CONSISTENCY <BR> VERSUS <BR> NOVELTY
Consistency is important, but only when we’re consistent about the right things.
Vision, mission, purpose and values — these are things that should be consistently reflected in our language.
A constrictive style guide, one that throttles all variation in the name of consistency, leads to habituation. Once we’re habituated, it’s farewell attention—which is actually a success of sorts, because you can be confident that all further communication will be consistently ignored.
Novelty, though, makes us curious, and curiosity seizes our attention. Surprise and delight work wonderfully to highlight important messages, and there’s plenty that can be done with language to set it apart.
Consistency, consistency, consistency, grenade.
Orange Papers are the research and development publication from Everyday Massive. Art intersects science in this deep-dive into the human mind and the future of work.