Artisan Economy

I've never been much of a cook. If you ask my friends, they will tell you that the microwave is my best friend. In fact, one of my best buddies was shocked when he learned that I actually use the stove on occasion.

Well, when I first was out on my own I did not own a single pot or pan to cook with. I cooked using the Stouffer's method. But when I decided to buy some pots and pans, I went for a set that featured a saucepan, skillet, and larger pot along with a lot of cook looking utensils that was a great price. These little cookware pieces lasted several years and were of decent quality.

However, when I decided to replace them this year, I decided to look around and spend a bit more for something of higher quality. I ended up purchasing a great T-Fal 2-quart saucepan along with their eco-friendly non-stick 12.5 inch Saute Pan.

So what does this have to do with an "artisan economy"?

Well, I got to thinking that I didn't value the cookware I had, it was disposable because I had only spent a modest sum on it. Then I started thinking about things like the apps in the app store, or office supplies, you know, the little things that are cheap and how if it breaks, you just buy a new one.

Really, when you think about it, can something that costs a dollar or less really cost less than a dollar to produce? In some cases yes, but what about something that is five dollars or even ten? When those items break, we usually discard them too.

But what would happen if we spent more for something of a bit better quality? What if that five dollar toy was ten and was built a bit sturdier and of quality materials instead of cheap plastic? Maybe your kids would value their toys a bit more and want to keep them longer. (Ok it was worth a shot... :P) Or maybe that nice utensil that you bought for $10 that was made of metal instead of plastic would last longer and do better for your needs.

As I've gotten older, I've learned that I'm willing to pay a bit more for quality. Maybe if we all were willing to spend a bit more less often for quality items, then our economy would improve as we need to fill positions to make all this cool stuff.

Ironically, soon after I had this revelation, Eric Karjaluoto over at Ideas on Ideas had a great post about the very same topic. Maybe, fingers crossed, it's the start of a good trend....

(btw, I'm not affiliated with Eric, smashLAB, or Ideas on Ideas other than I enjoy Eric's posts and once had a fun conversation about design conferences with him on Facebook that he probably doesn't remember...)

Mail Fail...Local is Relative

I just received this cute little bit of direct marking in the mail this week:

As you can see, it's addressed to "Our Neighbor". How nice! But the return address is in San Antonio, Texas. Hmm...a quick Google maps search shows that San Antonio is about 1200 miles from Dayton. Wow, that's some neighborhood!

I know that the larger companies have centralized mail services/print vendors/what have you, but really, "Our Neighbor" just really isn't cutting it on this one.

Mail Fail x3

What's a Mail Fail? When a direct mail mail fails to: target the proper audience and/or other fun errors such as typos.

The other day I literally received three Mail Fails in one day! I was thrilled and entertained by these off-the-mark and mailers:

1) Toyota Wants Your Car! I received this official looking letter from a local Toyota dealer. According to the letter, they NEED my 04 Corolla on their used car lot and because of my status as their customer, they will reward me with a great deal on a new Toyota. That's funny, I bought my Toyota at another dealer in town...so I guess not being a customer has its rewards in this case!

2) Pretend AD to Pretend Designer: "Why save money on postage in these tough economic times? Let's put the postcard inside a clear envelope so we can pay full postage on the mailing and how In-Housers how we can save them money!"

3) Dear Nick, Rick, Whatever: I've saved the best for last. This gem starts off on a good note... they have my name on the front...

Wait a minute, what the heck is that in the upper left? It looks like a bee fighting a spider! Are these the "customers" I'm supposed to attract? Not sure I want to attract bugs, especially not ones that sting/bite. You're starting to lose me here...

And now, you've completely lost me...

Rick?! Seriously? If you're going to use variable data, please don't drink and work with databases!

While targeted marketing and variable data can go wrong, done properly, it can be a great tool to help reach your target audience. Don't let these poor examples scare ya away, just keep them in mind and don't do what they did so your mailpiece rocks!

