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THE WORD ON….
BREAKING THE FORMULA
"Rules are what the artist breaks; the memorable never emerged from
a formula." -- Bill Bernbach
The elements of design.
The rules of marketing.
The laws of advertising.
Working by a formula is not bad.
It is not a bad thing.
Many good things come from formulas.
2 + 2 = 4. Solid mathematics. Truth derived from a formula,
because what else is 2 + 2 going to be? Vaccines and
medicines are derived from scientific formulas, and it’s a good
thing too, I can’t stand getting sick. Skyscrapers are built on
architectural plans, created using formulas derived from physics.
Aha, good thing, that way those big puppies won’t fall down because
they feel like it. The Shuttle flies into space on rocket fuel that
is mixed according to, let’s all say it class, formulas. Good
thing. I’d hate to think of the guys mixing that stuff up looking at
each other and saying, “How much of that liquid oxygen do you want
to pop in there this time?”
Can you come of with a good design using formulas?
Sure. As long as all you want is a good design.
A great design, and exciting design, one that is memorable and
communicates, never comes from a formula. There is only one rule,
and only one, that applies. I call it the Garcia principal. It
goes like this:
Where design solution = identity, website, print collateral,
advertising, new media, marketing material, etc.
You are here.
You want your new design solution to take you there.
Therefore – GO THERE.
That’s it. That’s all we, as designers; have to think about, how to
get there. The rule is simple, but the task is the challenge.
There is no formula after that. Creative thought can only be
tempered by formula, but not bound by it. Our clients ask us to
take them there, whether it is a new logo design that will
communicate the group’s new position, or a website that will engage
the audience and create a sense of community and corporate culture.
Or it could be to create a new advertising campaign that will
introduce or re-introduce an exciting product or service, or it is
an alternative marketing plan to get to a new audience.
And it is our job to travel every road, look under every rock,
search all the heavens, and swim deep into the ocean, to find the
way to do that. The talent lies not in the execution, because that
follows professionalism. The talent lies in letting go, in
stretching out our imaginations and creativity, and traveling those
roads, until we come back with gold.
Basically, design teams like
nfm are getting on
a ride, letting go of the handlebars and yelling “wheeeee!” as we
go. The ride stops, and we got a whopper of a story to tell.
Therein lies the invaluable talent of a design firm like ours;
bringing the abstract to the real world. It is what we love to do,
all day long, twice on Tuesdays. And we do it with one thing in
mind, the one thing that all good designers should know.
We don’t have to be famous.
We have to make our clients famous. (See Garcia principal above)
be there
Robert Garcia
Creative Director
nfm_design |
