The complexity of the constraint is the value of the project.
principle — attributed to Michael Cirino
Cirino's subway dinner required twelve diners and eighty-four staff. The MTA code of conduct prohibited putting anything on the ground, which meant no tray jacks, which required four more people to hold all the things. The tables hung from the ceiling. The fine china and crystal traveled between stations. Every operational detail had to be designed for the unique environment. The complexity was not a tax on the project. It was the project. The principle generalizes for any creative endeavor. The constraints chosen at the start determine the work the team is forced to do, and the work that comes out of constraint-driven design is qualitatively different from work that has unlimited freedom.
For agency leaders, creative directors, and experiential producers thinking about how to brief projects. The principle is most useful as a corrective when teams are tempted to remove constraints rather than design around them.
constraints, complexity, design, production