One could argue (as my friend VonSchtiffler is so fond of saying) that Gladiator is one of the greatest movies of all time. Starring Russell Crow, with the late Richard Harris, directed by Ridley Scott, featuring men with nets and tridents trying to kill men with swords, exotic locations, wild animals, a chariot scene, a vexed bi-polar antagonist and a forbidden love interest. I mean, really, what more could you ask for? Gandhi? Chil’ please.
One of my favorite lines from the film, besides “Hello, my name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, you killed my family, prepare to die” is when Cicero (Maximus’ valet) says: ”Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to do.” It’s a great line and I often use it on my children when explaining why my idea of time management may differ from theirs. It also turns out to be a useful way to categorize incoming client requests. Let me explain.
Most of the time, our clients call because they need our help with something they have to do. Sometimes, they call because of something they want to do. Once in a great while they call with something they both have and want to do. That’s when we get excited because usually that means something cool.
Case in point is a project we recently did for Blink Eye Care. It’s worthy of attention for the finished product alone but I bring it up because it all started with somebody seeing something they thought was cool. The something was something they both wanted and had to do and the somebody was Dr. Charlene Henderson.
Dr. Henderson was in the process of starting an eye care practice here in Charlotte with her long time friend and fellow optometrist Dr. Tracy MacIntyre. While surfing the web, she somehow came across what we have come to call the “dude.” The dude is a three dimensional sculpture designed by Skills Division for a retail application in Belgrade, Serbia. She thought it would be a perfect icon for the new practice. We loved the dude, and since Bojan (the Held in Hand Held) is a Serb, we knew we would get on with the design firm like a goat with a glass of red wine. (That’s actually a Serbian idiomatic expression that loses a little something in the translation.)
We did a big dude for the entry way, it’s acrylic in an aluminum frame and has sections inside and outside the practice, so it looks like its coming through the window. We also did a bunch of little dudes for a cityscape in a window in the rear of the space, some more little dudes scattered throughout, and a dimensional logo for behind the reception desk. The pieces are unique, fun, and really help to the brand the practice, setting it apart from your run of the mill Eyeglasses To Go.
If you are in need of new glasses, contacts or anything else eyeball related, we highly recommend you check them out. If you need a design group , with mad skills, check these guys out. If you want some help with your wants to do’s, your have to do’s, or both, check us out.
Are you not entertained?
(In the interest of full disclosure, the thing about the goats was not a true Serbian idiomatic expression. I was writing this when it was late and couldn’t get a hold of Bojanius for a real one.)
