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A manifesto of fonts

This is an interesting take on an 'About Us' page in terms of both the language and the use of fonts. It's caught my attention and made me read on. I liked the way Chictoday share their purpose through an inspirational manifesto. The first paragraph written in an array of fonts is free from 'corporate speak' or 'business speak'. It's human and I like it (click to see the larger version unless you want an eye test).

If they'd carried this on into the second paragraph it would have been great. Then comes the...'unrivalled environment', 'compelling contents' 'stunning and elegant designs'. It's at this point I disengage. The word 'bloated' springs to mind to describe such words. They're kind of big and perhaps someone thought impressive but like a balloon, they're full of air. They don't carry weight or conviction. Same old, same old. You know what I mean? It seems to be significantly harder to stop writing crap and just say it how it is.

The Fuzzy Tail of Competence

I noticed Mr Armano presented this week on the 'Fuzzy Tail'...will this be the new 'Long Tail'? He tells me that I need to become 'fuzzy'. Mmm. Now what does that mean?

Being 'fuzzy' according to David is:

...about unlearning everything we think we know—so we can actually learn and adapt.

By chance, I was reading Seth Godin's book 'small is the new big' over a cappuccino this morning. There's a chapter titled 'Competence' which basically is saying the same thing. Seth explains that competent people resist change. He advocates that 'serial incompetents' are the best people to hire - people who are quick enough to master the task and restless enough to try something new. It's these people who don't possess the bad habits that need unlearning.

Perhaps fuzzy is best after all. Fear of change can be paralyzing - I used to avoid change or panic about it if I couldn't avoid it. But then I learnt that the world's a big place and that I'd only change the world if I embraced change and learnt to live the 'fuzzy' life. So I quit my cosy job at Microsoft and my life in Notting Hill and moved to a beach town in Australia working from home for a small internet based company. Life was very fuzzy for a time but I had much more fun. I've learnt heaps too. Much more than if I'd stayed in my cosy job and grown more competent.

Here's how I want to live. I want to let other people play in my sandbox and whilst we sit there, think outside the box.

Starbucks reworked...

I recently watched Stefan Sagmeister talk about how design can make you happy. Part of his story encompassed a Korean artist he met in New York who plastered blank speech bubbles all over New York for people to fill in. I just loved this take on the Starbucks logo...

Spaghetti sauce and targeted ads

Bare with me here. This will make sense. When I first read the title of Malcolm Gladwell's presentation at TED I thought he was going to talk about Heinz tinned spaghetti sauce. Wrong. He was in fact going to tell a story about 'ragu' sauce. It's a compelling presentation because Malcolm tells a story (Seth G would be impressed).

The story is about Howard Moskowitz, a food consultant who discovered a rather obvious secret that would transform the food industry: embrace human diversity to make people happy i.e. don't try to create the perfect spaghetti sauces, create the perfect spaghetti sauces.

He realised, when asked what would make them most happy, customers generally don't know. They didn't know they wanted an extra chunky tomato sauce but Howard found out through taste tests of 45 varieties that a third of Americans wanted 'extra chunky' and no-one sold it.

Malcolm made this presentation in 2002. I think the lesson is just as valid today and not only in the food industry. Understanding variables as opposed to looking for a universal truth (think about the study of genetics) is something that the advertising industry needs to embrace to reach a point where truly targeted ads can be served online. Ads that are useful to the customer and therefore drive loyalty. Not those annoying pop up ads or those sites that are almost entirely Google ads.

Customer service: a lost art?

Last week I headed south to Byron Bay for a couple of days - the land of VW camper vans and hippies. I decided to go unarmed. No MacBook and no device to receive email. Liberating and definitely manageable for two nights. I still had the trusty SMS to rely on.

We stayed at Azabu. Nice enough but lacked the wow factor. Customer service was definitely lacking. It was what I'd describe as 'fine'. It would definitely not have been 'fine' had I paid the full price.

Then I stumbled upon Jonathon Tisch's post on customer service - more specifically, the 'lost art of customer service'. At Azabu, chocolates didn't even appear on the pillow. I know it has been written before but it was refreshing to read Jonathon's words that customers don't want to be treated as just another 'financial transaction'.

Jonathon shares the following five lessons to learn from exemplary businesses out there:

1. Plan your business around your customers
2. Make the experience as memorable as the product
3. Customise your products and service so your customer feels like an individual
4. Make your customer feel like an insider
5. Give your customers a sense of security and safety

Customers should be treated as guests whether they're staying at hotel or buying a book on Amazon. In the latter case, I'm feel like a guest of when I'm on Amazon. I'm greeted with my name, different books are suggested to me that I might like, it remembers my address etc. I trust Amazon and as a result I use the service time and time again.