This is a good example of how design should not take over from being practical. Visibility is the key to success, and it certainly wasn’t applied here:

Has anyone looked at the train signs on the London to Brighton line recently? Last Saturday I was travelling late in the evening, and as the train stopped at Haywards Heath I looked out of the window to see where I was.

Having searched for some time I finally found the station name plate, only to find it was so illegible I could hardly read it. This was because the background was a dark green and the words ‘Haywards Heath’, although written in white, consisted of a slim typeface rather than a clear bold one.

This effect may look fine during the day, but becomes totally impractical by night, as the dark green became black, and the slim words melted so they could hardly been seen. Totally impractical for passengers who are unable to recognise the shape of the station buildings to know where they are.

Don’t succumb to the trend to reverse design around. Books have black words on white paper for a reason. A dark text on a pale background is so much better because it is both practical and more visible. Don’t alienate your customers through lack of proper visibility.

Whilst cleaning my bathroom I was struck by the Body Shop bottles on the shelf. That got me thinking on a variety of levels.

One: how the contents of the bottles matched the colours on the labels. Silly really, but I liked that consistency.

Two: the labels themselves were simple and uncluttered, and each bottle matched its partners so that you could tell they were of a set: cleanser, toner, moisteriser, serum, eye cream, etc.

Three: I thought of the consistency of the Body Shop interiors; as a franchise, they are all presented in exactly the same way, so regardless of where you are (Reading, Brighton, Brisbane in Australia) you know exactly where the shampoos are, as well as your favourite brand of face creams.

Four: the consistency of the patter of the sales persons; they all spoke from the same hymn sheet, so no conflictions of information could confuse a potential customer.

Don’t you think that consistency makes your marketing safe? You should make it so that your customers don’t have to think too hard, that it is easy for them without being condescending, that they can find things really easily without losing their interest, that your messages are consistent to avoid confusion, and the simplicity factor highlights your success because everything runs like a well-oiled machine.

That’s something for me to strive for in 2009…

Take a look at washing powder. There are lots of different brands in the shops, all containing identical white washing powder. How do you know if any are different from the rest? Is it because what is said on the packet? This brand helps troubled skin, this brand protects your colours, this brand works really well on stains, etc. Are there really any differences, in spite of the specific criteria stated on the boxes? Sure, some may contain additional elements to justify their claims, but underneath it all it’s still just washing powder.

Now look at your service or product. How can you market it for specific groups of people? Could it be adapted to meet the criteria of different target markets? Packaging is the key if you want to make it more attractive to a wider audience, but at the end of the day it’s still the same product or service, just rewritten with a separate process and marketed differently.

Now for the action: differentiate the target markets you wish to focus on, restructure your product or service to suit, and go ask Alice how to publicise it!

I had the good fortune to see an iPhone yesterday (unfortunately not mine) and reinforced my conviction that this is the epitome of ‘clear, concise and uncluttered’. The images are instantly recognisable, the navigation easy to use, the style so chic, the concept incredibly user-friendly and extremely versatile. I had to hastily give it back in case my drooling saliva destroyed it!

Clear signage is vital, especially for directions, corporate identity and general awareness.

Take time to consider how clear your company really is. How does the outside world see your business? Are you recognisable? How simple is it to contact you? Are these details clearly visible? Can you be easily found? Are you approachable and/or welcoming?

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