1. To what extent is packaging important in marketing a product? Give an example of how a package influenced your decision to buy (or not buy) something.
The packaging of a product is the initial impression. It serves the important purpose of drawing a consumer in. If the packaging wasn't there to catch the eye (even on a really wonderful product) then the sale would fail. I make an effort to switch my shampoo fairly often and always go on the lookout for cool looking yet affordable "new" products. Specifically I bought "Infusion" shampoo for just that reason: it caught my eye. Then I picked it up and smelled it, and had to buy it. The bottle is not only aesthetically pleasing and decently original, it is metallic silver. It gives off a modern edgy air, as if to say "we are not mainstream, but we are still really good at what we do".
2. What other products have iconic packaging?
The first thing that comes to mind is "Arm and Hammer" products: baking soda, detergent, etc. The logo is in the title, making it all the more recognizable. The package is bright orange with the iconic red circle surrounding the, wait for it, arm and hammer. Brilliant. That specific shade of orange is what makes this product so easily definable.
In my opinion, the Kashi label is iconic as well. The logo is so simple: the unique green shape with white negative space for the lettering. It communicates enough of what their healthy, go-green, message is that no other clutter is needed. The box itself may not be anything original, but what really catches my attention are the bars of color on the sides. They have a curve to them, so when one looks at the box from the front, it appears slimmer. Hence another message Kashi is putting across: one of the health conscious consumer.
3. What usability issues exist for packaging? Give examples of particularly good or bad packaging from a usability perspective.
Every time I buy some sort of new electronic device, say for example the cord that connects my laptop and camera, I struggle for a good 5-10 minutes opening the packaging. It is understandable that the plastic needs to be thick and plentiful for product protection, anti-thievery, and a few design purposes... but that doesn't explain why it is so darn hard to open. There are not even opening instructions on it. I attempted the scissor route, only to be literally impaled by sharp plastic. And then when I finally got down to the cardboard, it was attached by wire twistees which took some more gray-hair growing to undo. All in all, a painful and unnecessary process.
Also the grated cheese bags that have a tear-off top and underneath are zip up are usually rather frustrating. I usually tear the whole top off, including the zip up part, meaning I just undermined the design of the bag.
But now to the good: I had a trail mix bag a while ago that's packaging performed exactly as it should. I tore off the top and sturdily fixed underneath was the zip up device. It was wonderful. And I even appreciated it at the time too.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Retail Analysis
1. What store did you observe? Who do they market to?
I visited Stewart Clarke Fine Furniture and Interior Design. They market to upper-middle class adults (28+), most likely families or couples with a little more room in their houses.
2. Briefly describe the following
a. appearance of store entrance (from outside)
http://www.stewartclarkefurniture.com/images/photos/storefront_medium.jpg
Looks decently inviting. Neat, clean, white, well kept. Gives off an air of professionalism and invitation. Yet, it does not stand out from its surroundings.
b. sounds (inside the store)
Smooth jazz. Unobtrusive and nearly forgettable yet communicates a pleasant homey vibe.
c. how merchandise is displayed
At first glance, the store looks like the furniture gods threw-up. Yet once one makes the commitment of walking through the store, isles become clearer and one realizes that they are being taken on a kind of themed journey. Couches, chairs, carpets, and dressers are arranged in aesthetically pleasing arrangements (how-to set ups) and as one ventures deeper into the store, walls start to separate and define the arrangements.
d. floors
Carpet. Beige carpet. A good neutral, but at times I imagine that hard-wood floors would be more appealing. They also put patterned rugs over the carpet in places to complete a certain look or set-up.
e. signs
The logo for the store is incredibly simple, maybe even a bit boring. It is dark green and small, and from the street, almost illegible. There are signs around the store to indicate prices, all are clearly visible (they are very conscious that their prices be/or appear to be fair).
f. cashier area
It is in the VERY BACK of the store. But this is the kind of retailer where the sales-person brings the sale to the customer, not vice-versa. Therefore, there are tables in strategic locations around the store where deals can be made.
