The process of brand development, particularly for businesses that have been around for some time, is often mainly about removing the noise and the clutter to reveal simple truths that can be translated into compelling stories.
16 Jan 2024
When Michelangelo was asked how his statue David was created he is said to have replied: “It was easy. I just chipped away the stone that wasn’t David”.
Michelangelo and the process of branding is probably not a connection I would have arrived at on my own – however it was suggested to me by a client when I was describing the process of branding being in some way about stripping away the clutter and the noise to reveal truths … my client said – in a joking way – “oh you mean kind of like Michelangelo?!” We both laughed at how ridiculous that sounded, but as he had made the connection, I found myself wanting to explore it a bit…
After a bit of digging, I discovered this idea appearing in a few different places. In 1883 the religious writer George F. Pentecost published the essay “The Angel in the Marble”. He described an episode from his childhood when he knew a down-and-out sculptor who acquired a large rough piece of marble and placed it in his shed studio. In the following dialog the sculptor was speaking earnestly:
Finally, I asked him: “Mr. M., what are you going to make out of that?” Looking up kindly into my face, he said: “My boy, I am not going to make anything out of it. I am going to find something in it.” I did not quite comprehend, but said: “Why, what are you going to find in it?” He replied: “There is a beautiful angel in that block of marble, and I am going to find it. All I have to do is to knock off the outside pieces of marble, and be very careful not to cut into the angel with my chisel. In a month or so you will see how beautiful it is.”
CAN BRANDING BE CONSIDERED ‘AN ART’?
Britannica’s definition of art is: “something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings”
Perhaps an easier question to tackle would be, is it possible to create something beautiful?
I think the answer depends on what you find when you start ‘chipping’.
If what you find are good thoughts, good intentions, good people and an organisation that is making a positive contribution to the world, and if in the process of unlocking and communicating that story you draw in writers, designers, thinkers, and so on, to apply their craft in pursuit of supporting that organisation and those people to do better, then yes, I do think it is possible to create something beautiful, certainly something meaningful.