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3.15.06
Lou Fuiano
Steve and Eat-ee There was a one man show in theaters for years called Defending the Caveman. One line in the show that, for some reason, always stuck with me. The protagonist was defining the differences in how men and women shop. Drawing from the Hunter/Gatherer theories; women browse and gather while men stalk and hunt. Consequently, when a man goes shopping for clothes, he is essentially going out to "Hunt and kill a new shirt" and promptly return to his dwelling. This is a very funny observation on the plight of the modern male, and not entirely untrue. However, when we read Paco Underhill's Why We Buy, this may apply to both men and women. How do we not only communicate, but sell to people who have a somewhat fixed agenda? How does one get through the chaos of signs, sounds and information to have a reliable effect on someone? As I have mentioned in previous essays, in my early experience as a graphic designer, I wasn't overly concerned with the "The Science of Shopping". That was until I was working first hand with these issues as an art director in a Casino-Hotel. People came and went by the thousands. They were bused in and moved through. While they got free stuff, they also spent loads of money. If you think of it, a casino doesn't really have much product, but they have several ways for the cutomer to spend every penny you came in with. Underhill mentions several of these sales devices. The casino used to get people in at all costs. Literally! They would give them a handful of cash by way of coupons that they would have to cash at a counter on the casino floor. After that, that money was theirs. The tricky part was crossing the casino floor without giving in to the twinkling, ringing and sumptuous temptation that was all around them. Another challenge was the creation of displays and signage. All types of signage. Way finding graphics were of particular importance since no one had any idea where they were going in these basically windowless buildings. However, getting the patrons to eat, shop, gamble and above all, come back - early and often - was of particular importance. This was a large part of my job there. From billboards to table tents, we had to somehow cut through the din of every other gaming parlor in town to make these bus loads of people feel like the casino loved them. This was a daunting task for a guy who liked graphic design because it involved making stuff with type and image. "I was an artist!" I would cringe, "not a salesman". Oh how wrong I was. If nothing else, communication is a shill for information. Needles to say, many of the comments about signage in this reading were very resonant with me. How do you connect with someone when they are being bombarded with stimulus. Unlike most of the examples in the reading, these people were'nt running errands or rushing to get a quick meal. They were there to recreate. They were there to have fun and spend money. Whichever came first. Signage and sales in this environment made for a weird science indeed. On a closing note, I should mention that this reading comes my way at a perfect time. I just started in on a signange package for a sushi bar in the Reading Terminal. A veritable signage dense, errand running, food forest and distract-o-rama. I believe I will look a little more closely at Mr Underhill's research. |