There have been many times in human history where the mass conciousness seems to align around a set of ideals. Typically these times have been marked by large-scale changes in how we think about things and ripple across all the work products we little humans produce. That means visual arts, music and the like but also could mean language, social structures, family structures and on and on. I feel strongly we are in the midst of one of these transformative times and the theme is one that's been around forever - simplicity. Like never before people are pushing solutions towards simple, which in this age of information and complex technology is a great thing.
Working in marketing and in the digital space specfifically, I know firsthand that simple is hard. I remember my art school years when less on the canvas raised value of each individual stroke therby adding pressure to get each stroke perfect. To do so required a comfort with failure and required dozens of study trials that eventually yielded the mental roadmap that served as the guide on the final piece. Ironically, these finished works appeared to be done in minutes versus hours. The artist and the educated viewer knows the simple version represented hours and hours of experience and forethought.
Where's this coming from? One major driver is Apple, Inc. and it's line of "simple" technology products. In an age of information overload and gadgetry, Apple has tapped into an undeniable desire we have to filter out the noise and focus on a smaller set of things. Gone are software programs that will add features each year in lieu of cloud-based applications that do a single thing very well. If the past twenty years were a restaurant, the menu oferred 150 items. Today's technolgies strips that down to 10 or less.
What does this mean? Basically if you're working in marketing, you must look for opportunities to simplify the message. You need to build websites and tools with one or two great things and resist the urge to add more. You should look for ways to build proprietary tools or solutions around this desire for simplicity.
Keep it simple, stupid.
