A Return to Subtlety

A word on subtlety. Subtlety seems to be all but gone from mainstream culture. I think this is due in large part to the advertising and film industry's attitude toward "common" individuals - that they are dumb and unlikely to appreciate subtlety. And perhaps, consequently, we are breeding out the ability to recognize and use subtlety. Which is a shame. Enormously.

To speak to advertising specifically, I'm a huge proponent of getting consumers involved intellectually in the message. Make them a participant. Subtlety does this. Because it requires the audience to complete the thought, often in a creative way. And participation at that level engenders brand affinity.

I was inspired to write this post by a lovely set of illustrations by design student Lauren Monaco inspired by Kerouac haikus. The marriage of her simple, but ethereal illustrations to Jack's paradoxical words is nothing short of magical, and wrought with subtlety.

And so, I call you to arms. Inject subtlety where you can. And all shall reap the rewards.

Not So on Target?

The Target Up & Up store brand has been on shelves for about a year now, and I'm still not sure I get the marketing goal here.

Yes, the design is clean, bright and not unpleasant to look at. Yes, it provides consistent branding. But it doesn't communicate, does it?

Take this Up & Up package for their baby formula.

The most prominent components, those that draw the eye, are the stuffed toy image and the Up & Up brand logo. What do these items tell you about what you're getting? Absolutely nothing. To find that out, you'll have to read the non-descript header near the top. Which would not be so unreasonable if you weren't looking at a sea of similarly labeled products.

Branding: 1
Communication: 0

Design that doesn't communicate serves no purpose. Even pure art communicates and connects to us. This is worse than a blatant case of "make the logo bigger." We have to add, "disguise the purpose of this package, please."