3. What image does this business try to project? Give specific examples of design elements that reflect this image.
This store wants its customers to feel like they are shopping at home (or to see the potential of how great their home could look). All items are sit-able, touchable, and accessible once in the "zone" of the store. Everything from the lighting tint and light fixtures to the material color palette and the wallpaper have a soft neutral hew. Beige, green, white, blue, and brown are frequented among the designs. Even the outside of the store looks like a home. They want to seem classy, yet low key.
4. How did customers interact with various elements of the store's design?
I touched everything. I sat on the soft chair and fingered the fake flowers in the glass vase and then ran my hand along the textured desk. Everything FELT beautiful and new and well cared for. They must expect this kind of behavior because people intimately interact with their furniture on a day-to-day basis. They WANT people to feel and experience their products, one of their best marketing strategies I'm sure.
5. What did you find interesting about the design of this store?
There is not a transition place between the street and the store. Immediately upon entering, I felt the heating, the change in lighting, and the musical ambiance. Everything was pleasant except for the change in temperature. Also, even though the exterior of the store sports large windows, there was little if any displays in them. I saw the back of a couch and their tiny logo from the street.
I visited Stewart Clarke Fine Furniture and Interior Design. They market to upper-middle class adults (28+), most likely families or couples with a little more room in their houses.
2. Briefly describe the following
a. appearance of store entrance (from outside)
http://www.stewartclarkefurniture.com/images/photos/storefront_medium.jpg
Looks decently inviting. Neat, clean, white, well kept. Gives off an air of professionalism and invitation. Yet, it does not stand out from its surroundings.
b. sounds (inside the store)
Smooth jazz. Unobtrusive and nearly forgettable yet communicates a pleasant homey vibe.
c. how merchandise is displayed
At first glance, the store looks like the furniture gods threw-up. Yet once one makes the commitment of walking through the store, isles become clearer and one realizes that they are being taken on a kind of themed journey. Couches, chairs, carpets, and dressers are arranged in aesthetically pleasing arrangements (how-to set ups) and as one ventures deeper into the store, walls start to separate and define the arrangements.
d. floors
Carpet. Beige carpet. A good neutral, but at times I imagine that hard-wood floors would be more appealing. They also put patterned rugs over the carpet in places to complete a certain look or set-up.
e. signs
The logo for the store is incredibly simple, maybe even a bit boring. It is dark green and small, and from the street, almost illegible. There are signs around the store to indicate prices, all are clearly visible (they are very conscious that their prices be/or appear to be fair).
f. cashier area
It is in the VERY BACK of the store. But this is the kind of retailer where the sales-person brings the sale to the customer, not vice-versa. Therefore, there are tables in strategic locations around the store where deals can be made.
3. What image does this business try to project? Give specific examples of design elements that reflect this image.
This store wants its customers to feel like they are shopping at home (or to see the potential of how great their home could look). All items are sit-able, touchable, and accessible once in the "zone" of the store. Everything from the lighting tint and light fixtures to the material color palette and the wallpaper have a soft neutral hew. Beige, green, white, blue, and brown are frequented among the designs. Even the outside of the store looks like a home. They want to seem classy, yet low key.
4. How did customers interact with various elements of the store's design?
I touched everything. I sat on the soft chair and fingered the fake flowers in the glass vase and then ran my hand along the textured desk. Everything FELT beautiful and new and well cared for. They must expect this kind of behavior because people intimately interact with their furniture on a day-to-day basis. They WANT people to feel and experience their products, one of their best marketing strategies I'm sure.
5. What did you find interesting about the design of this store?
There is not a transition place between the street and the store. Immediately upon entering, I felt the heating, the change in lighting, and the musical ambiance. Everything was pleasant except for the change in temperature. Also, even though the exterior of the store sports large windows, there was little if any displays in them. I saw the back of a couch and their tiny logo from the street.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
"The Science of Shopping" Response
1. What points from this article do you feel are most important?
The average shopper is uber-sensitive to their surroundings.
