Musings: The Greatness Ceiling

Our short musings on design, branding, business and the human condition.

You will never be able to create or provide something that’s better than the organization you’re working for. It doesn’t matter how brilliant your branding or how excellent the strategy is, the end results will only be as good as the company itself. Paul Rand probably said it better: “[A logo] derives its meaning and usefulness from the quality of that which it symbolizes. If a company is second rate, the logo will eventually be perceived as second rate.” If you can live within those confines, your best bet is to dive in and help make change alongside your client partners. If you believe it’s too hard to live under that ceiling, you’ll need to find better clients.

Musings: Getting There

Because fewer words are often more powerful, our musings are short thoughts on design, branding, business and the human condition.

Great work is hugely important, because it sets you apart, it gets results, maybe even wins awards. But how do you get there? If behind your successful outcomes lurks the wreckage of strained relationships, frustration, abused vendors, and shaking heads, is it worth it? You don’t want people describing your work with a caveat of “Yes, but…” People will remember the great work and results you do, but their most vivid memories will be how you treated people and went about your business — behind the curtain. That’s why it’s so crucial to reach your goals the right way.

Musings: Lawyer Up and Lose

These are short musings we’ve had on topics related to what we’re doing at Hexanine, in life, and beyond.

Lawyer Up and Lose

Scorching the landscape with C&Ds rarely wins you friends and probably hurts your brand image in the long run. Now that social media is maturing, we might even be able to measure how bad legal eagle actions affect the buzz around your organization. Maybe there’s a legal need to protect brand assets and preserve future profitability, but that needs to be weighed against the financial damage that turning brand fans into enemies can cause.

Musings: Authenticity

Because some insights are short and sweet, we’re adding something new to our writing. “Musings” will be some short thoughts we’ve had on topics related to what we’re doing at Hexanine, in life, and beyond.

Balancing Authenticity and Professionalism

It’s hard to be real and vulnerable, showing your mistakes and stepping out from behind the curtain of perceived perfection. This seems at odds with the cultural veneer of professionalism that we’ve come to expect from “the experts” in a field. But maybe showing a little bit of leg, revealing some of our humanity, doesn’t highlight our flaws as much as it reminds us of how much we are all alike.