Face in a Crowd

We’re bombarded with images in a constant and unrelenting pace every minute of a every day. You need look no further than your medicine cabinet when you reach for your toothbrush in the morning or stagger toward your Italian coffee maker for that first cup. There is a logo there. I guarantee it.

When I was but a wee little one, I recall drawing intently at the kitchen table. I probably said to my mother that “I really like to draw” at some point. I did. I really liked it. So much so I would get into trouble for drawing in my history class or my math class (which explains my low aptitude for mathematics).

When I expressed my love of drawing to my mother she said that maybe I could become a commercial artist. The term intrigued me. Commercial Artist I thought. An artist that draws … commercials? She explained. They’re artists that draw the art on things like cereal boxes or the signs on buildings. They make the photographs for magazines. Ah. At that point I began to notice just how many things in my everyday life needed artwork. There were a lot.

Flash forward and I am indeed a “commercial artist” although the term is a bit outdated now. I’d like to think I create the face for a product, the first impression of a brand. My goal is to make sure that face has purpose and direction. That it never gets caught on a bad hair day. There are a number of designers and photographers cranking out logos and stock en masse. Microstock agencies can set you up with a large photo for about 5 bucks. There is even do-it-yourself logo creation software that will magically create your brand identity with a few key strokes. Bad idea unless you don’t care how your company is perceived. Perception = Reality

Seth Godin writes in his latest blog that a logo says nothing until the brand fills it with something. I may agree a little. I do feel that the equity of a brand and of the brand’s mark is dependant upon how well it is marketed and the amount of emotional connection it creates with the consumer.

As I have said many times, good design and photography may very well be invisible but bad art is rarely overlooked.

~ by Gary Allard on June 6, 2007.