Zig and Zag

Fun fact: I used to set our business cards on fire before giving them to people.

Now, I don't do that anymore – but it left quite the impact, to say the least. And for business cards that never contained any of our contact information – and just our studio name – you'd be surprised at the response rate from people who sought out our information to follow up:

Over 60%.

Why? Probably because no one is as insane as to set business cards on fire. But also because it's a memorable experience among every other experience of getting the classic white business card on a flimsy stock that ends up in the trash bin, 90% of the time.

"To achieve originality we need to abandon the comforts of habit, reason, and the approval of our peers, and strike out in new directions." ~ Marty Neumeier

In the age of AI, where virtually every tech company's brand identity is a combination of a monospace, sans serif font with a minimalistic logo paired with micro branding elements and soft gradients against light grey backgrounds, differentiation has never been more key.

Just look at the brand identity for Claude; immediately different and recognizable among the identities for Open AI, Gemini, Perplexity, etc.

It's always been essential in good branding and advertising, but being able to zag while everyone zigs is a must. And not just for the sake of being different – but differentiation in a way that also distinguishes, highlights, and augments a brand within the marketplace.

In the same river of our Renaissance Era memo, more brands are tending towards hand-drawn, Serif-based, illustrative elements to go against the wave of ultra-polished, AI-generated branding we commonly see across our social feeds. Just take a look at the success of Porsche, who's recent animated short drew millions upon millions of impressions and engagement, and respect from their audience for not going the AI-route.

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