Great branding is oxymoronic

The best brand systems are like hippie dictators: They're rigid and flexible.

These systems are incredibly clear and unapologetic about protecting and reinforcing the brand. But somehow, they are also annoyingly flexible and laid back. 

As a real-life human in the real world (as most of us are), different contexts require different approaches.

We don't dress for a hike the same way we dress for a job interview. Branding is similar. 

Different mediums require different approaches. The way your business shows up on social media shouldn't be the same way it shows up on the website, the pitch deck, white paper, podcast, YouTube, TV, etc.

To pull off this magical mix of consistency and flexibility, a brand has to identify the constant and variable aspects of its branding. Then document that in a brand manual or usage guide (terminology varies, but more on these documents soon).

The rigidity of a good brand system isn't in a one-size-fits-all approach. It's in reinforcing the constants of the brand while protecting the variables and the need for flexibility.

A simple example is Nintendo's Kirby. His fundamental forms (he's basically a puffy-looking character made of numerous circles) are the constants. Holding on to the constants actually makes it easier to flex the rules of the system.

This amazing article uses Kirby to explain flexible brand systems and it's awesome and you should read it.

More soon...

✌️Rvw

PS. This isn't the first time I've talked about Nintendo's branding genius. I'm sure it won't be the last.