to him by his momma, was a metaphor for life. Here was this man, with limited mental capacity, meeting life’s challenges with a sense of simplicity, courage and imagination that many adults would envy.
So many things are metaphors for life…including designing a logo.
Hands down, designing logos are my favorite type of design project to do for nonprofits because I get the opportunity to take something really complex (an organization) and create something really elegant and simple to represent them. Today, the logo process is even more integrated with branding. (Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign understands this which is why they commissioned a logo from famed NYC designer Michael Bierut. Check out this article I wrote about it.)
In the process of designing many logos over the last 25 years, there are 3 things I have learned that can be applied to life:
#1
First impressions are important.
Have you ever heard people say ‘don’t judge a book by its cover?’ In truth, it would be nice if we followed this advice but in all honestly, we cannot and we do not. First impressions are a form of quick judgement when we don’t have time to thoroughly evaluate…which seems most of the time. Sometimes we are right…and sometimes wrong. A first impression does not tell the whole story but we hope that our judgment is mostly right. LOL The best way to leave a good impression is to be clear and consistent.
[tweetthis]Any nonprofit that cares about their mission and vision cares about the look and use of their logo.[/tweetthis] If you don’t, you should. Why? Because consumers will see your logo and make quick judgments until more information is obtained. The gap between a judgment and getting the relevant info can be small or freaking huge. So, organizations want simplicity and consistency built into how their logo is designed and presented to influence perception. You can see this part of the process before and after logo iterations. This phrase I borrowed from global branding firm Siegel and Gale’s website sums it up: Great brands are simple ones.
A brand’s first impression should not be convoluted and hard to understand. In March 2015, Tidal made this grave mistake when introducing their music streaming service to American customers. During their press conference, JayZ announced that the service would help indie artists yet only multi-millionaire artists were on the stage. What first impression did this leave?
#2
Quantity is not synonymous with quality
We live in an era where choice is seen as the highest good. We have elections to choose our candidates and supermarkets sell us endless choices of cold cereal. These aren’t necessarily bad things depending on how they affect our health and environment but focusing too much on quantity can downplay excellence and distinction. (Seriously General Mills. You know there is no difference between Coco Puffs and Count Chocola.) I know this because I grew up in poverty not having certain things. But once I acquired my degrees and began to acquire ‘stuff’ as an adult, I realized early that having a lot of things did not improve my quality of life.
[tweetthis]In the logo design process, we are mistaken if we think that more ideas will always produce better quality.[/tweetthis] Its possible but its more of a crap shoot than a deliberate process. (This is why I dont agree with crowdsourcing logos.) In my earlier years as a designer, I accommodated my client’s need for endless sketches. Now? I have clear clauses in the contract that dictates the number of iterations. I dont want my skill being seen as a commodity that is based on quantity. Who wants to fall into an endless cycle of sketching? The further one goes, the more unreasonable the demands and the further you move from the original intent. A designer is now in danger of offering mediocre ideas. ‘He who dies with the most toys, wins’ is a poor metaphor for life and logo design. The number of iterations should be directly based on the size of the organization, the deadline, the leadership structure and how much branding needs to be done…not on someone’s personal need to have more. Oh, and it should also be based on one more thing: The trust the client has in your skill and experience. As a designer, are you a dime a dozen or do you bring something unique to the table?
#3
Discernment doesn’t come from fools
I recently spent a few months reading through the Book of Proverbs in the Bible. It is basically a collection of sayings attributed to King Solomon on how to acquire wisdom and avoid pitfalls. The word ‘wisdom’ shows up a lot but so does ‘discern.’ Discernment is about learning to make distinctions between right and wrong but we also know that situations aren’t always black and white. I noticed in this book that fools never have wisdom nor discernment. They are impulsive (14:16), argumentative (20:3) dont learn from their mistakes (26:11) and many other negative traits.
In the logo design process, it takes a certain kind of discernment to handle client’s responses to your ideas and guide them through the process. Sometimes there are several people representing the client. I am grateful for the class critiques while attending The University of the Arts. It taught me to not take critiques personal, how to respond and in some cases, who to ignore. You won’t be in business long if you are thin skinned.
This is why Emotional Intelligence is very useful. It helps one know when to employ soft skills and how to differentiate between legitimate emotions and irrational ones. My skill of ‘reading’ people came through childhood experiences as an introvert. But a real breakthrough happened when I realized as a teen that I did not have to simply adjust myself to someone else’s personality. I could also influence them. We can all act like a fool, sometimes. But if you perceive that the ‘fool quotient’ is high in a potential client/designer, walk away. If you only see it after the contract is signed, I hope you have enough clauses in the contract to keep certain behaviors in check. In short, don’t turn off your BS detector.
If life or a client is unpredictable, it is important to have the necessary skills to respond. It took many mistakes for me to learn this and there is no guarantee how things will turn out. But I would not trade what I have learned for anything else because I see how my experiences translate across different areas. In the meantime, onto the next logo design!!
What have you learned from your mistakes as a designer? Nonprofits, what have you learned from working with designers? Thanks for taking the time to read this article. Your shares, likes and comments are appreciated.