Final Post

1)  I found the Norman reading assignments most rewarding and interesting because it talked about everyday things in a unique way that I would never think about.  This new way of thinking that Norman brings in the article made them interesting and enjoyable to read and think about.  His readings were also rewarding to me because they were able to help me understand some of the other readings.

2)  The most important thing I learned from this seminar is to be able to look at things and think about them in a more critical and analytical way than normally looking at everyday things.  Also, I learned about how detailed the design process really is when designing certain products.  The correct way to design a power point presentation was also a useful thing to learn.

3)   I feel like what I learned in this seminar, I will use almost everyday because every time I see something I just might briefly think about the design behind the product.  Learning about the power point presentation I feel like will come in great use, especially in the near future regarding school.

The Secret to Turning Consumers Green

1)  I feel that the author's main point is that people tend to follow what other people do because of peer pressure.  The author talks about how there are very easy ways to get consumers to act more environment friendly in their consumer habits. 

2)  I think that I would be more influenced by advertisements promoting green rather than peer pressuring advertisements, because I try not to give into peer pressure and green advertisements are mainly just trying to help out the environment and I respect that.

3)  I bought the newer kind of sun chips bag because they made them more friendly to the environment, since they could be recycled with ease.

4)  Sun chips bag, electric cars, LED lights, ice mountain water bottles

Jennifer Steinhauer

1)  "an advertisement that features a shirt, jacket, hat and pants shows that the store sells many interchangeable separates..."  This quote relates to clothing advertising because like the quote says if a store is advertising more than one type of clothing then chances are that store is selling more variety of that clothing.  If the store advertises more clothing then they will most likely get more customers.  More customers makes the store more popular and could possibly have their clothing items to create its own identity for itself.


2)  Some examples of clothing companies that have iconic advertisements are Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Levi's.  file:///Users/drewbrown/Desktop/3217_main_image_1243626699.jpg  The picture shows that it is marketing to more "preppy" and "rich" kids.  They are selling upper body and lower body clothing, along with shoes.

3)  Brand image has only influenced my decision to buy certain clothing for only jeans and shoes.  Every other type of clothing does not matter to me as much, so i buy pretty much any brand.  I think that the clothes define the people, because you see the same types of people wearing the same types of clothing.

"Cookie Cutter Housing: Wrong Mix For Subdivisions"

1)  I feel that the main point that the author Harrison makes, is that the design of subdivisions are just becoming to similar.  This causes the houses to be very boring and bland, which people may get tired of seeing.

2)  I don't think that subdivisions are bad or hurting the city layout, but i do believe that they should start being more creative in designing the houses.  This way every house won't look the same and people won't get confused when looking for a particular house.  Even though this idea is more convenient, people don't want to keep seeing the same old thing, they want variety.

3)  I do not live in a subdivision, but however a lot of my friends do and i agree with the author's point on the new developments of subdivisions.

Biggest Mistakes in Web Design

1)  A website should only be intended for the customer, not the producer.  The customer really doesn't care about the website or the producer, they just want to be able to solve their own problems by using the website.  I agree with topic number 2 on the website, in that the website should be simple and if someone can't figure it out in like 5 seconds then it is a failure.

2)  I feel like one of the most important points is being simple.  Customers don't want to use a web site that they can't even figure out how to use.  Another important point is that the web site should be user-focused because the customer cares about solving their problems and doesn't care about the producer who designed the web site.

3)  simplicity
color
layout
font
no advertisements

The Future of Retail

1)  I feel that Negroponte does not explicitly state a thesis in his article.  If I were to write one for this article it would be:  The Internet has caused consumers to change they way they purchase items, by having them not go to stores for inconvenience.

2)  The article basically talks about how consumers can decide whether or not to purchase products in stores or online.  Norman's concepts of user-focused design come into play when Negroponte states that the consumer will pick which way to shop based on what is more easier and convenient for them.  For example, the article talks about how you can order books on Amazon.com rather than go to a bookstore and buy the book.

3)  Although the article was published in 1998, I feel that some of his ideas are still relevant today.  Today the internet has improved tremendously and had made purchasing products online much easier and faster.  One example that is not relevant today is how people have their groceries delivered to their house.  I feel like not many people still have their groceries delivered like back then.

4)  I believe that in the future many more people will result to shopping online, as that will most likely become the only way shoppers are going to want to shop.

Kalamazoo Downtown

1)  Overall I thought that downtown Kalamazoo was a great downtown area.  It was both welcoming and safe area.  The area featured plenty of stores and restaurants with variety in both.  The only really downside to the area was the narrow one way streets.  It made driving a little bit crazy and confusing in understanding of how to get around the city.

2)  In some parts of the town, there were more empty areas with fewer stores and fewer people walking around.  To solve this they should maybe think about building more stores.  Also this area seems to only appeal to older people rather than younger, so they should maybe add more stores or attractions to attract the younger crowd as well as the older.  They should also add more public restrooms on the streets.

3)  "There are many shifts."  We went during the day where it is not that busy, but if you go later in the evening it gets more crowded due to the shift in time and change in schedule for people.  Its all about going at the right time depending on what kind of crowd you want to see.

Whyte vs. Gibbs

1)  Whyte mainly talks about the aspects of the Main Street, whereas Gibbs discusses the design of cities as a whole.  Whyte talks about how congested traffic downtown, helps the stores with more sells because it causes more people to look into the stores.  Gibbs talks more about how the visual aspects of the main street help draw the customer's attention into buying products from the stores.  I find Whyte more convincing because I believe in his idea of congested traffic to help improve sells.

2)  I enjoy the urban setting where there are many people, but not too many as to where you cant move around freely.  I feel there should be at least a good amount of people because it makes you feel like you picked the right place to be since there many people along with you. 

City, Chapter 6

1)  I felt that one of the author's key points in this chapter was that to be successful, you have to be able to attract your customers to you.  If the traffic in a certain is more busy than another one, then the city with more congestion will have more success with the downtown stores.  Also, the window display is very important because the display can attract some window shoppers to at least stop and look at the merchandise, and this can later lead to one of those window shoppers becoming an actual customer of the store and purchasing something.

2)  Both Whyte and Norman seem to agree on the concept of visceral design.  They believe you need good display of items to be able to attract customers.  Such as the attractive window displays some stores put out.  They both think that a store should be behavioral because it needs to function well as a store.  However, Norman doesn't agree with Whyte on the idea that congestion attracts more customers.  Norman would rather have a clean, not busy downtown.

3)  window display
congestion
second story stores
size of sidewalk
store variety

Main Street

1)  "Generator" store
obstruction of view
parking
advertising signs
cleanliness

2)  Although malls have their advantages over Main Street, I think that Main Street should stay as it is and keep its individuality.  I feel that a lot of consumers are attracted to this type of shopping rather than a traditional mall, so there is no reason to take away something that people already like.

3)  Most important qualities:
security
cleanliness
variety of stores
price
parking
other consumers there