Make Your Brand Easy to Digest
A look into how simplicity is the best option in brand design. The wheel has already been invented, the innovation is in how you treat your consumers not in how you smother them visually.
As the decades roll by, designers increasingly understand a simple truth: simpler is better. Logos have shifted toward iconography rather than artistic complexity. Websites prioritize motion, hierarchy, and clarity over excess detail. With the rise of vertical short-form content, video ads have become quick bursts of narration paired with straightforward visuals.
This simplicity should not be confused with laziness. There is a clear difference between simple design and lazy design, a conversation for another day. What matters is that these shifts all share the same goal: making life easier for the consumer.
A consumer is meant to be an unseen partner of a brand. They carry the brand’s name with integrity, able to defend it when the CEO or marketing director isn’t present. That kind of loyalty is only possible when a brand is easy to understand. Much like many things in life, people avoid unnecessary effort. When branding demands too much energy just to be understood, support quickly fades.
Simplicity removes that friction.
Implementing simplicity starts at the forefront of any brand: the logo. The most effective logos are easy to remember and, often, easy to draw. Nike, Apple, Pepsi, and Chase Bank are prime examples. In fact, the Nike swoosh designed by Carolyn Davidson was first sketched on a napkin. Its power lies in its immediacy, not its complexity.
Websites play a similarly critical role. Despite the dominance of social media, a website remains a brand’s central hub, a place where consumers go to feel grounded and familiar. Modern websites are evolving toward bold typography, experimental layouts, and subtle animation, all designed to guide rather than overwhelm.
The world moves quickly, and so do people. Simplicity helps maintain attention. Once consumers feel comfortable, they can choose to explore deeper. A strong brand gives people that control. Introductory touchpoints such as logos, homepages, first impressions should be easy to digest.
A good brand isn’t one that explains everything at once.
It’s one that gives control to the user.
