The Name Tag Problem
“Self Portrait” by David Swope, graphic design class / UCLA
The professor writes on the chalkboard, “My name is Tom Leeson.”
From the back of the classroom a young man shouts, “Lies and blasphemy! I’m Tom Leeson!”
In a state of shock and terror, the professor flees the room muttering, “Oh no, I’ve been undone. Found out again…”
The young man in the back of the classroom points to himself, “I’M THE REAL TOM LEESON. ME!” and begins to laugh uncontrollably. Out of nowhere, two burly men in psychiatric hospital garb appear, grab the man and drag him from the room. On the back of their uniforms is stenciled, “Tom Leeson.”
The most important lesson I learned as a design student was not a lecture. It was delivered on the first day in my first class—ridiculous, confounding, and unforgettable. It’s a message that has guided my career ever since.
A woman strides into the room, up to the chalkboard and writes:
My name is Tom Leeson
AKA Professor Leeson
AKA Mr. Leeson
AKA Tommy Baby
AKA Hey You!Another faculty member leans into the doorway and calls, “Tom, can I have a word?” The woman nods and exits.
A janitor, mopping in the back of the room, puts down his mop and walks up to the head of the class. He adjusts his round, red-framed glasses and says, “I want you to bring a name tag to the next class. You can make it, find it, buy it, steal it, whatever. The only thing it has to do is attach to your body…”
Awkward pause, then: “Examine your assumptions.”
This is Tom Leeson.
Recently, I connected with Professor Leeson about his head-swiveling play. He explained, “How do you give permission without saying, ‘Be creative’? Creativity thrives on a willingness to play. Requiring creativity stifles play and ultimately its progeny: ingenuity and expressiveness.”
He continued, “The Real Tom Leeson, is my solution to the Name Tag Problem I give at the end of the class. It is audaciously playful and creative. It raises issues around what makes something a name tag, and what is the meaning of attachment? Do I manage to attach my name through the use of the many faux characters?”
“It certainly creates the opportunity to think about many things, in contrast to the seeming simplicity of the problem.” He concluded, “But, more than anything else, it sets the tone for the problem and for the entire class. Without explanation, I reveal the expanse of my creative acceptance, while sidestepping the fabrication of any resistance.”
If you’ve worked with me, you know my tendency to question the status quo. To challenge the creative brief. To ask: Why not? It was this lesson that led me to keep pushing myself, and eventually to push those I would work with and lead.
Some of my favorite questions are Does it have to be ____________? Or What if we _____________?
We’ve seen these transformational moments in design and advertising. Like when Apple launched a rainbow of jewel-like iMacs amid a sea of beige boxes.
Or remember how Google’s minimalist home page stood out from cluttered search engines?
Today, Tom Leeson is still an iconoclast. Since teaching design at UCLA, he has remained active in the art world as a sculptor, painter and illustrator. (see TomLeeson.com) His works break the rules of physics, expectations and norms with humor, whimsy and surprise.
“Making It Easier to Sweep Things Under the Table” by Tom Leeson
In a school of 30,000, it can be a challenge getting to know your fellow students, let alone your professors. I’ll always be grateful for “Tommy Baby’s” friendship, and for his pushing me beyond my creative comfort zone.
My UCLA Graphic Design professor Tom Leeson, AKA almost anything. Still wearing the same red glasses.