I went for a bike ride this weekend in Venice Beach. There’s a paved serpentine bike path that hugs the beach from Venice to Santa Monica. A couple of friends and I rented bikes and rode for a few hours, enjoying the sunny California-winter day. We rode our bikes to the Santa Monica pier and ate lunch.

On the way back, I noticed a restaurant with a large red awning in front of it. In bold white letters, it read: Sidewalk Café and Full Bar. Then I noticed the words printed again on a similar awning that started on the other side of the front entrance.

In the cluttered environment of messages and spin and bells and whistles, this clear message cut right through it all. All the information you need is right there. The establishment is on the sidewalk along the beach walk and evidently it’s a cafe with a full bar. Talk about a clear message.

Sure, there’s no branding, nothing telling me how it’s going to make me feel or how I’m supposed to categorize it in my mind. You can’t surmise anything from the name because it’s not deep–it’s on the surface. It says to you that you can eat and drink at this place in clear white letters visible from the beach. What else do you need to know?

Clarity of message is often lost in the fog of creativity. Not in this case. And I would have stopped at this Sidewalk Cafe and full bar, but I already ate lunch at Hot Dog on a Stick. I’m a sucker for a clear message.

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