Themes: Not Just for Websites, Anymore

Dun-dunnnn, dun-dunnnn, Da-da-da, da-da-da-daaaaa!

Those are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs of all time: The Jurassic Park theme music.
Okay, so no they’re not, and there weren’t really lyrics to any of the songs on the whole of the Jurassic Park sountrack at all. But the music is so iconic that, admit it, looking over those two lines of near-onomatopoeia after I’d cited what they actually were, had you da-daaing along. In fact, the song is now very probably stuck in your head. You’re welcome.

When I say the word theme, theme song is probably one of the first terms that jumps to the front of your mind. Maybe too, you’re a web developer like I am, and you think of website themes, or blog themes, or the millions of other themes out there at our disposal for creating amazing digital content by doing half the work and taking all the credit. One way or the other, you may not have considered a theme for some other things which could really benefit from being wrapped in one. If you’re an entrepreneur, for example, could you easily tell me the theme of your business?

When I teach creative writing, one of the things I have my students do, is learn to become experts in the art of timelining. A good timeline can break down a story to its core components of plot, character development, and you guessed it, its theme. Some students are surprised to find that theme is different from plot, and it’s not always hard to see why. Your plot may be a simple one: “an epic battle between good and evil” and your theme could mirror that with “an exploration of the stark contrast between good and evil”. As you can see, the two can potentially be very similar. In truth, each is very important to bringing a story to life, but where plot is the way by which a world progresses in a story, I like to think of the theme as a blueprint for the way in which the audience’s emotion will also progress.

Themes certainly can create a lot of interest in stories, but they can also apply to a business. A good theme can really set a company apart from the others it is in competition with. Farmer John might have a regular old pig farm, but his theme might be “the friendliest bacon in town”and so long as he delivers, who are his customers to argue? The guy who does my taxes’ theme is probably “plain and boring, just the way I like it” and he certainly shines in that department.

Now, I hear you! You’re probably saying, “Dawn, you do realize that most normal companies already have this, and they call it branding, right?” and that’s true… at least, partially. Bigger companies who have a set of colors which they’ve paid some other company millions of dollars to research (how many of you are thinking – whoa! Millions of dollars to talk colors?! Am I in the wrong business!), who have a slogan, maybe a mascot, and perhaps even own licensing to some popular song have embraced the idea of themes and then promptly shot it full of steroids. But friends, I insist that isn’t everything I am talking about, here. I like to think of branding as a business' plot - its story.

A theme, and what I mean by it, is a horse of a different color, because it is not so easily conveyed in just a slogan, logo, or mascot. In fact, it might just be a song that reminds you of the way you do things. It might be a piece of visual art. It might be something you wouldn't necessarily want to come right out and share with your customers, in fact, but its presence is felt in everything you do, regardless.

I’m going to point this talk at you for now, Mister Blogger. You may think your job is done, having picked a topic to write about and a color for the website it’s going on. You may have a logo and a clever slogan to back it up. But do you believe it? Does your writing style reflect it or emphasize it? More importantly, can your customers “get it” if you were to take away your snazzy website, amazing logo and ultra-hip slogan? Would you get it?

A theme is something more or less unseen, is my point. It’s the voice in your head as you’re writing, or the rhythm that a piece has when being read. It’s syntax, it’s vocabulary, it’s knowing where your boundaries lie and the hook that brings your readers back for more. It’s humor, or elegance or (my personal favorite) harsh reality. In essence, it’s just one more magical element that allows you to shine through every piece of work you do, no matter how it is presented, framed or whose desk it lands on, that tells the person looking at it you created this and its intention is clear!

The next time you read a blog post (maybe even this one! You are still reading, right?) or listen to a podcast or watch a show, consider its theme. Take note if it is strong or weak. Is it consistent each time? See the ways by which it is evoked and remember the feelings it gives you. Would it be something to replicate?

When you explore themes, your own works become so much richer. The things you create and the work you do will be better than you thought they could be, I promise.