The Beauty of Simplicity.

Today's Marketing Cookie is about the beauty of simplicity.

Leonardo da Vinci once said, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." I love his words because sophistication is the process of refinement, of having subtle dimension or intricacy, and ultimately of being more complex.

The brilliance I see in his statement comes from what little experience I have of painting. Most traditional paintings, especially when created in oils, are made in layers. The background is painted first, then the foreground layers, and then finally, the layers for the primary subject of the piece are painted last. It is a building process, and each layer can take days or weeks to dry.

As an artist, being in a building mindset for several months, working on one piece, my biggest problem is knowing when to stop. It is tragic because simplicity is lost when a painting is over-built, overworked, and overdone. There is a moment when the essence of the image is perfect, and a time when every brushstroke beyond that moment only takes something away from its beauty.

On the flip side, simplicity will sometimes elude you because you've not worked hard enough.

Steve Jobs said, "Simple is harder than complex... you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make something simple." The simplicity and beauty Mr. Jobs accomplished were not a result of adding or building layers like da Vinci, but rather a process of removing, reducing, and deleting.

In the world of mobile devices with dozens of buttons and slide-out keyboards, Apple introduced a pure white iPod and iPhone - with only a single button. Everything about Apple is simple, minimalist, and beautiful, including the Apple Store, the Apple website, as well as the little box in which their products are packaged. All of this simplicity is a result of hard work.

Why can't more companies achieve such simple beauty? Is it because they're trying too hard and don't know when to stop, or is it because they are too lazy and didn't try hard enough?

I'm not sure I have the answer for you, but I am reminded this morning of a great little joke told by Tim Washer, my favorite business comedian. It goes something like this, "Simplification... Anytime you try to improve on the word "simple" by more than doubling the number of syllables in that word... you're heading in the wrong direction." He tells it better than me.

As today's fortune says, "There is beauty in simplicity." Whether you're starting with a white canvas and are brave enough to cease painting when beauty arrives, or if you're trying to remove the clutter overshadowing the genius of a good idea, I encourage you to stay focused. Be committed to your vision, strive for simplicity and if all goes well, beauty will emerge.