This post examines another criterion (following yesterday's post on distinctiveness) commonly cited as a goal for organizational, product, or service naming: Simplicity. We're told that to be great a name must be simple... but we're rarely told why.  We'll take a quick look and see if its actually worthwhile.

You've probably heard or read it dozens of times... Perhaps even hundreds. 

Einstein said it best:

“It can scarcely be denied that the supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience.”

Hmm... maybe Einstein didn't say it best.

An editor or copywriter of his seems to have improved upon it a bit:

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler."

Still not quite right, though, is it?  Engineers working on the Apollo program said it even better:

"Keep It Simple, Stupid."

If Einstein himself couldn't get simplicity right then how can any of us mortals be expected to do it?  And when Einstein got it wrong it's not like people ignored him, is it?  They just kept working with it until it worked out...

Of course, none of these statements actually say anything about why stupid people (or anyone for that matter) should keep things simple.  So - I aim to fill in that gap - at least as it pertains to naming.

Why does simple work for naming?  Two reasons:

1. People have a limited amount of attentional capacity.  Simple stuff requires less attention to notice than does complex stuff.  Things that are overly complex or involved just get ignored by our minds to preserve our sanity.  Consider this: You may notice the beautiful color of the buds on a blossoming dogwood tree (simple) but you would never stand there to count them all up and see if the number of blossoms had something to do with how beautiful it was (complex.)  Sure, someone might do this - but not your average consumer or viewer of dogwood trees.  If something is too complex it will be screened out - basically unseen and unprocessed by our minds.  If your name gets screened out for being too complex (like your typical five word non-profit association name) it's as good as not being seen at all.
2. People remember simple things easier than they remember the hard stuff.  Remembering the lines of a musical staff is hard (EGDBF).  Remembering "Every good boy does fine" is easy.  Simplicity is a significant key to being remembered once a name is noticed.  Simple means easy to understand and process.  This can be via mnemonics, rhyming or other tools that assist us in the processing and storing of this information.  I've never bought a "Pooper Scooper" for my dog, but after having seen it once I'm unable to forget the name.  If I had to send someone out to buy one I'd reference it by name and if they were on the aisle it'd be the one purchased.
   

As with distinction, simplicity is not a goal in itself - but a way to get other desirable goals.

Simplicity gets you noticed, getting noticed is a requirement to making the sale.  (You can't buy a product you don't see.)

Simplicity gets you remembered, getting remembered builds familiarity, familiarity reduces the barriers to making the sale.  (You can't ask for a product when you don't remember its name.) 

Last example - When I give speeches and talks I often ask what the best car in the world is.  People list about a dozen models from Ferrari to Honda.  When I ask who makes the safest car?  Almost unanimous - Volvo.  They stick with a simple message and become inseparable from the word.  That's powerful - I can think of no other brand that would bring the same word to mind for 95% of the populace. 

The power of simplicity is the power to break through barriers and screens.  Simplicity gets you further into mental processing than any other criterion.

In this Thingnamer's view simplicity is indeed a desirable measurement criterion.   In fact, I can't think of a single complex name that I like.  Though it's only a sample of one, I'd wager a lot of us only have place in our minds for the simply expressed names and brands.

How about you?