Just black squares...
My Dad Designed the Favicon for Rico.Supply
Last month, I decided to take my wife, parents, siblings, and grandma out to a nice restaurant. It wasn’t just any lunch—I wanted to celebrate the launch of Rico.Supply, our new business, and properly introduce it to my family. So far, only my parents knew about it, and I figured it was time to share.
Between bites, I started explaining to my sister what Rico.Supply was all about. I could tell she wasn’t quite getting it, so I kept going, trying to simplify things. But before I could finish, my dad—who had been listening in silence—leaned forward, shrugged, and said:
"The short version? Your brother is making money selling black squares with a line in them."
The table erupted in laughter. I laughed too—because, in a way, he wasn’t wrong.
What We See vs. What We Know
That moment stuck with me. At first, it was just funny, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Humans understand reality through metaphors. We filter new ideas through our own experiences, shaping them into something familiar.
To my dad, Rico.Supply was exactly that—black squares with a line. Simple. But to the designers and creatives who used our templates, those same black squares meant something else entirely. They weren’t just shapes; they were a visual identity, a signature, a standard of quality.
Branding is Just Storytelling
As brand designers, we create symbols and give them meaning. We turn ordinary shapes into something iconic, something that speaks without words. My dad’s comment made me realize that branding is, at its core, about perspective. To those who don’t interact with the product, it’s just black squares. But to those who do, it becomes a recognizable, trusted mark.
In a way, my dad was both completely wrong and absolutely right.
A Tribute in Pixels
That’s why I decided to design Rico.Supply’s favicon as a tribute to him—to the people outside the design world who remind us, with a simple, offhand remark, that what we do matters… but maybe not as much as we think.
Because in the end, who cares if they’re just black squares with a line or top-tier motion templates? What truly matters is moments like these—sitting in a cozy restaurant at lunchtime, surrounded by the people you love, laughing at an inside joke, as the sun and rain collide outside in a strange, beautiful dance.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s what good design is all about—creating something that brings people together, even if, to some, it’s just black squares with a line in them.