I recently had the pleasure of attending Caffeinated Mornings, a monthly design discussion series hosted in Boulder, CO. The speaker, this month, was Josh Wills; a designer, thing maker™, and creative director from Denver. Yes, Wills trademarked the phrase thing maker… Awesome.
Before Caffeinated Mornings got under way, I was able to introduce myself to Josh. He’s a big dude, equipped with a hipster beard, fedora, and doc martin combat boots. I knew instantly this was going to be a good Caffeinated Morning.
His discussion was based around community service, from a design perspective. Being a creative director at Factory Labs, Wills had worked with Oakley, North Face, and other huge, multi-national brands. He didn’t talk about any of these clients or any of his work at Factory Labs. Instead he discussed the work he has done for his friends and family, right in his own backyard. Wills has done a lot to better the community in which he lives. To name a few things, he has created or helped create a cupcake and cereal bar, consignment shop, nail salons, art studios and a barbershop.
The barbershop is called Proper Barbershop and this was my favorite of the examples of work Wills has done within his community. Here is a little glimpse of the vibe at Proper Barbershop.
It’s not just a barbershop. It’s a community hangout. Tattoos, beer, and good music. My kind of place.
When Josh was tasked with making the logo for Proper Barbershop, he was going to give his friend, Jordan Weinstein, three options. However, Josh really loved only one of those options so he didn’t do very much for the other two. The logo was an unfolded straight razor next to the letter ‘P’. Clean. Simple. Badass.
Josh showed Weinstein the logo and he loved it, but obviously wasn’t going to decide at that moment. A few days later, Weinstein had a revision in mind. The revision was to put a fedora hat on the letter ‘P’ in the logo. So, being a good designer, Josh went back and drew up what the client asked. However, he found himself getting upset with the drawings. He didn’t know why he was getting upset, other than the fact he was doing a revision he didn’t want to do. And then, the answer hit him.
So Josh called his friend/client and asked, “What is the last thing you want a customer to do when they leave your shop?”
Weinstein replied, “Put on a hat”
Josh then says, “So why are we putting a hat on the logo?”
Weinstein, “You’re right, let’s go with your original design. Thanks. Let’s get to work.”
So the moral of this story, from my perspective, was that it’s a designers job to know what is best for the client, even if they don’t. As designers, it is our job to communicate someone else’s vision, and sometimes that means sticking to your guns and politely steering the client out of their own way. You have to stay true to the brand and keep it authentic. And I believe that’s what Wills did for Proper Barbershop. The logo he designed is clean but conveys a certain working class grit. It’s familiar to us, maybe contemporary or ‘hipster’ design, but at the same time the brand transports us back to a time of when barbershops were an integral part of our community and that was something that was important to us.
There is a balance between listening to what the client says they want and giving them what they need. We always want to give the client something that is unexpected but at the same time familiar. Something that blows their mind while still connecting with their heart.
I am thankful I got to listen to Josh speak and provide his insights and humble genius. I took away a new appreciation for being a designer. It’s good job and sometimes a really difficult job, but everyday I get to roll up my sleeves, work with my hands and make things that people hopefully love. For me, that’s pretty rewarding.
