I write this post on a sad note. This week we lost the great Chico Hamilton. His life was as broad as his sound. The quality of his music was only rivaled by his personality. Spending time with Chico was a kick. Through one person I could jam with Duke Ellington as a high school student, create a new sound with Gerry Mulligan, write film scores and discover the new talent Eric Dolphy– through Chico it felt like zero degrees of separation from it all. When remembering Chico, there is way too much to cover in this space but this will give you some sense of the man I am privileged to have known. “I Create a space and expect them to fill it” I was hanging in Chico’s apartment during a photo shoot for his Believe album. I asked him how he managed so many great artists in his band over the years—Dexter Gordon, Ron Carter, Eric Dolphy, Charles Lloyd, Jim Hall, Gabor Szabo, Larry Coryell and Eric Person to name a few. His answer was simple. “Look man, I create a space for people to fill and I expect them to fill it, you dig. If they do, the sky’s the limit. Think of Eric (Dolphy), he wrote two albums of mine because he was growing.” Nough said. This idea is an ongoing philosophy of mine for my life, my employees and partners. I think of the ideal creative firm as a jazz group that improvises and shares ideas that each members picks up and grows. Soloists within a unit. You demonstrate you can do it, go man go! “You are the Circus” I once asked Chico how he did it. How did he create such a vast volume of albums and sounds over so many years? How did he grow and adapt? His answer speaks volumes. “Man, you remember when you were a kid and your parents took you to the circus. You think its the greatest thing you ever saw. Well, if your lucky in life, you realize you are the circus.” Everyday I am reminded that we are all crazy. Once you accept it, you can just roll. “Shit yeah, shit yeah!” I knew Chico had a production company, so I asked him about the audio-brand he created for Cadillac. Following is my best recollection. “Man, they gave me a Cadillac and told me to drive around in it and see what sounds come to mind.” I asked how he came up with the “ci cha chi cha chi cha,” sound—an audio brand that represented Cadillac for decades. Chico’s reply, “man, that was easy, I’m driving a Cadillac, Shit Yeah!, Shit Yeah!, Shit Yeah!” My life lesson: Go with your gut. Originality is simply a fresh pair of eyes! -DRK
Protection, team work, support. Ruffin, a California based insurance company, approached OTTO to create their new brand. The brand position is based on an agency that treats customers like people, the kind of organization that grows with you, takes the time to understand your needs and stands by you. The final solution grew out of this notion of collaboration and trust. A smile during a complicated decision. A person that sits at the table with you. A team that is there when you need them. Brand Development / Marketing
I remember a discussion I had a while back with my friend Gus—who is from the Dominican Republic—about the U.S. Dollar. I was saying how nice I thought the Dominican currency was compared to the crappy the U.S. design. Gus pulled a U.S. Dollar out of his pocket, kissed it and said, “I love this money, it’s the most beautiful money in the world. Everybody wants it.”Here is a link to a selection of redesigns of U.S. currency by the Dollar ReDe$ign Project. The big question: is the brand equity in U.S. currency too great to change the design? There is no question that some of the work is quite nice, so I’m hoping that the mission statement for the competition is tongue-in-cheek. If not, I have some beautiful swamp land in Florida that I would like to show these guys. See below: “It seems so obvious to us that the ‘only’ realistic way for a swift economic recovery is through a thorough, in-depth, rebranding scheme – starting with the redesign of the iconic US Dollar – it’s the ‘only’ pragmatic way to add some realistic stimulation into our lives! Therefore, you must take part and we really want to see what YOU would do.” If they are serious, then this is the stuff that gives branding a bad name. When brand professionals pretend to be business strategists it does more damage than good. Over the years I have helped many CEOs and businesses communicate and realize their strategies. To pretend that a new brand alone can change a company or industry problem, turns branding into snake-oil.
Everyone is looking for a guaranteed process for innovation. Today, creative thinking is being taught everywhere from elite business schools to marketing workshops. The problem is this:
There is no guaranteed process for innovation.