People cannot accurately predict how they best want to be served (we always go to the right, we need a place that makes us feel at ease, we want people around but not too many)
Designers should analyze people's actual tendencies and needs, accommodate them, and then take advantage of them for best shopping results.
People have different tendencies (men are impulsive, women shop with a list, etc) , yet they can be analyzed closely and their preferred purchases can be predicted.
2. How much do you personally feel you are influenced by a store's design?
Something specific that I have noticed for myself is that I have the odd tendency to turn left when entering a building instead of right, no matter the design. For the longest time, I made the incorrect turn on the way down to the Trow laundry room and had to re-trace my steps.
But in general, I feel very manipulated by the way a store is laid out. Whenever I go into a grocery store, it is always obnoxious that milk is way in the back (yet I love how fruit is in the front). In a clothing store, for example Holister, instead of reacting positively to the stimulus (loud music, dark, smells odd) I find it intimidating...yet I am still influenced by it. I know that if I ever did make it all the way into that store and purchase something, it would say something about me. A store's design is not only the atmosphere, but the image it projects that flows through the isles and right out the door with its customers. If the design noes not influence the customer, than the store has failed.
3. Make a check list you could use to analyze a retail store like Paco Underhill does.
Is there a hook that draws the potential customer's attention (maybe in a display window)? The moment they enter the door, are the flow and atmosphere communicated? Are they coherent with the type of retail and type of customers that will buy the merchandise? ARE ALL OF THE CUSTOMERS NEEDS MET (matched items for men, layouts for women, wide isles, good customer service etc.)??? Does the design meet the needs of the store (is merchandise laid out in the optimum way, are the 'go to' items in the back, etc)?
The average shopper is uber-sensitive to their surroundings.
People cannot accurately predict how they best want to be served (we always go to the right, we need a place that makes us feel at ease, we want people around but not too many)
Designers should analyze people's actual tendencies and needs, accommodate them, and then take advantage of them for best shopping results.
People have different tendencies (men are impulsive, women shop with a list, etc) , yet they can be analyzed closely and their preferred purchases can be predicted.
2. How much do you personally feel you are influenced by a store's design?
Something specific that I have noticed for myself is that I have the odd tendency to turn left when entering a building instead of right, no matter the design. For the longest time, I made the incorrect turn on the way down to the Trow laundry room and had to re-trace my steps.
But in general, I feel very manipulated by the way a store is laid out. Whenever I go into a grocery store, it is always obnoxious that milk is way in the back (yet I love how fruit is in the front). In a clothing store, for example Holister, instead of reacting positively to the stimulus (loud music, dark, smells odd) I find it intimidating...yet I am still influenced by it. I know that if I ever did make it all the way into that store and purchase something, it would say something about me. A store's design is not only the atmosphere, but the image it projects that flows through the isles and right out the door with its customers. If the design noes not influence the customer, than the store has failed.
3. Make a check list you could use to analyze a retail store like Paco Underhill does.
Is there a hook that draws the potential customer's attention (maybe in a display window)? The moment they enter the door, are the flow and atmosphere communicated? Are they coherent with the type of retail and type of customers that will buy the merchandise? ARE ALL OF THE CUSTOMERS NEEDS MET (matched items for men, layouts for women, wide isles, good customer service etc.)??? Does the design meet the needs of the store (is merchandise laid out in the optimum way, are the 'go to' items in the back, etc)?
Sunday, October 11, 2009
"Biggest Mistakes" Response
1. How does this reading relate to the concept of user-focused design that we have discussed in class?
Vincent Flanders constantly chants the mantra, "The only reason this website exists is to solve other people's problems." Websites are created with a purpose; to accommodate the customers needs. If the maker is too caught up in the superficial and impressive nature of his/her website, it is probable that the customer will be forgotten and unsatisfied. All design elements that we have been discussing in class (proper affordances, visceral/behavioral/reflective appeal, etc.) should be in place for the website to function to its highest quality.
