Consistency makes us feel secure, safe, and confident in our choices. Consistency is one of the main principles in life, in business, and of course – in design.
What is a consistent design? In short, it’s intuitive design or a system of design solutions which can empower someone to learn new things, focus on immediate tasks, or move from thought to execution in a quick predictable manner quickly and without the pain of a steep learning curve.
In business, people crave consistency and reward those brands that deliver it.
It is not difficult to deliver a consistent customer experience on a small scale. Now imagine doing it across 36,900 locations in 120 countries every single day. One of only a few companies which achieved this kind of brand promise is McDonald’s. Their customers know exactly what they are going to get whether they are buying a Cheeseburger in Washington DC, French Fries in Moscow, or a Happy Meal in Helsinki. The experience is virtually identical thanks to the internal training school for all these franchisees, the Hamburger University.
Apple is another world brand which has achieved consistency through repetition in quality and innovation, albeit a few screw-ups. They’ve been a consistent industry leader and have earned consumers’ trust with their products and software for the last 20 years.
Consistency and brand promise can manifest itself in many ways. At Automattic, we stand for open-source, accessible design solutions, and empathy towards our community. We are committed to empowering our users through consistency of improved usability, speed, and simplicity.
Consistency builds trust. Speed builds trust. Simplicity builds trust.
This is one of the key design principles shaping our new design language system Muriel.
Vintage McDonald’s Sign photo credit
Automattic Design 