Even A 3 Year Old Knows Branding

As a designer, I do my best to make sure that the solutions I develop for my clients are appropriate and meaningful to their target audience in order to help them sell their wares or services. For the most part, I believe that it's not evil, however when even a 3 year old makes judgements based on brands, I think it's time to re-think all this advertising we're doing. Is it really such a good idea to push so much crap, most of it what people don't need and won't help them feel better in the long run.

And now their little kids apparently are already judging who they'd play with and how they feel about themselves based on branding. This is unacceptable. We as designers need to spend more time using our skills for good and helping others. Maybe it's time for less is more and the smaller the logo, the better.

I'm sure corporate America will never go for this, they are in it for the money and recognition after all. But maybe if enough folks start one by one designing better solutions without branding the hell of it, maybe it will catch on and we can have kids that can just enjoy being kids and not worry that they won't have any friends because they don't have the "right" toys.

Disturbed by Direct Mail

Here's the story: my dad served in the Navy in WWII. Over the years, he lost his 2 medals. Luckily, there are online stores that sell veterans replacement medals. I ordered the ones my dad had and thought nothing more of it.

Until I realized that the company I bought from sold my name all over the place.

And for the most part, I just toss the mail and think nothing of it.

But then I got this "certificate" in the mail:

Direct from the American Legion: a certificate for my war-time service to the United States.

Say what? I've never served in any branch of the military in either peace time or war time.

I must say that I'm ashamed of the American Legion for not double checking who they are sending this "invitations" to. I think it's disrespectful to all those fine men and women who have served.

Since the American Legion did not take the time (or money) to set more specific criteria, they risk alienating folks who otherwise think highly of their organization. And by sending out false certificates that dishonor our veterans, they are going to damage their reputation and right quick.

I know that it does cost more to set criteria and that the AL probably doesn't have a lot of extra money to spread around. Surely there is a solution: send less but more qualified mail, maybe see if the database company would donate by giving a discount for an upgraded service, etc. Anything would be better than sending out bad direct mail like this.

For all of those out there who have really served our country in peace or war, thank you and may you have a good Veteran's Day today.

Another Ad Gone Bad

I spied this nice ad for the new Ford Taurus in National Geo recently. I was truly impressed with the new body style, so I decided to read the ad. Well, that was my bad. Should've just left well enough alone... :P

The text at the top of the ad extols how the new Taurus is "The most innovative car in America.**"

Huh? What's with the "**" there? Let's take a look-see..

Down below, in the fine print, the "**" indicates that "feature" is "** Optional."

So The Ford Taurus' innovation is optional? riiiight.

I don't know who's the genius behind this kind of moronic fine print (my guess is lawyers), but really, if your tagline is "optional", I think I'm going to exercise my option to buy somewhere else, where they back up what they say instead of "clarifying" it out of existence.

When Ads Go Bad

A buddy at work received a mailer from Time Warner Cable's business service. I couldn't help but notice their main image:

Uh, say what? Using your EYEBALL logo as a bullseye? What genius came up with this one?! What are they trying to say here: using TWC will making you want to poke your eyes out?

Major FAIL here, Time Warner, I hope that whomever came up with this one got sent back to design school...

Cheezy Trek T-Shirt Offer

The people at Cheez-It crack me up. They have a nice Trek related t-shirt reward on their recent packaging. It's a pretty cool lookin' shirt:

This is the part that cracks me up:

Now, I know that the new Star Trek has a broader appeal; however, I'm fairly confident that most "regular" folks won't be wearing this t-shirt to any social or sporting occasion...

Friday Fun: Chocolate Bar

Whenever I travel, I enjoy looking through the guide books at the hotel to see what sites they recommend. On a recent trip to Buffalo, I was perusing the local guide book and came across this priceless ad:

Looks like an interesting place for adults right? Well, that little brown round circle at the bottom proudly proclaims "A great place for kids too!" Um, right. I didn't get that impression from the rest of the ad!

Friday Fun: UD Players Can Fly!

