If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been caught up with the Nola-isms of Spike Lee’s latest joint brought to us in part by Netflix, She’s Gotta Have It.
The series’ protagonist Nola Darling gives me “Confidently Lost” vibes à la Sabrina Claudio and SZA, intermingled with a hint of the “Unapologetic” air that we get to love and herald Riri for. Watching her live a life that’s her own with no concern of public opinion is inspiring. I see pieces of myself in her. And as a fellow creative, what she chose as an outlet was just as intriguing to me as watching her peel back the layers and indulge in the different aspects of her sexuality.
Nola’s craft of choice is painting. And the woman behind Nola’s incredibly adorned canvases in real life is artist and illustrator Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. Tatyana is probably even more known for a different creation of hers, an international art project inspired by rampant gender-based street harassment, aptly titled “Stop Telling Women to Smile.”
A turning point for Nola’s character, and a turning point in the series that offers a contrast from the She’s Gotta Have It film, is when Nola is almost assaulted by a stranger on her way home. The attack invokes something in her and leads to her character starting a street art campaign similar to the real-life one created by Tatyana.
In fact, according to an interview with the show’s star DeWanda Wise in the NY Post, Spike Lee saw a piece of the public art series and went to Instagram to find the person behind it. There, he found Tatyana. “All of Nola’s work in the series is painted by her,” DeWanda said. “Nola’s street campaign is in direct homage to Tatyana.”
DeWanda also touched on Tatyana’s work and what men can take away from it in an interview with Cassius:
“I’m excited about guys watching it to see where they find themselves. Nola’s artwork is based on a real artist’s street campaign ‘Stop Telling Women to Smile.’ Men don’t really understand [that street harassment] is problematic. But they are telling women how to express themselves and that they’re only pleasing if they’re in a good mood. There are these small things, habits that we shed light on in the show that feel innocent, but we would all be served if we were a little more self-aware.”
The “Stop Telling Women to Smile” project was born in the fall of 2012 with the purpose of uplifting the voices of women and helping them to feel empowered in a space where they are often made to feel objectified, small, and dehumanized at the hands of men who project unwanted advances onto them. It was bold and powerful, and five years later, still makes an impact. Not only in Brooklyn where it began, but all over the world.
A woman doesn’t owe a man any part of her. Not even the polite contrivances of a smile.
Among her many accolades since bringing the project to the world, Tatyana is a recipient of the 2015 Forbes 30 Under 30 honor, regarded as one of Brooklyn’s most influential people, and has received countless profiles by publications like NPR, the New YorkTimes, and BET. Her latest accomplishment has been working alongside Spike in the She’s Gotta Have It Netflix series as Art Consultant, in addition to bringing Nola’s creations to life at the hand of her own skills and gift as an artist.
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Tatyana’s work on She’s Gotta Have It, now streaming on Netflix.
Follow the Stop Telling Women to Smile movement on Instagram and for more information about Tatyana, check out her website and Instagram.
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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