The Fundamental 3: Dynamic - Versatile - Personal

To kick-off my blogging, after a 4-month break, I thought I would start by talking about MIT Media Lab's logo - I know, ironic, considering this blog is called More Than A Logo, but that's why I want to talk about this logo in particular.

MIT Media Lab's logo is one with an algorithm that creates 40,000 permutations and 12 colour combinations, which supplies the lab with approximately 25 years worth of personalised logos! So really, MIT Media Lab has realised that their brand is more than A logo.

This is not the first of flexible and adaptable logos, consider the logo Wolff Olins created for Aol. a few years ago. But what I like about these dynamic logos is that they reflect the importance in not being precious about your logo, or even your brand for that matter.

Brands, today, need to be dynamic and flexible to continually remain relevant in their market. As technology continues to rapidly change, it becomes easier for new, agile competitors to enter the market and change the rules of the game. So, existing brands need to find ways to break routine, process, and the overall mind-set of '...but this is how we've been doing it for 25 years' to stay ahead of these new entrants and even be daring enough to reinvent the market themselves!

Technology has also made it easier for people to influence and define brands based on their interactions and subsequent conversations about them within their networks. This is not new news, but the level to which their impact has been amplified is new and cannot be ignored.

So, what MIT Media Lab's logo can teach us, is that today's brands need to be:

1. Dynamic - never fearing change, rather embracing it and leading the way
2. Versatile - don't be bound by bureaucracy, routine or 'it's the way we do things' process
3. Personal - avoid being generic, and become something relevant  to individuals 

To ensure all of this can happen, there needs to be, like MIT Media Lab's logo, an algorithm at the heart driving the organisation together at one, so that no matter how many variations of bringing to life the brand it still talks, walks and looks like the same organisation - and that algorithm is the brand audacious noble purpose - the reason it exists, and why it will remain in existence.

I'm Back!

There's a saying in the agency world - 'Always be pitching' - and that is just what I have been doing. So after a rather intense 4 months of pitching with a rewarding win and even a graduation speech back in Canada to 2000 people, I'm back and ready to start blogging again.

Just as these past busy 4 months kicked off, I read an amazing HBR article mentioning how stress isn't the enemy. It mentioned how, like physical training, it's important to push yourself out of your comfort zone and challenge your mind to feel truly engaged, but then intentionally take time after to rest and restore to then be able to amp your ability even further going forward.

So, this time, rather than to just keep going, I took two weeks to find time and focus on my daily projects, run, sleep through an entire evening, take in some exhibits and read. This restoration period was very intentional, and it has worked!

Yesterday, during my run, I found that my brain was suddenly full of inspiration and thoughts for blog posts. But these thoughts wouldn't have been planted had I not pushed myself so hard these past 4 months, and then took the time to rest and let all my thoughts subconsciously come together.

I really challenge anyone to push themselves to be uncomfortable and think hard about problems they haven't solved before, or try to solve a challenge in half the time. Then take time to purposefully relax and rejuvenate - let your mind wonder and have all the things you've been thinking about come together forming clarity of mind. It's rather nice.

Needless to say, I'm excited to start blogging again :)