Naval Ravikant: The Token Whisperer

This cartoon was commissioned by Coindesk for their year-end Most Influential People in Crypto 2017 feature. Check out their writeup on Naval Ravikant here.

Of all the portraits I put together for this feature, Naval’s is probably the biggest departure in terms of style. He has a real enthusiasm for the new fundraising strategies that crypto has enabled in the form of ICOs, and I wanted the unbridled optimism to come through in the visuals.

One of my all-time favorite TV spots is this Sony Bravia gem from ten years ago. With zero special effects, Hollywood celebrities, or crazy production design, their “Color Like No Other” campaign is memorable because it’s so elegant. All they did was to let a quarter of a million colored rubber balls loose down the streets of San Francisco and rolled film to the tune of Jose Gonzalez’s Heartbeats. I ended up being a bit more abstract and less figurative in my approach, but the crazy colors just seemed like the perfect way to visualize an awesome rainmaker.