People get excited about the simplest things.  As designers we can use this to our advantage. For example, take a look at this installation. It’s certainly eye catching, it has movement through light, it’s collaborative, and best of all it’s simplistic in its concept. Turning on a light is something we do every day. But this makes it exciting! This makes something as simple as pulling on a string an experience.

Keeping ideas simple is not always that…simple. In our industry we often need to appeal to a broad audience. Designers and Interpreters often struggle with the delicate balance of simplicity – we want a “wow” factor but we also don’t want to “dumb it down” for the visitor. There’s a book I came across titled, Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath. It discusses the psychology behind why certain ideas are memorable while others are easily forgettable. Through their research, they offer up six principles that make a difference between what’s memorable and what isn’t:

Simplicity · Unexpectedness · Concreteness · Credibility · Emotions · Stories

Our clients always want their visitors to walk away with a memorable experience. Our job is to help make that happen. We tell stories and design exhibits to evoke emotion. Keeping these six principles in our back pocket can help make those stories stick.

Remember…Keep It Simple Stupid.