Author Garr Reynolds in Presentation Zen Design discusses the principle of simplicity. I think this is often one of the most overlooked design principles even in my own work. I spend so much time focusing on what to add, where to put flourishes, and I often forget the power of white space and simplicity. One of the other books I am diving into this semester is White Space is Not Your Enemy by Kim Golombisky. The title itself is a great reminder to keep it simple. Reynolds talks about Wagasa, a traditional Japanese umbrella, at the end of the day, these umbrellas are not ornately detailed, but rather fairly basic and simple. The process on the other hand, is very complex, and requires great skill. Often times in design, the process of being simple is anything but simple.
In church communications, I think it is easy to let the design overwhelm the message. In commercial marketing and advertising, often times the message IS better than the product and it can be an honest goal to make a cool or hip commercial. I have to remind myself often, in the church the design should always help communicate the message, not stand out on its own.
In some ways this makes the job of the church communicator even more difficult. How do we honor our craft and our design skills without allowing them to take stage over the ultimate message of Jesus?