Of course, there are tips and steps that can generate ideas, but it’s the spaces in between where the interesting things can happen. The key issue is that any rigid methodology leaves out creative connections and happy accidents. The designer’s search for the ultimate solution is what opens the door for creative epiphanies. In the business world, everyone is looking for a 5 step process to innovative thinking. As designers, we know that the creative journey is never a sure thing. Those of us schooled in design, trust the process and know that it works, albeit sometimes scary.
The new commodification of the design process extends beyond corporations. Big design firms have been overrun by brand strategists, who justify every creative move with a statistic. The real pros know that the design process needs to influence the strategic process and vice versa. As one of my colleagues, brand strategist Alan Brew, said, “I spend most of my life post-rationalizing great design.” This does not mean that Alan does not go through the proper due diligence in developing a strategy. It means that he values the creative process of design as a means to inform the strategy. Designers need to help drive the process, otherwise you end up with an “off-the-rack mentality” that leads to the same predictable solutions.
There is a great quote about the design process in a book The Universal Traveler, by Don Koberg and Jim Bagnall. It goes, “You can climb a tree, and walk out on the limb but you will never learn to fly, unless you jump.”
Over the last couple of years Artisan is a word that has slowly crept into my life. I have consumed artisan water, artisan beer, artisan bologna, artisan bread, artisan cheese, artisan chicken and artisan bourbon. We’ve purchased artisan blankets, artisan baskets, linens and laundry detergent.
The term artisan has come to represent “simplicity and craft”. It captures the idea of creating products in a manner that respects traditional methods and raises the process of making them, to an art form. My wife and I first encountered the word at farmers’ markets – baked goods, organic wool, soda pop, etc. Over time it has become a catch phrase for anything that is “natural”, “premium” and aimed at The mid- to high-end market.
So when a new Artisan Restaurant opened two blocks from our apartment, my wife and I greeted it with dubious interest. As it came together, we saw signs for artisan chicken, bread and desserts, all things that we love to eat—whether we like it or not, we fit the demographic. Unfortunately, when we entered the restaurant, we found nothing but a fancy deli. Yes the employees’ matching knit shirts and khaki pants are nice and I’m sure that the proprietors go to great lengths to create their products but it got me to wondering, what other industries could benefit from the title Artisan.
Artisan Cabs
For years pedi-cabs have been trying to make it in New York. Unfortunately their pedestrian pace, steep fares and lets not forget, weather, have limited their appeal. If they were called Artisan Cabs, the focus would turn to a traditional, uncluttered means of propulsion. “Back to a better time, when people strolled and the days were long.”
Artisan Medallions
In this age of digital technology, the concept of a physical object as a means of payment, seems quite novel. This is the platform from which we can re-launch the use of subway tokens. Aimed at tourists, these little pieces of old New York will allow tourists to: “relive the days of yesteryear; a time when things were simpler and kids could loose only one fair at a time.”
Artisan Musical Plectrum
“Why take it with you when you can sit at home, sip ice tea and listen to music the way your grandfather did. No phones, no digital devices, just a plastic disc, turntable, receiver, speakers and constant source of electric current. If you like this one, you may also be interested in a Artisan Stereo Furniture Console – let’s put the communal back into music.”
Artisan Electric
This one might be going out on a limb but if we called wind power and solar energy Artisan Power, we may be able to get people to pay a premium for it. “Live the pre-industrial revolution way while maintaining all of the comforts of modern living. No burning, no steam, just nature and you.”
Artisan Phones
No list would be complete without the most popular means of modern connectivity – the mobile device. Go back to the days when a phone was a phone and mail meant paper, stamps, trucks, men and dogs going postal. AND for those who wish to return to the pre-push button days, you can purchase the special add-on feature, The Artisan Rotary Communicator.”
This is just a short list. If you wish to share your thoughts, please visit our facebook page (www.facebook.com/OTTONY) and contribute your suggestions.
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The perfect soul and jazz mix to help you deal with those end of the summer blues.
Tracklist
In honor of our San Francisco summer, here's some gloomy dark-wave, with just a sparkle of hopefulness to it. And an ultimate guilty pleasure.
Feeding Tony’s Yacht Rock jones we are featuring a special streaming summer mix.
Featuring:
“whatever you wanna call it… It’s smooth as hell and makes me smile.”
-Shawn Lee
We love our neighborhood block! Thanks to Abracadabra NYC for the rad space suit!
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