Simplicity
In 1657, French Philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote:
“Sorry for the long letter, I didn’t have time to write a short one”.
Less really is more. More work.
Many people are scared of ‘less’.
It might not sound clever enough.
Safer to be long-winded, repetitive, fluffy, ambiguous.
Season generously with jargon.
If in doubt, add the kitchen sink.
Einstein captured the universe in a tiny equation,
with massive implications.
E = mc2
In his own words:
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”.
He also said:
“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value”.
Success comes after value.
Businesses and Brands can learn a lot from these ideas.
Exactly how is elegantly explained by Alex at Basic Arts:
‘The job of a business – any business – is to deliver value. There is categorically nothing more to business than this’.
On branding:
‘A brand has a very simple purpose: to communicate the value the business is delivering.
That’s it. Communication of value. Anything else is a bonus’.
So far so simple, but there’s a problem:
Competition is mounting. Media is fragmenting. Data points are proliferating.
OK that’s 3 problems.
There’s no magic bullet, but there is a way through…
Still one of our favourite quotes:
‘Creativity makes space in the market’.
But how?
Alex again: ‘Great brands use artistic creativity to
communicate value in a way that is:
Clear, so people can “get it” in an instant.
Noisy, because if nobody notices you everything else
is academic.
Viscerally appealing, because, well, people like nice stuff obviously.
And of course memorable’.
Four things for your brand design checklist.
That should be easy to remember.
Making brands easy to remember is the biggest win.
Mental Availability. Salience. Fame.
It’s a job for both advertising and branding.
In advertising, heuristics beats statistics.
The Availability Heuristic: “I’ve seen that / heard of that”.
The Affect Heuristic: “I feel good about that”.
Earworms, eye candy, entertainment.
Meerkats selling car insurance.
Simples.
In branding, simple isn’t about the size of the logo.
It’s about the size of the idea.
An idea that expresses your Brand Value.
Big enough for the whole organisation to live inside.
Here’s one we’ve lived in (with our client) for many years:
Cheers!