2. What points do you feel are most important?
The website goal and purpose needs to be ridiculously obvious.
The information should be designed in an easily navigable way without distractions.
Contrast!!!
Use extraneous embellishment carefully and intentionally.
Content is key. Without content, there is nothing.
3. Create your own list of important design factors for a webpage.
I feel very content with the list that Flanders provides. He speaks from a very educated stand point. I, on the other hand, know very little about the logistics of web design and when he refers to things such as tableless CSS, I am completely lost.
My ultimate web design factors would have to include simplicity and clarity, with a modern edge. There is nothing like logging in to a site and knowing immediately that it looks 10 year old. Therefore 1. Un-complex, easy for the average Joe. 2. Images that support the topic, but not too many. 3. Everything does exactly what it says it will (links go where they should, etc.) 4. Updates often. 5. Provides a valuable service to the customer.
Vincent Flanders constantly chants the mantra, "The only reason this website exists is to solve other people's problems." Websites are created with a purpose; to accommodate the customers needs. If the maker is too caught up in the superficial and impressive nature of his/her website, it is probable that the customer will be forgotten and unsatisfied. All design elements that we have been discussing in class (proper affordances, visceral/behavioral/reflective appeal, etc.) should be in place for the website to function to its highest quality.
2. What points do you feel are most important?
The website goal and purpose needs to be ridiculously obvious.
The information should be designed in an easily navigable way without distractions.
Contrast!!!
Use extraneous embellishment carefully and intentionally.
Content is key. Without content, there is nothing.
3. Create your own list of important design factors for a webpage.
I feel very content with the list that Flanders provides. He speaks from a very educated stand point. I, on the other hand, know very little about the logistics of web design and when he refers to things such as tableless CSS, I am completely lost.
My ultimate web design factors would have to include simplicity and clarity, with a modern edge. There is nothing like logging in to a site and knowing immediately that it looks 10 year old. Therefore 1. Un-complex, easy for the average Joe. 2. Images that support the topic, but not too many. 3. Everything does exactly what it says it will (links go where they should, etc.) 4. Updates often. 5. Provides a valuable service to the customer.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
"Know It All" Response
1. What do you think are the author's main points in this article?
The communal design of Wikipedia affords a vast quantity of knowledge never available before the internet, yet there are still many glitches in its functions. Wikipedia intends to provide decently reliable information to an immense and culturally diverse audience. The design of the website is nowhere near perfect. Problems include: many Wikipedians now concentrate more on stocking up on their editing points with small corrections than actually benefiting the site, vandals and uneducated editors plague articles, and Wikipedians dispute over the true facts of an issue.
2. An important part of credible writing is selecting good supporting evidence. Select a passage from this article that illustrates the effective use of supporting detail. Explain why you think it is particularily effective.
"Part of the problem is provenance. The bulk of Wikipedia’s content originates not in the stacks but on the Web, which offers up everything from breaking news, spin, and gossip to proof that the moon landings never took place. Glaring errors jostle quiet omissions. Wales, in his public speeches, cites the Google test: “If it isn’t on Google, it doesn’t exist.” This position poses another difficulty: on Wikipedia, the present takes precedent over the past. The (generally good) entry on St. Augustine is shorter than the one on Britney Spears."
This paragraph admits that many users use the internet as their soul source of choice; the internet, as the quote states, is run with unscholarly and unreliable work. It is important to search for literary and printed sources because their permanence, detail, and validity is invaluable. I personally have searched google a number of times and not found what I am looking for (most commonly for little-known or contemporary plays and their authors.)
3. Throughout the article, the author compares Wikipedia to the Encyclopedia Britannica, but not specifically on design. How would you compare the two encyclopedias from a design perspective?
Wikipedia: Relies heavily on simplicity. The background is white. Pages can go on and on, but organization outline at the beginning is very useful. Easy to return to the home page. Right-hand side bar with pictures and general information is very helpful. Free, no advertisements.
