The Beauty of Simple Graphic Design

Think of all the most memorable images that stick in your mind, chances they are all pretty simple. From the Nike 'swoosh' to Apple's, well, apple, we remember simple imagery. Logo design is difficult because it revolves around getting something through in the simplest way possible - afterall a logo needs to work in colour and black and white, as well as look good on a billboard and a business card.

Simplicity in design goes beyond logos though. On the Montreal metro system (our subway), there are ads plastered all over the place, and seeing as how I look at them each and every day I see the full gambit of great to horrible design all the time. One of the most ironic things about the metro ads though, is that the most effective ones are advertising the city's public transport system.

Recently they launched a new branding effort, and I love it so much. It's super simple, build around the four colours which correspond to the colours they use to designated our train lines, and it is really powerful. It's powerful because of it's simplicity. You don't have to fight to find the message, it's just there and always really clear.

Their old system, well, didn't really exsist. They had a logo, and as far as I know that was about it. If they did advertise it wasn't effective as I was completely oblivious to it. This new one is everywhere, but has such a great feel and attitude about it, it doesn't become obnoxious as can happen at times with over saturation.

And while the imagery is always simple, it's effective because of how clear it is. They keep the images as basic as possible, but always have the recurring 'V' used in creative ways, and they always find cleaver ways to get their message across without having the write it out for us. Below is one of my favourite examples; the new bus service going to our airport, which they also did a great job of picking a route number that people will associate with a plane. The use of negative space allows them to have one symbol, which they've branded well enough for people to associate with the STM. They don't even have to include text to say where they are going. It's awesome.

Overall they've done a great job of creating a visual identity, aided with recurring symbols, colours and what I would assume is a strict guideline to keeping the right look. By keeping the visual language simple, it helps it become recognizable very quickly. They've created a fun, lighthearted campaign that makes you feel good about using the public transport systems (many of their ads revolve around being green), as well as being a part of something, with the main slogan revolving around our public transport system being a collective movement.

It's not very often a government funded program does something like this in this province, and I really feel they need some kudos for pulling it off so well.