We have all heard praise for eloquence in speaking: the ability to articulate concepts and clearly explain something in particular. But rarely does society notice or speak of the communicative achievement of design.
As a principle, we have to accept that communication is literally embodied in all of our surroundings. Design plays an extremely important role in the transmission of these messages, regardless of whether they are of graphic, interior, architectural, or industrial design.
All these area of design convert communication into physical space, into something palpable. In order to do this, it is very important to superficially communicate the form, without going into too much detail – since doing so could trigger a debate that could end up calling upon even Plato’s philosophical studies.
Form can be considered as what exists, what is palpable and visible. The philosophy of form has to do with the emotional and is constructed by a set of rules built by individuals and their experiences; a collective cognition that can even be expanded to all of society. Hence, form communicates implicitly.
A classic example of this is the design of a chair; our collective cognition tells us that a chair has to be a flat surface with a sustained backrest, and with 4 legs. Completely logical right? What if, instead of relying only on the tangible and undeniable, we think of purpose?
A chair is intended to provide a space to sit, rest, and prevent us from standing while performing our daily activities. Given this small change of perception, an industrial designer would begin to think of identifying the factors that could influence an improvement in the share of a chair. The chair would remain a chair, but it’s shape becomes a system that helps someone avoid back problems when spending a lot of time sitting down.
Even without being an expert in communication, just seeing the difference between a simple flat chair and one created by an industrial designer would make it very easy to see the advantages of the latter.
In the field of graphic identity design, this becomes quite complicated because conceptualizing the overall image of a brand and its message is key to the success or failure of the initiative.
For many it is logical to have a logo on an endless number of objects, for example, on a rug on which people pass over at an entrance. For this reason, a logo must be loaded with attributes that are sought to reflect the brand’s identity, and it is easy to imagine the relationships that we can unconsciously favor with an oversight. The scene can take on a macabre tinge if we imagine our logo as a person who represents the ideals of our company.
Communication is implicit in everything, and therefore we absolutely must take care of the details of a brand. At Mijo! Brands we help you with the different phases of creation, design, communication and care of your brand, so that you can communicate exactly that which will boost your business.
Luis Daniel Canales is Senior Graphic Designer at Mijo! Brands, a leading creative agency in CDMX and Puerto Vallarta. Visit us at www.mijobrands.com or contact us.
