Branding Whiteboard
- Brandon Wick
- Heather Kirksey
This is the space to add any and all branding ideas as we pull together the Creative Brief and then finalize the logo and branding elements.
"A brand is a living entity, and it is enriched or undermined over time, the product of a thousand small gestures." – Michael Eisner
This is the opportunity to express who we are at each and every opportunity.
https://www.seattlekrakenhockey.com/
Saul Bass AT&T Logo:
Saul Bass Bell Systems Branding Video:
From Miracle (the movie about the 1980 US Men's Olympic Hockey team, who won because of teamwork):
"All star teams fail because they rely solely on individual talent. My goal is to harness talent for the betterment of the team."
"I'm not looking for the best players, I'm looking for the right ones."
I know this line has the potential to be inflammatory, but I think it's apt. In the telecom industry we often suffer from the knowledge that our ability to recruit is limited because we're not the hottest employers or the sexiest workplaces, and yet we still build communications infrastructure that enables the whole world. We don't need to have "brilliant asshole" envy; what we need to do is build the right temas with the right range and breadth of skillset. What we need is team chemistry, because with that, we will triumph.
"You want to settle old scores? You're on the wrong team. We move forward starting now. Skating, passing, flow, creativity, that is what this team is all about, not old rivalries."
We sometimes discount the importance and relevance of creativity in our work, especially when we focus on things like requirements, reference integrations, conformance, and testing. And yet the creativity involved in doing this well, efficiently, and beautifully is something that sets us apart. Let us acknowledge and celebrate the deep creativity involved in our work. When combined with discipline, it is unstoppable.
"What's your name? Where are you from? Who do you play for?"
"Win, lose, or tie, you're going to play like champions."
"We were taxiing out to the runway and we kind of hit a moose."
We have encountered a number of unexpected obstacles, some of them absolutely ludicrous. We bond through these experiences and we become a stronger team. And we carry those stories and we experience joy and wisdom in the telling of them.
"The rest of the world is afraid. We won't be."
There is is much anger and diplomatic unrest between the countries who make up our member companies. At our global political levels, our world reacts with nationalistic fear. As an open source community we make a choice to be better and greater and transcend this fear. We treat each other with compassion, respect, and trust. That is our strength.
"The important thing is that in 20 years, they know they didn't leave anything on the table and they played their hearts out. That's the important thing."
"Great moments are born in great opportunity, and that's what you have here. That's what you've earned here. You were born to be hockey players, every one of you. This is your time. Now go out there and take it."
We are in a moment of opportunity for ourselves, our companies, and our ecosystem. We were born to work, to make hard decisions, to look to each other as a team. We were born to build networks, networks that can change the course of small (in number, but never in importance) individual lives, and to change the larger world. We play, we sweat, we breathe, and most of all we demonstrate what it means to be a collective. We can do this, we will do this; it is our duty and it is our gift. In this moment we will not only effect this meld but participate in the transformation this meld promises. The most important technical innovations in our world have come from the telecommunications industry – we have a strong past and we build on that for our own future.
"When you pull on that jersey your represent yourselves and your teammates. And the name of the front is a hell of a lot more important than the name on the back."
Music
The music I've been listening to as I work through this meld is the theme from Chariots of Fire. For these reasons: 1) the sound itself is very much classical combined with 80's electronic music; 2) it is the story of a team; 3) the music is inspiring but a bit of a slow roll in how it builds – it feels like what we're trying to do and in line with us as a telco industry; 4) the characters wrestle with personal and collective values at every turn. As an open source community we all wear the hats of our personal values, our company's values, and our open source project's values. This tension is healthy even when it is uncomfortable.
Epic Symbol from OPNFV Summit – a symbol meaning "confluence" in Chinese.
Image referenced by @Al Mortonlast week – a group of folks banding together.
Above all else, get involved.
Some images from the web:
Thoughts on color scheme:
I really like OPNFV's current teal-based color scheme; with the move to Anuket, I think I'd like to potentially see some more earth tones incorporated, as long as it doesn't make it dull and muddy – perhaps something closer to gold than brown? Perhaps we could also go more saturated with some of the colors? A couple photos from my own glassware that incorporates some of our blue-greens w/ gold: