My fascination for graphic design doesn’t cease to surprise me. Since I began my career five years ago, I’ve been connecting dots to design theory and understanding the complex philosophies of my life through a designer’s lens. This time, I want to talk about Kirby, the Nintendo video game character. He’s (yeah, it’s a he) one of the best analogies for explaining the concept of flexible visual systems. Kirby teaches us the importance of adapting to our fast-paced, dynamic world.

Kirby teaches us the importance of adapting to our fast-paced, dynamic world.

The unique powers of Kirby

In 1992, when Masahiro Sakurai submitted his pitch to Nintendo, the character was only a placeholder blob used for demos. Later, it became a beloved figure for HAL Laboratory, the video game developer. Keeping Kirby’s shape simple was a strategic approach. The simplicity of the form would leave such a lasting impression that it would be destined to find a home in the margins of all notebooks.

Kirby’s inevitable evolution, powered by tech advancements, became unique when his “Inhale” powers were boosted with his new “Copy Abilities.” Resembling a vacuum cleaner, he inhales and swallows the enemy, then absorbs and mimics the enemy’s power after spitting them out, even borrowing the enemy’s look.

Kirby inhales and swallows the enemy, then absorbs and mimics the enemy’s power after spitting them out.

With the release of “Kirby Super Star Game,” the concept of transformation was introduced. When the character encounters what are defined as “Ability Bubbles,” he takes on a new form based on the attributes of the bubble. It was not until the “Super Smash Bros.” series that Kirby began fighting against well-established characters, such as Mario, Pikachu, Zelda, and many more from the Nintendo Multiverse that the true power of Kirby’s transformative abilities were recognized.

“Kirby And The Forgotten Land” is the newest game from the franchise, and it digs deep into Kirby’s malleability with an intriguing new power called “Mouthful.” With this ability, he can cleverly stash everyday objects in his mouth and strategically use them for various purposes, such as driving vehicles, creating pathways, and uncovering treasures — like an adorable version of Mr. Fantastic or Elastic Women.

Kirby’s new power “Mouthful” allows him to cleverly stash everyday objects in his mouth and strategically use them for various purposes.

What can we learn from this game character, knowing we live in an ever-changing visual and technological landscape?

Kirby’s remarkable adaptability enables creative exploration without compromising his core identity. This is made possible because of Kirby’s inherently simple body components.

Every time he’s copying an enemy’s abilities and appearance, there’s a strategic visual balance between his variable and constant components that enable the viewer to understand the fusion of two different “brands,” understanding that Kirby is still the dominant form.

Now, to bring this concept into a real-world context, the visual balance is essential for all brands responding to culture through different media channels but wanting to look more visually varied. Clearly defining the constant components improves identity recognition, while variables are critical for adapting to ever evolving formal and semantic contexts. There are many ways to achieve visual variability while retaining its brand identifiers.

Defining the constant components improves identity recognition, while variables are critical for adapting.

Kirby’s flexibility may be suitable for every brand, especially institutional brands with many facets, like a museum, which can significantly benefit from a visual system that expands and adapts to changing times and cultural shifts. Flexibility within the visual system can be reached through countless approaches.

The Mellon Foundation does this nicely. Their brand mark is a squiggly W that can be modified in the curve, slant, height, and other properties within a set of measurement rules. The W can “wear” different textures, live in both 2D and 3D environments, and be used as a frame for photography. These different assigned properties are what compose the visual system rules.

What’s a visual system? How does it relate to a visual identity?

At some point in history, merchants got overwhelmed by market saturation, and competition was rising. It was critical to differentiate in any way possible to stand out in the noise. It could be through customer experience, reputable quality products, or, most importantly, storefronts, which would probably contain what we might consider a logo. The overall function of a visual identity is to be recognized by people so they create associations from the moment a product is bought, used, and disposed of.

The overall function of a visual identity is to be recognized by people.

A logo, color palette, typography, and layout are crucial elements that compose the visual language used in a visual identity. Photography styles, illustrations, and textures could also play out as another layer of complexity. More elements might result in a more complex identity. The key to achieving consistent results throughout all graphic brand touchpoints is to set specific visual rules regarding how you use and combine your elements (typography, color, illustrations, layout, etc). This set of rules is the visual system, the manual.

Now, what does a flexible visual system mean?

Martin Lorenz, Ph.D. in communication design who did his dissertation on the topic, wrote “Flexible Visual Systems: The Design Manual for Contemporary Visual Identities” in impressively and digestible ways, with theoretical and practical “hands-on” lessons. Dr. Lorenz’s writing on contemporary visual identities was essential for me to understand that Kirby embraces some of these ideas.

In our current times, it is antiquated to think a logo alone can satisfy the requirements of a visual identity. “It is too monosyllabic when eloquence is required,” says Lorenz. Consistent use of typography, color palette, and layout could better bring visual variety and articulate different messages to any audience in distinct contexts, in contrast to a logo stamping approach, yet still making it identifiable to the tied company.

