âI can never film any video content in my house, itâs not fine enoughâ was what I told my sister when I begged to film GRWM YouTube content in her home.
You see, I cracked the code. I now know the reason why a lot of boring videos, valueless content, and needless photos on social media get the amount of likes and engagement they receive.
Itâs the background.
I have a friend who is a graphics designer. He puts up very wholesome and beautiful pictures of his workspace almost every day.
He also started to rent out shared workspaces for anyone who could afford it and it was awesomeâŠin pictures.
One day, he organized a free content creation for graphic designersâ training and he invited me to come and teach.
I was pretty excited because that meant that I would get to see the beautiful space he worked out of.
So I got the address and headed for the place, quite a far distance from my house. I even took an Uber to get there.
When I came down from the Uber and entered the compound, something wasnât adding up.
First of all, the place I entered was an old complex that looked hardly inhabited. I first thought I was being kidnapped.
It took me a while to scan the entire building and I finally noticed that people were inside, but the complex itself looked shabby.
So I walked forward toward his block, according to the address he gave me, and that was when I saw it.
The Awful Horror The horrible-looking dumpsite right in front of his block.
I gag even as I write this.
On top of the horror, someone had just poured their fresh trash and you could tell that they all dumped their trash there.
To make things worse, it was rainy season so the heap was wet and squirmy. YUK!!!!
But just as you turn left and raise your head, youâll see a beautiful white and purple banner, with his business name, and a nicely set up artificial grass just at the entrance of my friendâs office. *Whew*
Listen, aesthetics matter to humans for several reasons right? First of all, it evokes emotional responses like pleasure or excitement and it can communicate cultural, social, and personal values too.
However, it can foster unrealistic standards, contributing to low self-esteem and exclusion. It can also contribute to societal pressures that harm mental health and self-esteem.
I guess the reason a lot of people put so much effort into creating good aesthetics is that they know that it influences the perception of quality and value, and they want that to be associated with their brands.
My friend understands that pretty well, and so, he has been able to curate the perfect aesthetics online for his brand and his business space.
Everything that I saw on his Instagram page was true. The space was perfect and as I spent more time inside, I quickly forgot about how it looked outside.
In general, aesthetics enrich our sensory encounters and profoundly influence our interactions with the surrounding environment.
Some people are naturally more sensitive to aesthetics than others, which means aesthetics can affect them psychologically.
These people can become moody if they are put into a place that is not well designed but can also be happy just by watching the sunset.
Now, letâs talk about those creators who rent a whole space just to film videos while allowing us to think that they own the space.
Thereâs nothing wrong with trying to film your content in a good space. Iâd love to one day rent out a short let apartment say, for a week, and film all the content that I can.
But the only thing is that I will not create the impression that I live there or that I bought the place.
I love Nigerian creators, I love our grit, our passion, and our never-give-up spirit. I just have problems with content that isnât valuable, that is boring, that doesnât speak/teach the truth but is more focused on aesthetics.
The house I currently live in was built in the year 2000s. We moved in in the year 2004, and at that time, it was clean, beautiful and was the talk of the town.
Although it still has the same beauty and we repaint it every 2 years, itâs not what it used to be.
My parents are old and all their focus at the moment is to get the last child to move to her husbandâs house, so nope, total renovation is out of the question. In fact, it can never even be a part of the discussion.
This has put me in a huge dilemma because, as a content creator, I need to film videos all the time and also take pictures. So I devised a plan.
The house that my sister lives in is not more than 5 years old so everything still looks prim and proper.
I plan that now and then, whenever they go to work, Iâll get them to leave their key behind and Iâll go in, film all the videos I can film, take pictures, and then quietly leave.
But the problem there is that her husband might not be willing to allow me to do this. He may not be comfortable with that idea. But I have that Never-give-up spirit that I mentioned before.
Listen, people often associate aesthetics with success because a visually appealing video or picture can create a positive impression and attract attention.
Those who cracked this code early have now thrown caution into the wind, and Nigerian influencers are big on this.
So I donât know whether the pictures and videos they post online were taken in their own apartment, but Iâve encountered a number of them in big hotels before, so no surprises there.
In 2022, I was contracted to cover content and social media for an event that happened at the Marriot Hotel, in Ikeja.
It was a 2-day event and the work was a lot for my team, but when I was able to get a 5-minute break, I went to the poolside to try to take some pictures of myself.
And if youâve ever been to the Marriot Hotel at Ikeja, youâd know that the place drips aesthetics.
Some ladies were taking pictures in the area and as soon as they finished, they left.
After I was done taking pictures of myself and the beautiful scenery, I left too. But as I got out of the elevator, I saw the same girls taking pictures close to where our meeting was taking place, this time, they were wearing different outfits.
That was when it dawned on me.
People just come to places like this to take pictures. When they post it all over social media, we gush at the pictures and think maybe they had a meeting with important guests or they had just had a wonderful dinner.
Maybe they did have a meeting or maybe they did have dinner. Or maybe they didnât and they just went there for the aesthetics.
Thereâs absolutely nothing wrong with creating beautiful aesthetics for your brand, but let it be matched by the value you provide.
And for the non-creator, my advice is that you take heed. Tying success solely to aesthetics can lead to overlooking other valuable qualities like intelligence, character, and skills.
It can foster superficiality, and unrealistic standards and it can create a narrow definition of value, where superficial appearance overshadows more meaningful qualities.
As for my friend, yes the heap of dirt is still there. But his pictures never disappoint. And as for me, Iâm still scoping my sister to buy into the idea, her husband doesnât have to know about it, does he?