The power of repetition

We (should) all know the basic geometry concept about a line being a straight path made up of at least two points. Similarly, establishing a system is simply repeating something more than once. With this repetition and consistency comes the sense of stability that we know from the physical world: more layers make a material stronger.

This applies to all kinds of things. Someone twirling around once may be stumbling; but if they do it over and over, it’s dancing. If someone tells you something incredible, you may have your doubts, but if another person tells you the same thing, it’s suddenly more believable. You certainly see it in corporate marketing. Some companies, like Coca-Cola have people that go around making sure their corporate color is the same anywhere it’s used.

Consistency in communication

If you have a bunch of different products, but want to establish your brand beyond just using the same logo, repeat the way you use it (always in the lower left, or in a box) as well. Or maybe you have a series of brochures or sales sheets — they will certainly contain different information, but if the layout is the same, you will have a stronger unity when they are lined up together. This is the same reason magazines and newspapers have consistent masthead and company’s commit to using a corporate font.

Here is a basic comparison of four brochure covers from the same company:

The lesson here is that often creativity in design can be applied for a series of things, but there also needs to be some consistency in order for them to look like they belong to the same brand, and to give that impression of quality and integrity. Even an amazing design will have less of an impression if it’s presented in a series without consistency. And even the most mediocre of designs gains (some degree) of integrity when repeated.

So, when it comes to design, or brand, or message, if you want to establish a sense of stability (or integrity) just use part of your content more than once and commit to consistency.

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