How to stand out like a walking sweet potato.
Also known as the art of meaningless distinctiveness.
View the full case study here >
I blabber about the importance of meaningful symbols and logos all the time.
But, Louis Grenier made a recent post that proposes meaningless symbols are better than meaningful symbols.
Can we both be right?
Well yeah, because the meaning he and I are talking about are different. Let’s run through some of his thinking:
Louis G: It's funny how brands love attaching meaning to logos and colors. Like, “We must pick this horizon blue to show we’re super chill,” or “Let's go with the saber-toothed cat as our logo to show we're agile yet relentless about success."
Yeah, I’d agree with that but I don’t necessarily believe it’s a bad thing.
Louis G: Research about how our brain works shows that we don't buy things based on the meaning of a brand. You don't hire FedEx to deliver a package because their logo has a hidden arrow. You don't buy chocolate bars from Toblerone because the yellow mountain is actually a bear.
Again, I agree. We don’t buy because of those things but when we find them something special happens. When those littlelogo easter eggs become apparent to us, that AHA moment is a cool feeling. It will never be forgotten. You feel like you have insider knowledge. And it amplifies recall.
Louis G: Forget trying to stuff meaning into everything and seek "meaningless distinctiveness" (to quote Byron Sharp) across a neurologically diverse set of assets.
MEANINGLESS DISTINCTIVENESS. Hell yes, now we’re cooking.
The meaning isn't meant to be told, it's meant to be created. Your symbols go from meaningless to meaningful when people interact with your brand.
Two overlapping circles means Mastercard. A pointy, curvy, swooshy thing means Nike. A partially eaten apple means… you get it.
His french rooster now holds a lot of meaning for me. Hell, here I am writing about it. I’ve read his emails. I’m deconstructing his shit. So, it’s definitely not meaningless. To me, french rooster now means Louis G.
I know, I know. He’s saying the rooster doesn’t mean anything to him. It’s just something silly and distinctive.
But imagine (this is speculative) that Louis G. had the idea to use the french rooster because he’s french and a bit cocky?
To me, that’s meaning. It’s not obvious to everyone. But still, the decision wasn’t arbitrary.
Kinda like when I made this walking sweet potato mascot as part of a neighborhood’s visual branding. His name was Tate, short for Tater, short for Sweet Tate the Great.
It’s kinda out there. Seems random (it wasn’t). Very distinctive. I still have dreams about sweet potato merch.
View the full case study here >
My schedule just opened up a bit, so I’m open to work right now.
Hit me up, let’s make something weird. Something “meaningless” based on esoteric information about your company that only you will know. It’ll make something distinctive for sure.
Let the audience create the story
✌️Rvw
PS. Sorry for the uncharacteristically long message today.