Encyclopedia Britannica (website): Blue color attracts eye. Easy to search. Has adapted to the Wiki trend of general people editing by having a "suggested edit" button. Difficult to return to the home page. Requires you to be logged in / to pay to look at a lot of things. Distracting 'premium members' pop-up and other ads.
The communal design of Wikipedia affords a vast quantity of knowledge never available before the internet, yet there are still many glitches in its functions. Wikipedia intends to provide decently reliable information to an immense and culturally diverse audience. The design of the website is nowhere near perfect. Problems include: many Wikipedians now concentrate more on stocking up on their editing points with small corrections than actually benefiting the site, vandals and uneducated editors plague articles, and Wikipedians dispute over the true facts of an issue.
2. An important part of credible writing is selecting good supporting evidence. Select a passage from this article that illustrates the effective use of supporting detail. Explain why you think it is particularily effective.
"Part of the problem is provenance. The bulk of Wikipedia’s content originates not in the stacks but on the Web, which offers up everything from breaking news, spin, and gossip to proof that the moon landings never took place. Glaring errors jostle quiet omissions. Wales, in his public speeches, cites the Google test: “If it isn’t on Google, it doesn’t exist.” This position poses another difficulty: on Wikipedia, the present takes precedent over the past. The (generally good) entry on St. Augustine is shorter than the one on Britney Spears."
This paragraph admits that many users use the internet as their soul source of choice; the internet, as the quote states, is run with unscholarly and unreliable work. It is important to search for literary and printed sources because their permanence, detail, and validity is invaluable. I personally have searched google a number of times and not found what I am looking for (most commonly for little-known or contemporary plays and their authors.)
3. Throughout the article, the author compares Wikipedia to the Encyclopedia Britannica, but not specifically on design. How would you compare the two encyclopedias from a design perspective?
Wikipedia: Relies heavily on simplicity. The background is white. Pages can go on and on, but organization outline at the beginning is very useful. Easy to return to the home page. Right-hand side bar with pictures and general information is very helpful. Free, no advertisements.
Encyclopedia Britannica (website): Blue color attracts eye. Easy to search. Has adapted to the Wiki trend of general people editing by having a "suggested edit" button. Difficult to return to the home page. Requires you to be logged in / to pay to look at a lot of things. Distracting 'premium members' pop-up and other ads.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
"Organization and Preparation Tips" Response
1. What do you think are the author's three most important points?
1. The presentation needs to be based on content and directed towards on overlying point 2. You need to thoroughly prepare so that you could do the presentation at the drop of a hat 3. You need to be confident on yourself to make the presentation affective.
2. How might you apply his advice to your own presentation?
First we should figure out specifically what point we want to get across and how we will organize our thoughts before we start the Powerpoint. We also need to consider how educated our audience is and gauge the presentation for them. Adding an anecdote would be nice, if we can make it fit in.
3. What do you think presentation has in common with product design?
If the product design is strong, the presentation has a solid base to bounce from. Often times, the presentation will be a pitch to get the product off the ground and built, so the design needs to be worthwhile for the presentation to succeed. It should also be tailored to the needs of the product (i.e. if the item is small, visible pictures need to be included in the slideshow. If it is breakable, some kind of showcase is necessary).
1. The presentation needs to be based on content and directed towards on overlying point 2. You need to thoroughly prepare so that you could do the presentation at the drop of a hat 3. You need to be confident on yourself to make the presentation affective.
2. How might you apply his advice to your own presentation?
First we should figure out specifically what point we want to get across and how we will organize our thoughts before we start the Powerpoint. We also need to consider how educated our audience is and gauge the presentation for them. Adding an anecdote would be nice, if we can make it fit in.
3. What do you think presentation has in common with product design?
If the product design is strong, the presentation has a solid base to bounce from. Often times, the presentation will be a pitch to get the product off the ground and built, so the design needs to be worthwhile for the presentation to succeed. It should also be tailored to the needs of the product (i.e. if the item is small, visible pictures need to be included in the slideshow. If it is breakable, some kind of showcase is necessary).
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