Listening

We recently learned of the exciting work being done by the World Listening Project and the related World Listening Day on July 18 and it struck us that now, more than ever, listening was an art and skill that really matters. Listening can make the world a far better and more interesting place.

Our inquiry lead us first to a personal place, parenting (I have the joy of being the mother of two great twin 14-year old girls). We found great guidance in the wisdom of Dr. Cam (www.askdrcam.com). Dr. Cam highlights that we need to spend far more time deeply listening to what our children are telling us, without focusing on the objective of what we seek to correct. The key insight here is that we should spend 80% of our time openly listening and only 20% trying to “fix” things.

This led us to thinking about our professional roles as graphic design partners trying to help our clients achieve their objectives. As we have discussed in the past, Studio Red tries to focus equally on the known unknown (the identified design request) and the unknown unknown (the intent, purpose, the true objective that the client often may not be aware of). We do this through inquiry, of course, but even more so through listening. We rely on not only what is said, but the context in which it is said, the history of the person and their role, the rich history of the organization which that person is part of and bring this often disparate identities and truths together to provide powerful visual metaphors that encompass as much as is possible.

Finally, our thoughts led us to a broader consideration of our role as citizens of the world. As we looked around, we were keenly aware of the divisiveness that seems to be even more dangerous and virulent than the pandemic we have been living with for the last 16 months. At its core is a lack of listening — an unwillingness to go beyond slogans and words to get to the “real” fears and concerns that we all share such as financial security, opportunity, safety, relevance, etc. We all need to do far more to not only hear the words we are saying, but to understand the context, the why, the how, and to anchor ourselves in our shared goals and objectives versus the small differences (as Dr Cam says, focus on the 80%).

We all spend a great deal of time on self-improvement. We go to the gym, read self-help books, attend lectures and seminars, learn to bake bread, focus on mindfel exhales, etc. Maybe we should add to that list the goal of listening and community improvement. We are, after all, communal creatures. Our ancestors hundreds of thousands of years ago shared food and fires and listened to stories that created our identities and established our role and purpose in this wonderful world. So for each of you Studio Red hopes you can shut down the noise tomorrow, quiet your thoughts, and really listen. The world will be better for it.

As always, please visit us at Studio Red so we can listen to your voice and help make it an impactful reality!