The Joy of Limitations
What would seem to be a very uninspiring brief with tight limitations actually turned out to be a very refreshing project.
Tight parameters and limited resources might initially threaten to stifle creativity. Yet often they are the very things to inspire creative thinking.
In the early 2000s, the US garage band The White Stripes made some of the most exciting rock music of their generation. Their striking music and image was created through strict, self-imposed limitations – only ever using three elements. Guitar, voice and drums (music) and red, white and black (their image, clothes, album covers and even their instruments). As their singer, Jack White states, "I love limitations, and that's what this band has always been about — limitations and constrictions."
Their genre of music, the blues, of course has a rich cultural legacy. All based on very limited and restricted parameters: three chords and five notes.
Restrictions, limits, parameters and mandates should be embraced as an advantage not a problem.
Any idea worth its salt should not need a big budget, spot UV finishing or 3D rendering with Dolby surround-sound. These things can enhance an idea, but they are not a substitute for an idea.