If you’ve flipped on the T.V. in the past couple days, you can’t help but know the Winter Olympics are happening in Vancouver.
Luge competitors use their muscles to command each turn of the course- no matter how subtle the movement- and rigidity is key. Skiers must maintain perfect parallel lines, not to mention move their bodies with impeccable precision when jumping- becoming one with their skis. Snowboarders seem to defy gravity as they fly, round impossible turns and stop flawlessly- all while keeping their bodies in line with their boards.
Maybe the most fascinating of all is the figure skating competition- pairs, to be exact. The point of the event is for two people to move as one- in perfect unison. They are judged on the lines their bodies form, the strength of a hold, the stickiness of a landing, the synchronization of a quadruple axel. Whether he’s lifting her high above his head, or swinging her low against the ice, her body exudes grace and… yes, perfectly straight limbs.
There are lots of events, including luge, alpine skiing, snowboarding, inline skating, figure skating, and more. These fierce competitors are in amazing athletic shape; after all, it’s the position of their bodies that determine their success. It’s all about lines.
In any of the Winter Game events, if even one of these lines is off, it’s cause for penalty. Even a little wobble or scribble can cause a mistake- and ultimately a medal. You can obviously tell when a performance has been done well; it looks flawless and graceful. Same with design. It’s obvious when principle rules have been applied with restraint and purpose- the work flows… with grace, and straight lines.
Design is an integral part of the Olympic Games; the best athletes in the world are the best at forming perfect lines. The best designers are perhaps most adept at the very same thing.
You drew very detailed sketches of your family in the backyard when you were three, discovered photoshop, learned about ascender and descender characters, and cross strokes when you were in high school. You were hooked up with a spot on the yearbook committee, and worked some magic with layout. Soon, you were flipping through a course catalog trying to decide your college major. That’s when you saw it. Graphic Design. Could it be? The thing you’d always considered your hobby was actually a legit career option?
Four years later, you’ve graduated college, developed a portfolio of impressive (albeit beginner) projects, finished up your first internship, and are getting ready to spread your wings at an agency downtown…
Okay, so maybe that’s not exactly how it happened to you… but for a lot of people, initial career choices don’t live up to expectations.
Some just fall into their career paths. Take Steven Heller, for example. He’s an art director, but that wasn’t always his goal.
“Art direction was not exactly my calling. It was more of a beckoning. I wanted passionately to be a humorous illustrator but the joke was on me. While I was a successful class clown, my drawing skills never equaled my innate wit (or lack thereof). So if I wanted to have any semblance of a career in commercial art, which I did, I needed to transcend my failing and find an alternative path to fulfillment.”*
Heller began with ambitions of becoming a cartoonist, recognized it wasn’t going to happen and adjusted his goals. He kept his focus in the art industry, and ended up in a career that until recently hasn’t been concretely defined. He’s even helped write a book to help do so.
On the flip side, illustrator Matthew Daley knew from day one he wanted to be a cartoonist.
“When I was in the 8th grade I developed a large comic book buying habit. Two books in particular that blew me away around this time were “The Dark Knight Returns” by Frank Miller and “The Shadow” as illustrated by Kyle Baker. I loved to draw from a young age, but by the time I’d become that serious comics nerd, I decided that’s all I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”
Others think they’ve landed their dream job, only to find out more exciting opportunities lurk around the corner.
Saul Bass, one of the great graphic designers of the mid-20th century, began as a commercial artist in New York City. After developing a strong desire for freedom in his creativity, he moved to Los Angeles and opened up his own advertising studio. There, he was asked to design a movie poster. That went so well he was asked to design an entire movie sequence. The next thing he knew he was creating animated movies and working with Martin Scorsese on a cinematic career path.
Let one path lead you down another if you’re uncertain where the road ends. In the creative field, the more experience you have in work and life will only make you a more skilled professional. It’s how you acquire taste.
Common wisdom might tell you that your brand should embrace everyone. All demographics, all walks of life. Common wisdom is usually wrong…
It’s better to form a brand with a strong stance toward a particular market than try to touch everyone. It’s better to alienate some for the benefit of others. It seems we use Apple as an example for every other post on this blog, but we’re going to do it again.
Apple’s brand alienates a lot of the core tech world. The company preaches simplicity, and “it just works.” This is irritating and intimidating to the millions of businesses around the world who depend on your technology being tough to understand- fiddly. Your gadgets need explaining or fixing = job security. Apple takes that security away.
Apple chose to leave out a huge part of their potential audience to concentrate on better pleasing the other. Devices like the iPad are polarizing because it is specifically not designed, or marketed towards some people. But those the product and campaign are directed toward will love it all the more. If Apple tried to please and market to both crowds, they would have failed at both.
MTV has decided to make a change to their logo by nixing the “Music Television” bit.
The MTV logo has been universally recognized since its ideological inception some 29 years ago. But back then, the station actually played music videos- something it hasn’t done for a while now.
Maybe you miss seeing your favorite videos on television… but that’s what the Internet’s for, right? The Internet lets you view nearly any video you want in just a couple of seconds- the days of waiting for your favorite show to come on were practically over with the invention of DVR anyway.
“The people who watch it today, they don’t refer to MTV as music television. They don’t have the same emotional connection that, say, the people who are writing about [the logo change] do,” MTV’s head of marketing Tina Exarhos said. Indeed, The Wrap called it “a minor change with major symbolism,” while The Hollywood Reporter wrote having “music television” in the old logo was “a constant reminder that MTV was branding itself one way, programming itself another.”- LATimes.
So while it’s sometimes risky to undergo a logo redesign because of rebranding issues, this time it makes perfect sense. The station evolved long ago, and now it’s time for the corporate branding to do the same.