What could be? How will it be different? How will this make me look better ... sexier, happier, more caring? Shapes, particularly the contour of a line speak loudly to our eyes about how things will look in the future. Products must strive to be held, strive to be touched, strive to show depth about what will change for the better.
I was struck by this insight last night after I reaching a milestone in my business plan following many, many, many hours spent plugging away at coffe shops & bookstores. I went out to celebrate and took to a "thinking" walk. (Ya know, the "life is great, it has so much to offer" ... kind of walk. Not the "where is it all going" walk.) I found myself close to a large grocery store near my hoouse (Giant Eagle) and went in to buy some tasty food and drink to celebrate.
As I walked through the front doors and past the produce I was in free flow mode. Usually I walk into the grocery store with a mission, a mental checklist (80% pancakes and bacon products), and a brisk walk. However this time it was definately different, I was just coasting, almost subconsciously floating through the store.
I was thinking, "What would be good? What would be good to celebrate? What's an indulgence that would make me feel good?" Then I saw it, Fiji water ... and I felt oh yeah, relaxing and luxurious, I've accomplished something ... I may even be rich. Now I don't even buy Fiji water. I admire their branding and the company's story but its not a water I search for. But at that moment, as I rode the high from my new business idea and thought about the future I wanted to bring Fiji water with me, I wanted it to be my ambassador. I wanted to feel something and I needed my fix. I had a problem and Fiji fixed it. Its thats simple.
So I'd like to take a look at 5 products that mean something to me and explore some of the reasons why. The magic lays in their design so lets focus on the visual.
1. Fiji Water - Its the indentation from the top into the middle and the subtle angles of the box. Its the absence of anything but the word Fiji and the picture. Great example of another design principal I like: take one design component (preferrably the most important one) and leverage it at the expense of the others.
2. Gushers - Fruit gummies that explode with juice in your mouth. Does anything else scream fun like that? So clear and simple a two year old could have come up with the name ...
3. I-phone - Look at it. Its the most complex phone ever made for the mass market and what else is it ... this simplest looking phone ever made for the mass market!!! Its also really pretty.
4. The McDonald's Arch - Its a smiley face, upside-down. And its yellow. (Guess what else is, WalMart anyone? People just want simple and happy) I'm convinced that large corporate America just tries to sell happiness. Think about it, British Petrolium ... yep, happy little people with a sun, driving through magical greenness. Is it a mistake the sun turns into their logo? Nope. Everytime you see it, thats what they're making you think. Happiness and clean. Coke, happiness. Pepsi, happiness & fun.
5. The bug - every been suprised by the amount of people driving bugs that you never thought would be? And how many of them keep that stupid flower on their dashboard? Its really an environment more than a car. An accessory. Cars frequently represent what people want to be if they really had what they wanted, if they just had the time, the freedom. Instead, they just get a little dose of the ideal everytime they walk to driveway in the morning. The secret? Its an animal.
What do you want to bring with you into the future?
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