this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2026
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Today I Learned

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In 2021, Hara partnered with Xiaomi, designing a new logo for the company, which was unveiled on 31 March 2021. Hara and his company converted the previous square logo into a combination of a square and a circle. He earned $300,000 from the project.

Source

Reconsidering my life choices right now...

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[–] setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world 9 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (5 children)

Obviously they overpaid, but it was the company's choice in a form of conspicuous consumption.

I feel conflicted because graphic design is a necessary job, but just from skimming over Kenya Hara's history and work he strikes me as an avatar of all the most pretentious and pseudo-intelligent aspects of the modern culture of art that I hate.

The claim that it took him four years to design the logo is, on its face, garbage, but for people like him the process and the story of making the logo is how he created and maintains a veneer of being deep and working on a heightened creative and intellectual level. Had he taken the contract and returned in a week with the exact same logo and said "Yeah I messed around a little in photoshop and I think it looks pretty nice." then it wouldn't be worth $300,000. Everything in the world of these people needs an overdrawn explanation and story of creation and meaning and it makes me want to projectile vomit on or near them.

[–] dRLY@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Looks like he just saw an Android icon pack around the same time default icon style was shifting towards that same look. And just turned it in with a fancy story about how he "played with many shapes" (then show some quickly drawn or even some he did try) "before it just hit me" vibe. I wonder how many in-house employees might have come up with the same and just overlooked.

[–] setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

I have no doubt creating the design was much less intensive than his rambling story, but the company spent the money on him specifically and I'm sure they expected the rambling story.

That's why I hate this part of art culture, the fakeness of it all. The obvious fakeness that people clap for because they think it makes them look more intelligent by nodding along.

[–] SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Honestly, he ostensibly knows how to play the game and he has my respect for that. He just managed a corpo to give him a large amount of money.

[–] setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

The corporation wanted to give him all that money. They are both playing a stupid game.

I'd say I agree with the instinct to just get that bag, but the fact that such people even exist and the fact that they steer the culture of the art world drives me crazy. The CIA has done irreparable damage to art.

[–] Paradachshund@lemmy.today 1 points 7 hours ago

As a small designer who puts a lot of effort into my work, I also hate shit like this. That amount of money would literally be life changing for me and they would have gotten something actually new out of it.

[–] wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 11 hours ago (3 children)

Everything in the world of these people needs an overdrawn explanation and story of creation and meaning and it makes me want to projectile vomit on or near them.

If you haven't seen the Pepsi logo redesign doc from 2008 or 2009... well I hope you haven't eaten anything recently.

It starts off doing some weird stuff with circles, the golden ratio, and old pepsi logos, slowly building to a frankly cultish crescendo of absurd marketing wankery.

[–] BigDiction@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

Hell yeah If I received this deck I would pay the firm every cent they’re owed asap and demand IT block their domain company wide.

[–] setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

Andy Kaufman tier.

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 3 points 10 hours ago

"Absurd marketing wankery"

You saved the best for last. Well done.

[–] everett@lemmy.ml 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

A more charitable possibility: there could have been an honest four-year cycle of design explorations and presentations of options, revisions… none of which will never see the light of day thanks to internal politics, and the company just non-deciding on a safe option.

[–] setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago

Even if that is factual, the company went to this high profile designer because they wanted a story to go along with their logo.