At first glance one might not make the connection between good design and burgers, but after reading a couple posts on The Message is Medium Rare, you get it. Conceived by the San Francisco-based design firm MINE, the project shares the creative insights gleaned from noshing on the all American classic.
“What we’ve found is that, if you look at the world both critically and with wonder, there are lessons to be learned everywhere. Every object, experience, relationship, environment, phrase—everything—has locked inside it an insight it wants to share. The only trick is remembering to look for it.”
While we’d follow the blog just for their critique of the food, the creative lessons are the juicy part. From expressing their misguided disdain for the use of Copperplate in logo design (as seen in on the menu of a Jewish deli), to the importance of restraint (lettuce, lettuce, lettuce), this blog is full of relevant design insights.
In a recent review of one burger joint, the team declares their meal met all of their expectations. They expressed their hopefulness of wanting to be surprised, but noted they received exactly what they came for and what they expected – adequacy. The creative lesson being don’t believe in miracles. “Designers — particularly those involved with branding — are in the business of crafting expectation. Everything, then, is a promise of something to come. When those promises are fulfilled, brands thrive. When they aren’t, they wither.”