LGIT Smart Solutions

If you have time for the detail, here’s the interesting part:

There’s no easy way to deconstruct a logo that is steeped in iconicity, symbolism and meaning, as ours is. At the outset, it’s important to know that “LGIT” is an acronym that stands for “Learning Gateway Inspiring Telos.” What exactly does that mean?

“Telos” is a Greek word meaning “end,” “purpose” or “goal.” Translated into English, it means goal or ultimate aim. So, LGIT is a learning gateway with its primary goal of helping people to achieve their ultimate goals or aims in life – whatever those may be.

Why is it “inspired?” We could launch into a thesis on this matter, but in the interests of brevity, let’s just say this: that which we are magnificently obsessed with, we seek out and study. A clear indication that you love something and that it is important to you, is that you end up studying it. LGIT provides a learning gateway for you to ULTIMATELY achieve your ULTIMATE aim, by studying it.

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But what about the logo?

We were just coming to that. The LGIT Smart Solutions logo is Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man. Why? What’s the connection to inspired learning to achieve your ultimate aim?

We’re so glad you asked that question!

Leonardo da Vinci was a fascinating man. He was born in what is today Italy, and lived there and in what is today France, between 1452 and 1519 – some 500 years ago this year (2019). He is known as a polymath, which is a person who is skilled and knowledgeable in many areas. In fact, he was an inventor, painter, architect, sculptor, scientist, musician, mathematician, engineer, anatomist, botanist, astronomer, geologist, writer and cartographer. He is credited with the invention of the helicopter, the tank and the parachute. He is probably most famous for his works of art, including the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Another of his paintings, Salvator Mundi, was sold on auction in 2017 for $450 million – by far the highest price ever paid for a work of art, at the time of this writing – and almost $1 million for every year since his death. Now how’s that for a legacy?

The Vitruvian Man is one of da Vinci’s most famous drawings, made around 1490, which studies the proportions of the human body. There is also a lot we could say here too, but let’s leave it as follows: da Vinci made the drawing based on the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius’ study of the correlation between the proportions of man (as in human – which includes woman) and their use in architecture. Vitruvius believed that the most stunning architectural forms drew their inspiration from the proportions of the human body – an ideal that da Vinci agreed with. The latter believed that the workings of the human body are an analogy for the workings of the universe – in essence, that each of us has GOD (or the Grand Ordered Design) inside of us; the magnificence of the universe is on display each day in our bodies, minds and souls, if we would only take the time to stop and smell the roses, and realise it…

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To conclude: our logo is an iconic display of the greatness that already exists within YOU – and that we, as LGIT, will help you to explore, discover, unearth, nurture and grow. So remember, every time you look at our logo, it’s a visual reminder of how great you have the potential to become, by living your life to its fullest.

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Yes, we know the Vitruvian Man is used by a lot of companies. But ours is green – and is unmistakably ours!

Why green? Another good question:

Green is traditionally viewed as the colour of life. It is associated with renewal, nature and energy. It is imbued with perceptions of growth, harmony, freshness, safety, fertility and the environment. Everywhere in the world we celebrate green. When the first rains beckon the summer and the parched earth turns to life, we become inspired and renewed.

Let’s talk for a minute about that word “inspire.” It means to encourage, excite or breathe life into. It comes from the Latin, meaning “to inflame” or “to blow into.” When we breathe in the freshness of the green earth that gives off oxygen, we are practicing inspiration (as opposed to breathing out or expiration) and filling our bodies and minds with clean, green, fresh newness. When you inspire something (or are inspired by something), it is as if you are blowing air over a low flame to make it grow. For all that has life and breath can be a source of inspiration.

Green is also a colour that is traditionally associated with finances and money, and at LGIT we believe in helping people grow their wealth too.

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Still want to know even more about our logo?

We’re very happy to share that with you!

How is it that da Vinci managed to learn so much in an age without the Internet? Wasn’t the world like backward 500 years ago? Signor da Vinci became a genius in many fields, because he recognised within himself the greatness of the universe. This is an ethos that we don’t just embrace at LGIT Smart Solutions. “Embrace” is far too tepid a word – we run up and hug it and kiss it, until it falls over.

As a company, we stand for innovation. We are at the forefront of change, and if we do not innovate the system or the process, then at the very least we are the early adopters of it. As such, we are inventors of new ways of learning and growth.

Although it is a challenge to constantly innovate, we take comfort in the fact that we are also anchored to our roots. We believe in a strong mind-body connection, and this is embodied (pardon the pun) in our logo. For as technology advances, we also believe that it is important for people NOT to lose their humanness – we thus declare that there should always be humanity in the technology.

The Vitruvian Man in our logo is rounded out with both square and circular frames. These are symbolic of the physical (square, sometimes also associated with male) and spiritual (circle, sometimes also associated with female) connection. For from the beginning to the end, we are all one, and we are all connected.

We really like the way the drawing is explained on biography.com:
“Art and science intersected perfectly in da Vinci’s sketch of ‘Vitruvian Man,’ drawn in 1490, which depicted a male figure in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart inside both a square and a circle. The sketch represents Leonardo’s study of proportion as well as his desire to relate man to nature.”

 

So now you know…

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Here are some of our FAVOURITE quotes from Leonardo da Vinci, for your INSPIRATION (as we spoke about earlier):

Of course, these were all originally written in Italian!

• “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

• “Learning never exhausts the mind.”

• “The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.”

• “I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough. We must apply. Being willing is not enough. We must do.”

• “It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”

• “When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia, Oxford English Dictionary, biography.com