The natural sounds of mechanical harmony

Posted 8 Mar 2010

Daily Life, Design, People | 5 Comments 

A well-oiled machine emits a certain sound that indicates it is running well. The smooth, almost elegant sound of mechanical gears and parts is a beautiful noise to some – while the click, clank, clunk of mechanical failure is hard on our ears. Without being engineers or mechanics, we need only listen to a machine to tell if it is running smoothly.

Over the weekend, I had a wonderful interaction with a young boy of two that showed some (at least anecdotal) insight into our perceptions of mechanical harmony. The little boy in question suddenly rushed into the room ‘Emergency! Emergency’ Naturally concerned, I followed the little fellow into a neighboring room. Nothing seemed amiss. The lad pointed to a CD-player. Thinking the boy wanted music, I pressed the play button — and was greeted by the grinding sounds of an improperly-seated CD being jostled by the spinning parts of the player. It was grinding on my ears.

It was only after a moment or two that I realized what had just transpired. A little child, with only two years of life and life experience had heard those sounds of ‘mechanical chaos’ and knew that something wasn’t right. Could there be something inherent in nature that details what mechanical fluidity should sound like? Is the soft, quick and efficient sounds a deer racing through the woods more closely linked to the hum of a modern engine than I could have imagined? These thoughts filled my head this weekend.

The world’s most technical products

Posted 4 Mar 2010

Clothing, Design, Signs | 2 Comments 

Standing in the shadows of the Limerick Power Station, I saw an advertising poster that caught my attention.

Admittedly, the text is a bit hard to read with the window glare, so here are the salient words again:

ATTENTION!
ATENCION!
ACHTUNG!
ATTENZIONE!

Under Armour makes the world’s most technical products.

So, I think I have to disagree. Surely a nuclear power plant trumps exercise-wear in terms of technical complexity. Okay, I am no scientist, but come on, this one seems obvious.

A clumsy marketing attempt at addressing

Posted 8 Jan 2010

Design, Language, The Little Things | 1 Comment 

A month or so ago I received a promotional postcard through the post. You know the kind, sent in bulk via the Post Office. Mass distribution stuff. Sent from a local dental practice. Below is a photo of the address label:

The postcard was addressed to The Tooth Lover in Chester Springs, PA 19425. The ‘tooth lover’? The image of a ‘tooth lover’ struck me as weird, possibly very wrong and at the very least clumsy. I appreciate the dental practice’s attempt to connect with its audience via the label, but its choice of wording was not ideal to say the least.

So, what possible alternatives might be better? Well, I am not sure that a cutesy mailing label was the right approach in the first place. That sort of approach is trying to personalise what is essentially unsolicited direct mail marketing. The cutesy approach of the mailing label creates a disconnect between DM marketing and the perception of the DM by the general public. Why not let the professional look/feel of the marketing postcard make the connection with the recipient?

Want more?
For more of our thoughts on marketing and taglines, consider The power of a good tagline, Super Duper Souper and I’m a sucker for you.

(So, as to spare the blushes of the dental practice, I did not include photos of the postcard itself. I am sure that our readers will understand and appreciate this.)

Good old-fashioned technology

Posted 7 Jan 2010

Daily Life, Design, The Little Things | 3 Comments 

Generally speaking, technology improves a particular product or device. Consider telephones, airplanes or even pens for that matter.

The anomaly to this truism must be the pencil sharpener. After years of informal testing and research (as a graphic designer I use wooden/graphite pencils on a daily basis), I have to insist that the best form of pencil sharpener is the good, old-fashioned, screwed into the wall, hand-cranked beast which was probably invented in the 1800s or 1900s.

Electric pencil sharpeners, be they the plugged-in or battery operated kind, too often break the pencil lead so often that sharpening does nothing more effective than grind through the entire pencil.

A shattering booby trap for the exquisite

Posted 6 Jan 2010

Daily Life, Design | 2 Comments 

The tabletop is marvelous. The tabletop settings are exquisite.  Both are highly expensive and fragile.

Good thing it’s all evenly balanced across the arms of 4 plastic chairs – it’s not like anyone shopping during the holiday season would ever get tired and want to pull out a chair to sit down.

There’s no better way to your day to an end than to shatter expensive crystal, thus shattering your bank account, and shattering your kids’ holiday dreams.