This Design Book Changed My Life
The book that set me on my wild journey to start a business, win a Clio, and write about music is Japanese Design Motifs. But I’m jumping ahead. Let me take you back to the beginning.
So I’m standing in the art section of a used bookstore when I notice a book teetering on the edge of the shelf. I crack it open to find a collection of over four thousand family crests from the nine-hundred-year-old Japanese tradition—a wellspring of emblematic symbols that have influenced graphic design, fashion, and advertising for the last century. The logos of Mitsubishi, Yamaha, BP, Audi, JAL Airlines and the Olympics are just a few of the iconic designs inspired by these crests.
I want a family crest
This is what I was thinking as I flipped through the thousands of familial patterns going back to the eleventh century. I showed it to my Japanese girlfriend, at the time, who told me that she came from a family of sword makers. She pulled her shirt down over her shoulder and showed me her family’s crest, tattooed on her back. And there it was in the book, page one-thirty-nine—sword makers. I was amazed. And a bit envious. Can you blame me? I love the idea of being connected to my family history by a symbol. Also what a perfect tattoo idea! I kept thinking about it. What would it look like? Did my family have a trade like hers? And was it as cool as sword making? And then, I remembered…my family’s whistle.
Respect your elders
As a kid, my sister and I would run down the aisles of the grocery store with arms outstretched in full stride. We’d go aisle to aisle, causing mild havoc, grabbing snacks our grandparents would never let us buy. They were strict vegans—forty years strong. But they let us run around, which was great. And when they were ready to check out, we’d hear them whistle these five notes: A#, B, A#, G#, F#—and we knew it was time to go. My family crest was etched in melody.
Get to work
For some time, I forgot about the whole crest obsession. I finished college and worked my way up from customer service to a job as a production engineer at Muzak. I recorded radio, in-store, and onhold ads. Until, one day, I received an email from a client looking to produce a sound logo to match their graphic logo. As an aspiring composer, I asked to give it a go. I was hoping to figure it out along the way. I listened to the iconic sound of NBC, MGM, and Intel to see if I could glean some inspiration, but I couldn’t quite figure out what made these designs so memorable to so many. Beyond the sheer catchiness of their melodies, I wasn’t exactly sure why they worked so well. The opportunity dried up— because, well, I didn’t know what I was doing. But my interest in figuring out what made these designs work kept me interested.
Designers have the answer
I headed back to the bookstore and library, but I didn’t find anything on how to design a sound logo. What I found were books on music appreciation, history, and psychology. By then, I was curious about graphic design as well, so I picked up books by design thinkers Paul Rand, Ellen Upton, Vignelli Massimo, who grappled with similar design questions for years. They explored topics like how to use the conceptual, symbolic, and subliminal.
It was through their graphic work that I was better able to understand the design behind sound logos, scores, hit songs, and all types of music I love. I wrote down my own design thoughts and observations. I began to hear how music affects our relationship to just about everything—the taste of food, the words we choose, the colors we see, the way we feel, and even, the way we heal. That oddly shaped book in the art section of a used bookstore changed how I see, hear, and make.
A work in progress
By sharing my thoughts on music, I hope to inspire others who wish to alter, thrill, and move the world with their designs. Because if more of us knew how to be as creative with sound as we are with graphics, there‘d be a lot less noise.
Jared Kinsler is a founding member of Soundnoodle, a made-to-order music agency in Austin, Texas. If you’re interested in music design, consider following the Sound Advice publication to receive updates. Thank you for reading 🎩👌
