The Iconist by Jamie Mustard is about standing out in the midst of a cluttered world. With the internet and multitude of businesses, influencers, products and more, Jamie breaks it down to standing out and being memorable. He combines sociology, advertising methods and stories to convey the message. The book is in itself an example of what he writing about. I recommend this read for anyone who is just starting a business and those whose business needs a refresh.

How can a person, place, or thing stand out in the huge deluge of information now? In The Iconist, the author uses the KISS method. KISS stands for keep it simple stupid. He also recommends using large, bright, simple and symmetrical blocks of visual information to engage distracted humans. Finally, he recommend repeating the same message over and over. Familiarity is a good thing in our complicated world. Once people see your block and, more importantly, remember it, it becomes an icon.

The Iconist presents several examples of how blocks have been used in the past by artists and architects. This section seemed a bit unconvincing to me. If you look at anything closely enough, you can see the underlying geometric shapes. I did enjoy the examples of blocks in music. The best part of Bad Guy is the Duh! hook. It does get your attention and makes the song unforgettable. The author continues to provide many more examples of how blocks can work in any industry.

Overall, the idea of repeating a short engaging phrase to represent you or your company sounds good. I am going to try it on my blog in the near future to see if it works. If you are trying to get attention in a crowded world, it can’t hurt. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars!

Thanks to BenBella Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

** Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review **
Hay varios de los conceptos, que no representan una gran novedad, pero debo decir que igualmente la forma en la que están trabajados es novedosa. La lectura es fácil y amena, para nada dificultosa. Lo recomiendo.

I got a copy of the book via NetGalley and enjoyed reading the book.

The core concept of the book might not look to be too different from what we might find in numerous blogs or marketing books but in a key way is different. The usual advice for us is - BE Different. Find a Niche and dominate it.

Jamie talks about being different is not enough to get noticed. In order to do so, we need to follow a three step process:
1. crystallise our message to its barest, simple essence and then
2. use bold imagery (logo, statement, tune, etc) to be used as a hook to get people to notice
3. Repeat this bold imagery continuously to be noticed even within the clutter that all of us experience.

He walks the talk and the core message of the book is repeated in bold through out the book.

The stories that he uses to illustrate his point were fresh (at least to me as I hadnt not read about most of them).

The writing is simple and easy to read and follow.

If you are a creator of any kind and want to stand out in a crowd, I would recommend that you spend the few hours and read the book.

The only thing that could have made the book even more valuable was if he could have used more examples of how he got to the essence of the message that he used for his clients that made them stand out.

Technology made our lives easier and more complicated at the same time. How can you and your business stand out, attract attention and keep the audience interested in what you are and what you do? Simplicity is the key and it is well-explained in this book.