Unnecessary Whimsy

Kim and I are big fans of unnecessary whimsy.

The Carmichael Collective is an ongoing project grounded in unnecessary whimsy. Carmichael Lynch, a creative company based in Minneapolis Minnesota, is behind the project, which is an exercise in creativity for creativity’s sake. They created things like the Urban Plant Tags above. As well as these Bug Memorials:

And this Censorship Towel:

While whimsy is defined as “playfully quaint or fanciful behavior or humor,” unnecessary whimsy might be defined as a bit of whimsy that is not particularly needed. Take these hot sauce packets from Taco Bell, for instance.

The message is whimsical, and yet it has no impact whatsoever on the contents of the hot sauce within. The message does’t make the packets easier to open or change the basic function of them in any way. The Urban Plant Tags, the Bug Memorials, and the Censorship Towel are similar examples of unnecessary whimsy.

And yet whimsy gives our life a much-needed respite from the seriousness of the day-to-day. It brings humanity, humor and levity to an otherwise cold world that often takes itself way too seriously. In fact, whimsy is one of the leading antidotes to Adultitis.

So really, when it comes to unnecessary whimsy, there really is no such thing.