Daddy always told me “when you know you’re great at your craft, you’d be exceptional at explaining it to anyone”. The first time I heard him make this statement was on the prompting of a question I’d asked while we listened to the 1950 song titled “Mona Lisa” by legendary Afro-American singer, jazz pianist and songwriter, Nat King Cole.
The Mona Lisa is a painting made by the famous Italian Renaissance artist, Leonardo DaVinci. It is one of the most valuable paintings in the world that’s has that’s currently worth over $870 million in insurance valuation.. So how was Mr Cole able to gracefully pour out his sonorous voice to sing about the painting of a woman like she were alive and could hear every single word? All the wiser now; since questioning my dad, to put the answer simply, it’s the result of superior craftsmanship.
Recently, a friend sent me a Whatsapp message asking that I suggest what the logo for two companies he’s about to launch in the UK should look like.
I said: (company name), I will immediately think of a Black horse but then, what should be the character expression of the horse? Should it be in motion or a definitive poise? Should it even be a horse? The nature and business purpose of the company stated in a brief would help determine and influence research and design thinking towards what’s best in terms of design. I suggest a brief is prepared.
For (company name), maybe the design should try to achieve the effect of a smile rather than be a smile. The most popular smile expressive logo is that of Amazon. And Amazon as a word doesn’t connote a smile but a smile is used. That’s because the nature of the business or its philosophical intent inspired the creative approach to use a smile.
Abstraction is the hardest thing to explain. Like, think about explaining the meaning of “What” to a 5-year-old. If you’re diligent about your craft, you too can explain something others consider difficult because of abstraction. It’s how you stand before kings and not mean men.