It is antiquated to think a logo alone can satisfy the requirements of a visual identity.

Two Types of Flexible Systems for Visual Identities

Later in the book, Lorenz defined two types of flexible systems for visual identities — form-based and transformation-based systems.

The most popular is the form-based, which is inherently simple for its modular character. Assign properties to shapes, like incorporating color, text, or image, and create various combinations. Transformation-based visual systems could also start with shapes, but it’s not a mandate. It relies on design processes that lead to unique specific treatments. An example well-illustrated by the author: If you take a shape, image, or typeface and consistently print the assets using a Riso printer, the texture left on the paper will be an identifiable mark.

These systems could be either open or closed. Closed allows for variations of the existing elements, but you can’t add new ones. In open systems, you can add fresh “ingredients” and modify old ones; this requires consistent adjustments or over-time updates since it processes external data.

So, what the hell does Kirby have in common with flexible visual systems?

For starters, Kirby embraces adaptability on every battlefield.

Kirby has the unique power of fusing two different brands. When he swallows Sonic and spits him out, he inherits a set of character traits, like Sonic’s spiky head fur. Other instances:

• Pikachu Hat with Ears and a Tail
• Snake’s Headband and Beard
• Samu’s Helmet (which leaves only Kirby’s hands and feet visible)
• Pac-Man’s Nose and Eyebrows

Some are literal, others subtly funny. What doesn’t cease to amaze me is how Kirby’s minimal form allows him to go further and challenge the performance of his visual identifiers. Kirby appears to operate with an open-form-based visual system, which enables the incorporation of new elements in the rules, driven by Kirby’s fundamentally simple components that create his body.

Kirby’s minimal form allows him to go further and challenge the performance of his visual identifiers.

Take a look at these three character fusions.

Mii Wii Character

An amazingly unusual choice was including the Mii (Wii’s customizable avatar) as a fighter. There are three different Miis, a Brawler, a Swordfighter, and a Gunner, and when Kirby copies their ability, he uses a headband with a Mii’s face on it. Given a Mii’s body mimicking a something like bathroom sign iconography, I often questioned this solution. How far could they change Kirby’s form without being off-brand, still recognizing Mii visually, and not falling into the uncanny valley?

Game & Watch

I didn’t know the old Nintendo’s 2D stick figure knew how to fight! When swallowed, Kirby becomes a pitch-black ball with grey outlines and big grey eyes. It reveals how powerful his rounded silhouette is enough for recognition. If Kirby also obtained Mr.Game and Watch’s nose, it would be a great balance between characters.

Minecraft Characters

Another insane transformation is when Kirby copies one of the four Minecraft character’s appearance, ultimately making him a square pink block with cute rectangular eyes, cheekbones, and limbs. It’s impressive how Minecraft conquered the ownership of the 3D pixel form. In the plethora of gaming, ordinary people like me who know only surface-level, Minecraft is the first thing to come to mind when I see a 3D block in a game. Plus, adding Kirby’s face and squared limbs — the perfect fusion of the two visual systems.

A fast-paced, ever-evolving society and its constant advancements in communications technology demands flexible visual solutions.

Martin Lorenz consistently mentioned the improvements in visual communications, which now mostly takes place on screens rather than paper, requiring graphics to be animated rather than static. Our cultural net keeps growing beyond our complex human brains, and our intolerance for the old grows deeper within our drive for development.

I hope this analogy offers valuable insights for those crafting new brands, as it underscores the importance of adaptability within our diverse cultural net. In the dynamic design world, Kirby reminds us of the importance of reacting and adapting to the world’s ever-changing landscapes.

Kirby reminds us of the importance of reacting and adapting to the world’s ever-changing landscapes.

Special thanks to Dr. Martin Lorenz. His book should be required for every design student and professional looking for some grounding. It has been one of the best companions for projects of all scales. 10/10.

I leave to you, the reader, an excellent book recommendation and a couple of my favorite Kirby memes I found online.

Don’t be a stranger. Come chat (or work with us) at Coalesce: hello@coalesce.nyc

References

• Martin. Flexible Visual Systems: The Design Manual for Contemporary Visual Identities.
• Lorenz, Martin. On the Road to Variable: The Flexible Future of Typography.
• Melzer, Jenny. Nintendo’s Kirby Was Never Meant to Be a Pink Blob.
• Kirby Wiki, Super Smash Bros. series.
• Petite, Steven. Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the biggest and most inventive entry in the long-running franchise.
• Hagues, Alana. Random: It’s Okay Everyone, Kirby Doesn’t Digest His Enemies
• Parrish, Ash. The shape of Kirby.
• Nintendo Wiki, PoPoPo (Kirby)
• Mueller, Eric. The Evolution of Nintendo’s Pink Puffball.
• Baird, Scott. Kirby Turns Into A Cube After Eating Steve In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.