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I blame Mad Men and "The Carousel" for making it more possible to sell companies stuff like this.

daturkel 11y ago
Complex and seemingly pretentious design pitches are actually a good way to explain to a company the way a design or design metaphor might subconsciously impact or impress its users. There are two problems here though: 1) the pitch is inane, for the reasons pointed out in the linked post, and 2) even if the idea weren't dumb, spelling it out explicitly for the customer is a great way to ruin the magic. (Fedex doesn't tell everyone to look for the arrow in their logo, and Gmail's slogan isn't "The envelope is also an M for mail!") Good design is often subtle of even invisible, and not just logos.
- giancarlostoro 11y ago
  Well said, never realized the arrow in FedEx. Yeah, I'm still to become a Uber user, but reading that article made me feel like they're over-doing it a bit much.
  - georgechen 11y ago
    I have a theory about large (and well known) cooperation reguarding brands. Google re-branded themseleve just last year (before the Alphabet switch over). People hated the new typeface etc, etc. but that doesn't stop anyone from using Gmail or Google search. Point being, when you get to a certain size it really don't matter if you use comic san for your corporate type face. That's not going to change the public perception of you the company. All the brand work, rebranding etc etc are just a way to make the people within the company feel good about themselves.
    - giancarlostoro 11y ago
      That sounds accurate, most people don't like change too much because they get used to it, but Google at least didn't do something as extreme as Uber. But you're right, it wont stop people from using the service.
georgechen 11y ago
Convoluted pitches and creative ideas exited all along. The problem is no one (from either the client nor the agency side) is willing to come out and call bullshit on bad ideas.

Complex and seemingly pretentious design pitches are actually a good way to explain to a company the way a design or design metaphor might subconsciously impact or impress its users. There are two problems here though: 1) the pitch is inane, for the reasons pointed out in the linked post, and 2) even if the idea weren't dumb, spelling it out explicitly for the customer is a great way to ruin the magic. (Fedex doesn't tell everyone to look for the arrow in their logo, and Gmail's slogan isn't "The envelope is also an M for mail!") Good design is often subtle of even invisible, and not just logos.

giancarlostoro 11y ago
Well said, never realized the arrow in FedEx. Yeah, I'm still to become a Uber user, but reading that article made me feel like they're over-doing it a bit much.
- georgechen 11y ago
  I have a theory about large (and well known) cooperation reguarding brands. Google re-branded themseleve just last year (before the Alphabet switch over). People hated the new typeface etc, etc. but that doesn't stop anyone from using Gmail or Google search. Point being, when you get to a certain size it really don't matter if you use comic san for your corporate type face. That's not going to change the public perception of you the company. All the brand work, rebranding etc etc are just a way to make the people within the company feel good about themselves.
  - giancarlostoro 11y ago
    That sounds accurate, most people don't like change too much because they get used to it, but Google at least didn't do something as extreme as Uber. But you're right, it wont stop people from using the service.

georgechen 11y ago

Convoluted pitches and creative ideas exited all along. The problem is no one (from either the client nor the agency side) is willing to come out and call bullshit on bad ideas.