The Power of Three

Brand Design
Written By Steve Leder

Much like the color purple, I’ve always had a thing for the number 3.

Simple, complete, balanced. It shows up in design, in nature, in storytelling, in science, in sports, in life… over and over again.

And my favorite number? 9. Three threes. 3+3+3. Oooh wow.

Whether you realize it or not, your brain’s been trained to love it too.

1. Design, Branding & Visual Systems

If you’re a creative, you already know how important the number three is. Three is structure, tension and harmony all at once and it appears everywhere in the designers world.

  • Rule of Thirds. Split a canvas into three columns and rows, and the whole composition comes alive.
  • Triadic Color Schemes. Three evenly spaced hues on the color wheel = harmony.
  • Three Levels of Info. Primary, secondary, tertiary. Easy to scan, easy to digest.
  • Three-Word Phrases. “Just Do It.” “Have it Your Way.” “I'm Lovin' It.” Three words land harder than four.

There are approx. seven bazillion more examples of this in creative work. It’s thinking based on instinct.

2. Patterns in Life & Culture

Zoom out and you’ll find the number 3 everywhere.

  • Past, Present, Future. It’s how we understand time.
  • Beginning, Middle, End. The basic arc of every story ever told.
  • “Third time’s the charm.” A cultural reflex.
  • 3 Little Pigs. Goldilocks. 3 Wishes. Three’s been imprinted on us since we were kids.
  • 3 branches of U.S. government. Legislative, Executive, Judicial (balanced by design).

You can feel the number 3 in rhythm, jokes, speeches. “Of the people, by the people, for the people.” Lincoln knew.

3. Spiritual Structure

The number 3 is filled with high meaning across pretty much every religion ever. A few quick examples:

  • Christianity: The Holy Trinity — Father, Son, Holy Spirit
  • Hinduism: The Trimurti — Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer)
  • Buddhism: The Three Jewels — Buddha, Dharma, Sangha

Across time and beliefs, the number 3 plays important roles.

4. Science & Reality

And the natural world? Yep, everywhere.

  • Earth is the third planet from the sun
  • Atoms are made of three parts: electrons, protons, neutrons
  • States of matter (at their simplest): solid, liquid, gas
  • Planes of existence: above, surface, below

This list can go on and on and on and...

Why Three?

Three is enough to make something feel intentional. It’s a complete set without the weight of too much.

There’s an old phrase that summarizes three better than I could ever do — bonus, it even comes in three parts: One is lonely. Two is tension. Three is harmony.

Which probably explains why I love 9. If three is harmony, then three threes? That’s just called perfection.

Steve Leder
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