Nature has a design? You mean it isn’t completely random? Have you ever turned the page on a new chapter of life and it just felt right? You can’t always trust your “gut” but often times there are scraps of information that your subconscious is picking up on because it is just “meant to be”.
That is the heart and soul behind our logo and our business name. Two people from vastly different backgrounds coming together to build a business. There was nothing and one dreamer added another and the multiplier effect of two people pursuing a dream that inexplicably felt meant-to-be despite gut wrenching heartbreaks and setbacks.
Originally we were going with Serendipity as our business name. Formulated with surging anticipation on late night phone calls from extreme distances. Only to find the name lane way to crowded thanks to the popularity of the movie by the same name. Pivoting to Kismet with it’s middle eastern origins had a similar meaning of destiny, fate, or meant to be. For us there was elements of faith and and designed by a greater power.
As a former graphics designer I knew we need a strong and memorable logo that we didn’t need to redesign multiple times losing traction and recognition in the process. Being extremely short on cash with the intention of self funding the start up and growth of the business. It meant there just wasn’t funding to hire outside help despite casually consulting with the best creative people who would give me a listen.
The search was on and countless sheets of paper and redo’s on the computer just didn’t feel right. Searching for just the right meaning behind the logo seemed monumentally important. I just couldn’t throw up a “K” a cool font and call it a day.
Previously on a trip to Africa I had become enthralled with fossilized nautilus shells. I had purchased a large one that had been made into a board game. In a deeply creative time of sorting through options and discarding pictures and illustrations online I became fixated on the nautilus shape and began to study its origins and suddenly lights and sirens went off in my head knowing I had just “accidentally” stumbled into exactly what I was looking for.
The simplicity of Fibonacci’s sequence/formula and it’s logarithmic spiral was perfect in both it’s aesthetic and the deeper meaning as well. Just take a look at the pattern it creates and you can instantly recognize how this sequence works in nature like an underlying universal grid. A perfect example of this is the nautilus shell, whose chambers adhere to the Fibonacci sequence’s logarithmic spiral almost perfectly. This famous pattern shows up everywhere in nature including flowers, pinecones, hurricanes, and even huge spiral galaxies in space.
I could barely contain my excitement as I shared it with anyone who would listen. So many looked at me, and blankly nodded with a “He will be OK as soon as he calms down” dismissive look.
Even the large font we used for “Kismet” in the logo was architect inspired and chosen to communicate creativity by design. But there is a sense of using it in a unpolished form. Intentionality doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.
Our daily lives have been chaotic at times through several dizzying pivots and shattered dreams and intentions. Through it all the sense of purpose and design from an outside source of power and inspiration has inspired faith. That holds like an undeniable anchor through seismic upheavals, hurricane storms, and paralyzing cold. I am reminded of it every time I put on a leather patch hat or a logo’d shirt… Today I am dream chasing with a purpose that has an intentional and inspired destination and process. Kismet: meant to be.
