Brand Identity 101; Understanding Cognitive Demands

It's okay to be witty while crafting a brand ID, but witty goes only as far as the wit.

The status quo with start-ups seems to be "as fancy as possible". By doing this they risk coming off as corny instead of witty.

Cognitive demand refers to the amount of mental effort or processing required to perform a particular task or activity. It is a measure of the cognitive load imposed on an individual's working memory during a task, which can be influenced by factors such as the complexity of the task, the individual's cognitive abilities and prior knowledge, and the environment in which the task is performed.

Tasks that require high cognitive demand can be mentally taxing and may lead to fatigue, reduced performance, and errors if sustained for prolonged periods. On the other hand, tasks that require low cognitive demand may be relatively effortless and allow individuals to perform other tasks concurrently.

So when a startup adopts an "over-smart" brand identity or content strategy, you can create a mismatch between perceived and projected images leading the target audience to dislike a brand instead of liking it.