If simplicity is a legitimate human desire, in communication it’s a conditio sine qua non. Whether a billboard or the cover of a report, communication must reach us in its simplest visual or verbal form. And simplicity doesn’t mean banality.
Detroit, 2013. A man buys a house next to his ex-wife and installs a statue in his garden, a giant middle finger pointing at her window. The message hits home like a bullet, striking the core target (his ex-wife) and the rest of the world, clearly and unambiguously. Crude revenge? A deplorable act? Yes, probably. But also simple and effective, as only a middle finger can be. And that’s how communication works best.
If simplicity is a legitimate human desire, it’s a conditio sine qua non – an absolute necessity – in the world of communication. Whether it’s a subway billboard, an Instagram post, or a short video, communication must reach us in its simplest visual or verbal form. And simplicity doesn’t mean banality.
Out of complexity, beauty emerges
To borrow the words of Bruno Munari: “Few are capable of simplification. To simplify, you must remove, and to remove, you must know what to remove.” This is what we are called on to do for every project. Remove. Simplify. Reduce it to its most essential and visually captivating form, capturing the eye and conveying a message. One of the tools at our disposal is illustration, capable of bringing to life parallel worlds where concepts become simple, words are often superfluous, and any topic becomes understandable.
Illustration is capable of bringing to life parallel worlds where concepts become simple
Illustrations are the answer to that “make it simple, but significant” obsession that drives those working in the communication field. Including us. Here are just a few examples of successful simplification.
UNEP
The Multilateral Fund has tackled one of the most urgent environmental challenges humanity has ever faced. For over three decades, it has guided nations in the gradual elimination of harmful substances that deplete the ozone layer, helping to reduce global warming and climate impact. The achievements are extraordinary, with entire pages of data to prove it. But how do you make this data comprehensible? How do you tell the story of thirty years of effort in less than ten pages? We did it through illustrations, supported by data visualization. In the small ecosystem we created, the Multilateral Fund is simply a hand. A hand that, for years, has moved, guided, helped, and given life to monumental change.
TMG
Inequality and poverty are just a few reasons behind food insecurity, affecting low-income urban areas in Africa. To ensure the right to food for all, everyone must have access to adequate resources and means, with special attention given to women, considered the most vulnerable in society. Essentially, the entire urban food system needs to be reimagined, taking inclusion and gender equality into account. The illustrations created for TMG’s annual report represent all of this complexity. On the path to progress, women are the origin of change, and their impact cascades throughout society.
EIF
The European Investment Fund (EIF) supports the creation, growth, and development of small and medium-sized enterprises, making financing accessible and connecting small business owners with major investment funds. For its 2022 Annual Report, people become the focal point thanks to our collaboration with illustrator Alberto Seveso. Each chapter presents a portrait. Each portrait, created using artificial intelligence, is a multi-layered collage. Each layer conveys a facet of the topic addressed in the individual chapter. A matryoshka of content that strikes us with its expressive power.
UNWOMEN
It’s strange to think that gender differences also emerge in relation to the environment, but they do. In its Annual Report, UNWOMEN highlights how climate change affects men and women differently, how women are highly dependent on natural resources, especially in the Asia-Pacific region where access to clean water is a problem, and how they have less decision-making power to influence environmental policies. A nuanced theme, synthesized on the report’s cover through an illustration in which female entrepreneurship, the environment, and natural resources find their balance.
