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After browsing through the Worst Websites of 2011, I noticed that they are all very similar in that they cannot stand to waste a single pixel available on screen. So with that, I’d like to present a simple concept that could greatly impact the look and feel of these websites.

“White space” aka “negative space” is the space between objects in a composition where no text, images, or other visible elements occupy the space. You may be thinking, “If the space is there, why not make use of it and fill it with as much information as possible?” To convey the concept I’ll be using examples from print.

On top is a 1987 Nescafe Coffee ad whose designer seems to believe that no matter how much content they cram on there, people will read it. The creator of the Swedish McDonald’s ad took a different approach, really making use of the white space, leaving only faint coffee stains on the corners of the page and the product, price, and logo on the bottom right; in this case, it turned out to be highly effective in promoting the chain’s extra large coffee.

The amount and use on white space is a key component of a page’s readability and legibility in graphic design. Even in our daily newspaper, the micro white space between each letter makes a difference! For example, The Economist newspaper was slightly redesigned in this way and it resulted in “the content [being] more legible, and the overall feeling of the newspaper lighter, yet the amount of content remained the same.”

Last but not least I’d like to leave you with one last thought: less white space=cheap; more white space=luxury. This is one of the many tactics used in brand positioning. See in this example above, both contain the exact same content but stand on opposite ends of the spectrum. Check out these websites: Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic; notice the difference?

Recently in Market Research we were introduced to a neat little tool on WolframAlpha that allows you to analyze your Facebook data. Try it out here!

At the beginning of the semester I was desperately in need of a new laptop, so as a starting point I came up with a list of requirements. There were as follows: 14” screen, hard drive speed 7200 rpm, Intel core i5 or i7, RAM size 4GB, battery capacity 6000mAh, at least 3 USB ports, and under $1000. With these, my search began.

I browsed through a number of online stores including Dell, Best Buy, Future Shop, NCIX, and Newegg. Out of these, I was most impressed with Future Shop. With just one click, the user-friendly interface led me to my destination page. And from there,  I was presented with a sidebar that allowed me to input my desired specifications.

The filtered results enabled me to quickly browse through and select the products that were of interest to me.  To look at each product in detail, I used the built-in comparison system. The system let me view five products at once, comparing them on specs such as display, processor, storage & memory, audio, and graphics. This made it much easier for me to pick out the laptops that best suited my needs. As well, I was able to remove unwanted items from the list and add items that haven’t been compared.

What I would have liked to see more of:

• Consumer feedback/reviews/ratings
• Recommendations for similar products
• Comparing more than 5 items  (allow table to be opened in Excel)
• Comparing across different websites

Hey world, it’s been a while. Posts for COMM 464 begin here! Enjoy.

Unrelated, but super cool! Check it out.

By the end of Friday night I was getting really sick of the relationship status updates I was getting on Facebook. However, I very much enjoyed browsing the many innovative hoaxes that big time corporations had put up on the web just for the day. I don’t feel like April Fools’ Day advertisements are necessarily effective in gaining new consumers, although it’s great for us to see that there is a light, fun side to the overly serious business world. Here are some I found interesting!

I wouldn’t call myself a font fanatic but with my interest in graphic design I just had to go onto Google and type in Helvetica! This is what came up…Looks a bit different eh? Well I thought it was cool!

Here’s another one from Google. I’m sure most of you have seen this one though. I present you with Gmail Motion! It’s pretty hilarious the details and research they go into!

How about the Starbucks Mobile Pour? Many people I know would appreciate this smartphone application that allows Starbucks employees to track and deliver a hot, fresh cup of coffee to you wherever you are!

Keeps your eyes open for more next year!

Having just come back from grocery shopping, my attention was drawn to Luke’s Blog#4: Colors that speak because I found myself making a final decision on a product based merely on the colour of its packaging! So I was trying to decide on a which ice cream to buy, and after having eliminated seven or so promising choices through flavour, price, and quantity etc. I was left with one flavour but two different packages…

With a closer look at their labels, now I see that one’s Classic and the other is All Natural. At the time though, I saw the light blue packaging and instantly thought it was of lesser quality and would likely be low-fat/taste watery whereas the black+green had a sophisticated feel to it and would taste rich and creamy (even though the Rich & Creamy was written on the blue package and I actually read when making the decision, I didn’t believe it). In the end, I left with a tub of the All Natural ice cream and was very pleased with the product! I just found this interesting because I never noticed how the simple packaging of a product can generate such assumptions in a split seconds time and have the final say in the buying decision.

Remember this commercial that launched  a couple years back?

