Effective way to communicate that sitting is not allowed – without the need for a visually disruptive sign that states the obvious.
Communication
March 29, 2009
August 25, 2008
Marketing in Taxicabs
Taxicabs in NYC have been sporting new information terminals in the passenger cabin of each car. These installations seem to be a win for everybody. Passengers are provided with a constant stream of information including their real time location as provided by the GPS locator, real time update of their fare, and the latest local national and international news and weather (sponsored by advertisers). Cab drivers and owners get an additional revenue source to offset increasing gas prices. Advertisers get access to a very captive audience. However, it does lead to the question – should any space be strictly “off-limits” for marketing messages? (e.g. the perfect captive audience is in restrooms and we have also started seeing advertising in various public bathrooms already). Should there be an expectation of quietness for certain spaces? Should there be an “off” button should people wish to just enjoy silence or have an uninterrupted moment to themselves? (Incidentally, these taxi information terminals do have a button which disables the device should passengers wish to simply enjoy the ride.)
July 27, 2008
Parking Restrictions
The sign on the left is easy to understand. The sign on the right, produced by the same department is almost impossible to comprehend. Cognitive scientists report that the average person can only manage three complex conditional/evaluative tasks at once. The sign on the right requires the reader to evaluate roughly 5-6 ideas simultaneously. Further complicating the communication, the signs combine opposite frameworks – restrictions (when you CANNOT park) and allowances (when you CAN park). A more user-friendly sign in the future may be one which allows a dynamic element to eliminate some of the conditional statements which are currently required. Recently, there have been more and more LCD advertising “billboards” found installed around the city. As the costs of LCD screens go down, perhaps in the near future we can expect LCD parking signs which change to reflect the time of day and day of the week so that the restrictions are easier to understand?
July 19, 2008
Multilingual Subway Announcements
Another example of recognizing specific customer needs. These are subway announcements posted in the different primary languages of the populations that live near the station - in this case, Chinese, Korean and Russian in the Rego Park section of Queens. Notice that English is also provided for everybody else but not as a separate vertical column but rather, as a horizontal row literally and symbolically unifying all three native languages.
