As a designer, I’m always looking for sources of inspiration. Hip hop is one of my favourite music genres, and has reliably put me in the zone when working on projects. Drake is one of my favourite artists, especially because we share Toronto as our hometown.
I believe designers can learn a lot from Drake as a brand-builder, trendsetter, and creative artist. Here are 5 times he taught me about design:
1. Branding
Drake’s OVO brand name, which stands for “October’s Very Own” was inspired by his birthdate of October 24th. In addition to being his music label, it represents his annual OVO Fest concert, OVO Sound radio, a fashion line, as well as affiliations with the Toronto Raptors.
The owl logo with black and gold colour palette create a distinct visual identity. Even more noteworthy is how he extends this brand beyond the visuals. He has a confident brand tone and language that people adopt very quickly, coining terms like “YOLO” and “The Six”. His posture and gestures in photos have even influenced how people pose for pictures these days.
Designing brands as lifestyles as opposed to visual identities can help brands be more comprehensive and interactive. Drake created a lifestyle that a lot of people, especially Torontonians, identify with. Once people identify with a brand, they grow into loyal advocates who will defend the lifestyle that they practice.
2. Prototyping
So Far Gone was released in February 2009 and introduced Drake to a much larger, mainstream audience. Best I Ever Had and Successful made the US Billboard Hot 100. Best I Ever Had was nominated for a Grammy. It was extremely well received by critics, winning awards like Complex’s #3 Best Albums of 2009.
And it was a mixtape.
You’ll never be able to measure the success of your product until you get it out into the hands of your users. So Far Gone in many ways was a prototype or minimal viable product. Prototypes help garner feedback and insight in what does and doesn’t work by just putting something out there.
3. Innovation
In context to the preceding lines of these lyrics, Drake is probably referring to other Canadian rappers who achieved some success before him, but not as much success as him so far.
Drake has mentioned this notion twice so far in his lyrics, which must mean it’s significant to him. As it should be for anyone striving to innovate. Just because a solution is timely, doesn’t always mean it works well. Great design doesn’t sacrifice quality in aspects like functionality, user-experience, and aesthetic just to be the first to go to market.
4. Problem-solving
The sentiment of this line about the creditability Drake has earned through his fame and success may come off as arrogant. But its true what he’s saying about how we often overlook questioning “why?” about things that have been generally accepted as the status quo.
Especially when tackling problems or challenges, it’s easy to proceed with the way things have always been done. By taking a step back and asking questions, better processes and solutions can be uncovered. Or it will just reaffirm that the current way is the best approach, and there’s a reason why things are the way they are.
5. User Experience and Engagement
If Drake created music that was convoluted or not relatable, he wouldn’t have the following that he’s built.
Any designer knows that simplicity and clarity is key. When people are viewing a poster or trying a new App, the margin of time to hold engagement is very slim. Especially in the fast-paced environments that we live in, people have minimal attention span or patience for designs that don’t hook them right away. This is why high quality designs and strategies for user adoption, engagement, and retention is just as important as the final product design itself.
Whether you enjoy Drake’s music or not, his impact on hip hop and the city of Toronto is undeniable. The type of people worth learning from are those who strives to push the envelope, or the people and industry surrounding them. And Drake does that time and time again. Especially since we all know that if he’s going anywhere, it’s probably too far.
