Following up on last month’s article about human connections, this “Utilize” writeup shares how and why imperfection elevates design and builds connections.
To embrace imperfection in your brand means to embrace humanity. We admit we’re not perfect here at Designsensory, and we like it that way. Imperfection is, in many ways, part of our daily culture and craft. This isn’t to say that our goal is to provide an inferior solution; actually, quite the opposite. Design thinking incorporates rapid prototyping, discovering and working through many moments of imperfection along the way to move the design process forward.
Our philosophy of human-centered design also underscores the value of a brand in context with people—in their lives, however chaotic or sublime, experienced among all their senses. We believe embracing imperfection moves discussion from simply the brand as an objet d’art to the brand within each customer’s journey, each customer’s life and, most importantly, the brand positioning within each customer’s mind.
Embracing imperfection can move beyond the process of design to the design itself. Hand lettering and illustration is an art form now embraced by major brands and one that we utilize within some of our most compelling and connective visual design solutions. We realize that certain businesses can incorporate this with success, but it’s not for everyone.
Jon Contino, self-proclaimed Alphastructaesthetitologist, is a leading artist within the genre of hand lettering and has provided design for Nike, Ford and Jack Daniel’s. We’ve had the good fortune to work with him on tnvacation.com and our new, upcoming television show for the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency. Here’s a video spotlighting his interest and growth in design and hand lettering.
In a recent issue of Creative Characters magazine, designer Charles Borges shares, “Today, hand lettering is starting to see a revival. More people are interested in it than ever before. A font is always a font, and everyone can buy it. When it is used in a caption or a logo, someone else’s design could have the same letters, but hand lettering is all unique, custom design. That is why companies that value hand lettering still insist on it as opposed to using a font.”
This video from PSFK shares how one group of anonymous artists creates its inspirational hand-lettered chalk art.
One of JWT Intelligence’s top trends for 2014 is imperfection. According to its report, imperfection is taking on new appeal in a world that’s become neatly polished and curated. We couldn’t agree more.