Or at least that's what I'm led to believe by the program they handed out earlier this season:

Let's take a closer look:

Yep, his feet are clearly at the wrong end of a bad Photoshop job! I guess we should just be glad that they didn't add a lens flare somewhere...

Brand Extentions Gone Wrong...

Not all brand extensions are a good idea, Fast Company takes a look at both the good and the bad. 

Ad Goofs

Over the holidays, I saw my fair share of ads and great deals. I'm very interested in getting an LCD TV this year, one, because I love shiny new gizmos and two, the displays are just gorgeous. So I kept my eyes on all the specials this past holiday season. I saw some great buys (but passed due to budget concerns), however, I'm not sure that this Target buy was such a good deal:

I thought the point of putting stuff in your sale ad was to also take money off? I think somebody goofed. All in all, still looks like a great deal on an LCD TV. Maybe later this year for me...

Friday Fun: Amish Ad

I've seen the following ad twice over two issues in National Geographic without giving it much thought. After all, I've trained myself to overlook ads, and this advertorial didn't spark my interest…until I gave it a second look:


Let's take a closer look:


WTH? I've seen some bad Photoshop jobs before, but what on Earth was this person thinking? At least black out the fireplace part! Are we really supposed to believe that a) this guy is putting the finishing touches on a working unit that is plugged in and b) that the Amish have some sort of magical power to turn on electric devices w/o electricity?

Now for the fun part: comment on what object you think the fireplace mantles replaced in the original photo. I don't know the answer, but I'd love to hear people's guesses! :D

Strange Singles Ad

I've been on Facebook for several months now. Generally I ignore any ads on it. However, it finally started to dawn on me that all the ads were singles ads. I assumed this was because my status of "single" in my profile. So I turned off my relationship status and looking for, yet I continue to get the singles ads on the right-hand column. Most are "Over 30 & Looking?" and feature a photo of an attractive woman who is nowhere near 30. This is the strangest one I've seen, and I'm still scratching my head over it:

What the?! I don't even know what to say about this, other than how the heck did a photo of a dog replace a human in a singles ad? What are they really advertising here? Needless to say, I'm never going to use this dating service, as you might get a real dog for a date. 

Not-As-Upscale

From my friends over at HOW comes this NY Times (free registration required) article talking about upscale brands feeling the pinch of the financial "crisis". And they seem to be utilizing some low-end tactics to keep the customers coming: coupons and steep discounts. Is this a new trend until the financial storm blows over? For designers: how have your clients been reacting? 

My feelings are mixed on this one. Yes, I understand there's a lot of bad financial crap going on right now and we've all had to tighten our belts a bit. However, if you are an upscale brand and you are trying to convince people to pay more for your widget does it really behoove you to hook customers on discounts? 

I think that in the long term, upscale brands who switch gears and try to compete on price will end up hurting themselves and the perceived value of their brand. Sure, you will pick up new customers and keep current ones in the short term. But once those discounts disappear when the economy picks up again, people will feel like they've being ripped off. ("If x brand could take 50% then, why are they charging 100% more now?")  And those "cherry pickers" who come running to the sales most likely will run the other way when the prices start going up again. So the brand has not only lost current customers, they've lost "new" customers too. 

However, I do understand the need to actually stay in business. And my mother always taught me buy stuff on sale. So I really can't complain about saving some money. And maybe the folks getting these good deals will realize how great the products are and want to pay more for them when the prices do go up because of their superior quality. 

So what do you think? I'd love to hear your comments!

It's That Simple…Or Is it?

What the heck is up with advertising these days? I just saw a commercial for a local chain (Elder-Beerman) and the ad was for their "Virtually Everything on Sale" sale. What the? So they couldn't put everything on sale? Did they not have enough employees to mark every item down?

That commercial reminded me of this pic I snapped in Boston:


So how is it simple if you're adding exclusions? That's ridiculous. If you're going to have a "simple" sale, have it, don't half-ass it!