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"In most people's vocabularies, design means veneer. It's interior decorating. It's the fabric of the curtains of the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service."
I'm a big proponent of the importance of aesthetics and design to business success. One of my products (designed during my stint as a high tech business owner) even won an I.D. magazine design award. So I had to dig pretty deeply to discover what was bothering me while perusing my recent issue of Graphic Design USA.
Here it is. Most of the award winners, in categories ranging from annual reports and advertising to brochures and direct mail, are nothing but veneer. Deceptive, superficial show; a façadeto.
You read it right . . . deceptive! Most are creating false expectations. Expectations of encountering happy, funny, caring human beings. Or products and services that will blow us away. And you and I both know what we typically encounter.
Do I have a point? Yes I do. Read Steve Jobs description of design again: It's "the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service." The fundamental soul . . . that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service. Is that how you'd describe your latest ad or direct mail piece? C'mon.
McDonald's ads used to shout, "We like to see you smile?" Now it's, "I'm lovin' it." Really? Have you been to a McDonald's lately? Have you seen anyone smiling or lovin' anything? Veneer! My former bank portrays themselves in TV ads as the most sensitive, empathetic group of folks alive today (The descriptor "former" should give you a hint to the reality of that noise). Veneer!
I'm with Eames as design relates to business: "Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose." Now I'm not bashing designers or ad agencies. My guess is that no one has explained the purpose (a.k.a brand) to them. So they do the best that they can do, right? Even if it's a huge waste of the client's money.
The purpose of advertising, announcements, brochures, logos, direct mail, et al is to create an expectation. Period. Expectations that the company - and its partners - must be strategically poised to deliver on (also referred to as the experience). The experience of choosing and consuming a beverage. The experience of listening to and internalizing a sales presentation. The experience of being with a real estate, investment, law, accounting, medical, etc. professional. The experience of choosing a Sony. The outer layer. The one that touches the customer. That's what's critical today.
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Tom is timely, thought provoking and all about the new brand vision packaged as a Seinfeld stand up. I went to school on his ideas.
Jeff Taylor, Founder, Monster.com and CEO, Eons.
hi tom.
first of all: i'd love to see the product that won you the award.
and then: steve job's quote is wonderful and valuable. it brings the design discussion back to its roots. back to germany :) in the early 1900 - back to the phiolosopher georg simmel and of course back to our beloved bauhaus - the cradle of our modern culture... "sachlichkeit is not a style. it is an attitude."
advertising is not design though. it can be part of th brand / should contribute to the brand by adding to the wholistic experience and thus greating personality/soul.
but advertising is also limited. limited by nature - just as pr, design, sales etc...
advertising is great for creating attention - creating attention is - and even more will be - its foremost aim.
expectation grows more from the overall impression of an offer/brand. other than emotion, expectation is an cognitive construct. which OFTEN is triggered by slight IRRITATION on the surface.
not everything has to be "nice" in order to be interesting. often it is quite the opposite.
and expectations grow from "open questions/surface irritation" and "interest/active cognitive involvement".
...
:)
Posted by: jensd | June 29, 2005 at 07:16 AM
Hi Tom,
A good thought provoking post. You have touched the surface of some interesting points, but have missed design's two fundamental roles:
non-verbal communication,
organization of content (information design)
The sony ad you've included is great, but it's an example of art direction, not design.
You've inspired me to write a longer post! I'll have it up shortly.
Posted by: Peter Flaschner | June 29, 2005 at 09:17 AM
I figured I'd hear from you two first. And I do appreciate your perspectives and input Peter and Jens.
First, as far as advertising being design or not, I really don't have an opinion one way or another. But your peers at Graphic Design magazine seem to believe that it is. ;)
And the advertising as attention getting device is only one model. And a worn out one, for sure.
We also consume advertising, in that seeing a beautifully "designed" ad makes us feel good about ourselves and our purchase decisions (e.g. Apple's iPod ads, fashion ads, etc.). Know what I mean?
Posted by: Tom Asacker | June 29, 2005 at 10:24 AM
Hi Tom, I guess I am not really understanding your concern about design as opposed to any other aspect of branding. Are you pining for a simpler time when what you see is what you get? If so, I can understand your general skepticism regarding design used to replace true quality. But successful brands are all based on subjectivity. It's all about creating an expectation, as you say. If you're concerned about what is "truly great" in light of what "is acceptable," then 90% of what's being sold as "truly great" would be exposed for what it is- a truly great facade. Your example of IPod is one of my favorites - Is Ipod better than another MP3 player, or is it just a carefully constructed facade? McD's is just fighting a bad bit of PR right now - But take a look at the play areas and you still see the smiles.
Posted by: Aleah | June 29, 2005 at 11:45 AM
Hi Aleah. Thanks for joining in.
My problem is NOT with design, per se. It's with the whole. The brand. To use an overused metaphor, for many businesses design (especially in marketing) is like putting lipstick on a pig!
Express the brand in ALL of its layers. Make sure that it’s represented throughout the organization. Otherwise, at worse, it's manipulation. At best, it's an uninformed waste of money.
Years ago I consulted with the division of a large corporation who wanted insights on how to "promote" their state-of-the-art ventilation systems to potential clients. Their purpose (a.k.a. brand) was that it would improve the comfort level – and thus happiness, productivity, etc. - of their client’s people.
When I visited their place of business, I noticed that their own receptionist was sitting in a miserably ventilated environment. Marketing as manipulation. It’s b.s.. LIVE the brand! From skin (design) to bone marrow (the affect it has on people's lives). Period!
P.S. Sorry for all of the exclamation marks. I'm simply getting a little tired of all of the doubletalk that I witness.
Posted by: Tom Asacker | June 29, 2005 at 12:22 PM
Nice one, Tom. Love the lipstick on the pig line. The sorry fact is talented designers are everyday being manipulated by their agencies and clients to produce this appealing (but soulless) top layer, you speak of. When a company has beautiful design from the inside out, like Apple and Patagonia, their need for advertising and design is diminished. Word of mouth—the best media platform ever—pretty much takes care of business in these instances.
Posted by: David Burn | June 29, 2005 at 01:53 PM
Ah, you are an eternal optimist. ;-)
Posted by: Aleah | June 29, 2005 at 02:05 PM
What people dont realise is that green homes and buildings are not only worth more (resale value) but are creating more reveneu as well. Higher occupancy rates paired with higher rental premiums equals more money in VC's pockets.
www.initred.com
Posted by: Jeb Archer | April 20, 2008 at 05:50 PM