It shows a young woman giving her friends a tour of her apartment. The women shriek with joy by the sight of the walk-in closet; however, their cries of joy are quickly drowned out by the guys next door who have just entered a gigantic fridge stocked with cans of Heineken beer.Created in the Netherlands, this well executed commercial portrays Heineken beer as the fashion equivalent for men.

As a complement to this commercial, I thought it was brilliant when they came up with the low-costing yet effective walk-in fridge boxes that were placed on the streets of Amsterdam on garbage disposal day capturing the attention of  many by this unusual sight!

For years of my life I’ve been mislead to thinking that if my toothpaste wasn’t foaming my teeth weren’t getting cleaned and if my dish soap wasn’t forming a mountain of bubbles my plates just didn’t feel clean. I found out recently from listening to a podcast on Stuff You Should Know that this foaming effect more or less just creates the impression of cleanliness that in effect help the product sell.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is a surfactant, in simpler terms it’s a foaming agent that’s commonly found not only in our daily personal care products such as shampoos, soaps, toothpastes, and detergents but also in a garage where it’s used to dissolve the grease in car engines.

While it degreases car engines, you could imagine what it does to your skin. Do you ever notice that your hands are awfully dry after washing a load of dishes? Well that’s SLS doing its charm in dissolving the oils in your skin. A report in the journal of the American College of Toxicology showed that even concentrations of 0.5% could cause irritation and that concentrations of 10-30% caused skin corrosion and severe irritation. It is known to denature skin proteins causing not only irritation but creates easy access for environmental contaminants into sensitive layers of the skin. It has been documented that SLS can lead to a variety of health implications as well.

Is this an ethical way to market?

Prior to the 1950s television sitcoms were filmed in front live audiences; this enhanced the performance of the actors and it also acted as a queue to when something funny was happening to viewers at home. However, a live studio audience came with many complications so a clever individual eventually created the ‘laugh track’. Here are a couple examples of the laugh track at work,

Stars Wars laugh track added: can’t help but laugh at some point

Big Bang Theory minus laugh track: not as funny with awkward silences

It’s very interesting the way laughter is contagious, and while reading Rohit Bhargava’s Influential Marketing Blog I learned that this principle is not only limited to sitcoms and laughter but can also be applied in marketing practices. In marketing you must demonstrate the desired customer behaviour so that you can get the same behaviour from wider group.

Similar contagious behaviours that are being used in businesses:

1. Youtube ratings & Facebook ‘likes’ etc – Displaying the number of people who have viewed, tweeted or liked the page gives you an external validation on which content is the most popular, and potentially worth your time.
2. Restaurant windows & patios – By seating people by the windows or outdoor on a patio it gives the illusion that the restaurant is packed and popular; thus, the people walking by will perceive it as a place worthy to dine at.
3. Thermometer bulbs – This is often seen when tracking donations and it has proven to be quite effective. An example, tip jars are usually started off with some change inside and people will follow suit.
4. “Sold out” banners – Creates the perception that the products will not be on the market for long so you better buy it quick before it’s gone.

“Do you suffer from allergy symptoms, depression, erectile dysfunction, or …?”

Doesn’t matter. You name it and they’ve got a drug for you!

“Ask your doctor today about Claritin, Zoloft, or Viagra etc.”

(Side effects may include nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea, other serious illnesses and death.)

Sound familiar to you?

In recent years, the number of pharmaceutical ads on TV, radio, and magazines has noticeably increased to a point where they can compete with, say, car commercials. This is due to a recent discovery that not only can they sell their products to doctors but they can also get the message directly through to the patients- the ultimate consumer.

This new trend of direct to consumer pharma marketing is so worrying because it’s terrifyingly effective. Numerous ex pharmaceutical representatives have come out to warn the general public about pharmaceutical companies and their crafty ways of marketing. Stick in a few devious tactics and consumers will buy anything. For example, with the use of easy-to-relate everyday folks, trustworthy medical professionals, celebrity endorsements, taglines, facts, and statistics all providing marketing (not medical) information that’s slyly shaped to clear through legal regulations.

The amount of money pharmaceutical companies are spending on marketing drastically surpasses amount that’s put into research (marketing > research). This is a very serious situation that should not be overlooked. It’s important we note the fact that not every symptom requires us to ingest a drug to treat it and that sometimes the potential risks of taking a certain drug shadow the benefits. Not to mention the amount of money  people are willing to spend to get their hands on the latest prescription drug; but then again, someone ought to pay for all the advertising.

Gardasil – Using everyday women, pushing the fear of getting cervical cancer, pitching fact after fact, “ONE LESS” tagline

Peptobismol – Who doesn’t know this catchy jingle?

Latisse- A pill to grow lashes! What can I say…