Vibe check
Exploring the sounds and aesthetics of Practice
A few weeks ago, we did a Practice photo shoot.
It’s something Ben and I had been talking about for months, and we finally made it happen. We scouted a few locations in my house and at a neighbor’s place, enlisted some friends to participate, and asked them to make something. Ben—a talented, ex-professional photographer—captured some photos and videos of people partaking in a creative hobby.
After the shoot, Ben put together a rough video supercut with our logo overlaid and sent it to me for a “vibe check.” I was so excited!
I hit play, and while the visuals were beautiful, ethereal, dreamy—and honestly impressive for a zero-budget shoot—I was shocked by the background music he’d chosen. He explained it was “whatever came up first in a google for ‘royalty free meditation music.’“
It was, as Ben said, a vibe check. Nothing final or anything. But I had an immediate reaction: This is not the vibe. This is not the soundtrack I imagined for Practice.
I’d always envisioned Practice having a high energy, electronic music score—not unlike the music that I listen to while making things. Turns out, Ben does most of his making to ambient, chill music and had imagined Practice sounding more like that.
This musical mismatch led to a super interesting, almost philosophical discussion. What does Practice sound like? High energy? Chill? Somewhere in between?
And, more broadly: how do we create a brand for Practice that resonates, when everyone’s practice (even ours) looks and sounds different?
The Difference
To some people, their ideal practice is a quiet, meditative moment applying little diamonds to color-coded paper with a wax-tipped stylus.
To others, it’s assembling a Lego kit, following the steps and feeling the satisfaction of each click.
For Ben, it’s putting together a Gundam model and adding his own spin with panel lines, paint, and waterslide decals.
We didn’t photograph my practice in action during the shoot, but you can find it on Instagram (and soon, in the Practice app!). Mine has a lot more structure and a little more chaos.
No matter where they fall on the high to low structure spectrum, how they’d be soundtracked, or what they look like, these practices all have something in common:
They represent the somewhat radical choice to spend time doing something that others might see as frivolous.
Time spent making doesn’t typically translate to units of economic value. It doesn’t help you get promoted. It doesn’t (directly) move the needle on things society tells us are important.
Instead, it’s about choosing you.
At its core, Practice is about providing permission and encouragement to indulge whims. It’s about making joy. Giving yourself space to be free. To explore what brings you calm, satisfaction, delight, or even laughter—and then unapologetically pursuing it. Even if others think it’s frivolous…or unhinged.
So, what is the Practice vibe?
How do you create a brand that encompasses the breadth of hobbies, goals, aesthetics, and sources of delight that Practice will support?
And, as self-centered/weird as this sounds: how separate should the brand be from me? Or Ben? Or from this very Substack, which has served as the public-facing view of Practice-adjacent thoughts and experiences for over a year? How different is it from my latest unserious exploration, which culminated in me making tiny hands that look like my own?
So, is the Practice brand bold and energetic, with a bumping beat to match? Is it more soothing? Is it a neutral base upon which users build their own experience? 🤔 Hmmm.
Here are a few ideas for what Practice would hypothetically sound like…and you’ll see they vary wildly.
Choosing a score
If it isn’t obvious by now, we’re in the middle of a brand sprint. We’re partnering with a designer friend to help us hone the visual identity. We’re moments away from launching our Alpha, and preparing for a fundraising push this Fall. So we’ve been asking a lot of questions about the Practice brand, and how we want to present it as we officially get started.
We’re still exploring. We have way more questions than answers. And honestly? That feels like the right place to be.
It’s fun. It’s messy. It’s very Practice.