Altermaniscan: 2010

6.5.10

21.4.10

Barnes and Noble

4/20/10
Tyler Alterman
MEDP 299
Store Design Analysis

Barnes & Noble: A Marketing Machine

Store Location: 66th & Broadway
Time of Visit: 7:20 PM - 10:00 PM, April 20th

I'd initially begun research for this essay by taking photographs and writing down notes about the exterior and interior of the store. I took photos of the signs. I wrote notes about the lighting. I took photos of staff members. I wrote notes about typography. I went up the escalator. I came down the escalator. I covered the lower level, first floor, second floor, third floor, fourth floor. By the time I gave up I had acquired ten pages of notes, over fifty images, and the suspicion of security guards.
I gave up because I found myself overwhelmed. Never have I become aware of a place where so much thought, so much design, was placed into every single detail in order to make the sale, in order to create a marketing vehicle.
For example, I approached a man whose job it was to greet potential customers (and snoop out potential shop-lifters):

Me: Hi. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions? I'm working on a report of how Barnes & Noble is designed.
Man: OK.
Me: Have you noticed that it's mainly tourists that come through the entrance closer to Central Park while more New York residents and working people come through the entrance closer to Channel 13 and Lincoln Center?
Man: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Sure.
Man: Why are you asking me this question?
Me: Because I saw that by the Central Park-oriented entrance you have things like guide books to New York City, travel books, and gifts. [Point to these things.] But near the other entrance, you have things like "New Nonfiction" and magazines and signs advertising the Nook (the Barnes & Noble brand eReader), all things that people who spend more time in New York City are probably more likely to buy.
[Awkward moment of silence. Finally, Man smiles.]
Man: Wow, you know what, I have noticed that tourists come through here and not through there.
Me: Fascinating, thanks! [Shake his hand] What's your name?
Ira: I'm Ira.
Me: Thanks Ira!

Among other things noticed:

Colors. Dark green, off-white, brown. All very dignified, somewhat academic-feeling colors. Even when signage opts for a more eye-catchy color - as all of the New This and New That signs do - a darker, non-offensive hue is used. (Crimson, amber.)

Type. Bureau Grotesque Condensed Bold. Some lower-contrast version of Bodoni. The prior is bold and legible, but also humanistic in construction. (Read: not cold like Helvetica; a sense of warmth is important in Barnes & Noble. It's in the lighting, the colors, and the type; it's in the very visible grain in the fake wood that is used.) Bodoni is modern typeface, stately and refined, telling the potential customer that they are in a Respectable Bookstore. B&N wants to stay away from seeming like a stiff corporate giant while also eschewing the perception that one has stepped into a rinky dinky discount shop. One can see this also in the logotype. The font used, Garamond Italic most likely, says warm and inviting yet also high-brow.

The Nook. The entire store is filled with advertising for the Nook. I counted 3 individual images of the Nook that can be seen from the store exterior. There were 3 huge Nook signs as you enter on Broadway. There were 2 Nook signs as you exit on Broadway. As soon as you take approximately ten steps into the store, three new Nook signs can be seen - two of them pointing to the Nook SWAS (Store-Within-A-Store). At the SWAS, there is a dedicated sales person who answers questions, has twinkling teeth, and will call out to you if you walk by.
Elsewhere in the store I saw Nook TV displays, Nook signs at the starts and ends of escalators, and Nook signs on the back-sides of other signs. I also noted that the Nook logotype is the only sans serif that is blown up to the size of the primary B&N signage (which employs Bodoni). Also, the colors are more lightly tinted. These attributes make the Nook logotype stand apart from any other type in the store. Apparently, this very-close-to-being-overbearing-but-not-quite focus on the Nook is effective, because I almost always see people at the Nook SWAS.

The café. It's quite apparent that the café is one of the store's primary money-makers, because the entire space is molded around it. If you walk a few paces in from the entrance, you'll quickly have a diagonal path up to the café. The three escalators one takes to the fourth floor are arranged in one straight line. The designers wanted to get potential buyers up to that café as swiftly as possible. Getting down is a different story. To leave from the fourth floor, one must first take stairs down from the café. Then, in order to access the down-escalators, one must first navigate in a roundabout way around buys such as: gifts, staff-recommended books, sales, and etc. While you make this long journey out of the store, you'll have plenty of time to find one the aforementioned that strikes your impulse-buy neuron clusters.
   But before we leave, let's get back to the café. Before you take the final escalator up, you'll see a polite message on the left with words spelled out in beautiful Bodoni: "No Food or Drink from Outside Allowed in the Store." In case you missed this polite message, it is also stationed at the top of the escalator for your convenience (with a Nook ad on the back). Good, you don't have any food from "outside;" you might as well have a sit down. You sit on a stool at a bar-like area. In front of you is a sign, noting that, "Café tables are for our café customers."
   Right then, you better grab a coffee. While you're waiting on line, be sure not to miss another Nook ad, the gift card stand, and the baked treats sumptuously laid out behind thin glass in front of you. Maybe you'll get a scone. You order a tall Starbucks coffee and a scone. When you get to the cashier, you'll notice a few minor snack items around you: biscotti, almonds, chocolate. What the hell, you'll get some chocolate too. After you get your order, you grab a magazine and sit back down. In front of you is a small ad for Pike Place Roast. Above you is a huge ad for Molten Turtle Bundt with Caramel, blown up to ten times its normal size. But you figure you've already spent enough money, you'll just sit and read your magazine. After a while, you finish your coffee and your scone and your chocolate and toss the plastic leftovers. You hear an announcement over the loudspeaker informing all that "Café seating is for Café Customers only. If you don't have a café product at your table, please give up your seat to a Café Customer." Well, you think, no worries, I'm a Café Customer. Fifteen minutes later a man in B&N uniform bellows, "Café seating is for Café Customers only. If you don't have a café product at your table, feel free to purchase something from the café. Otherwise, I will be asking you to leave." He taps you on the shoulder. You say, "But I'm a café customer; I just finish my coffee and scone and chocolate fifteen minutes ago!" he says, "Can I see your receipt?" You say, "I threw it out," he says, "Well, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Maybe you'll get one of those Molten Turtle Bundt with Caramel.
    This is something that actually happens. I once grabbed a coffee cup out of the garbage so I wouldn't get kicked out. Don't get me wrong, the Barnes & Noble marketing machine wants you to sit down, read a magazine, and have a good experience...as long as you keep buying things. Especially since the café area is always packed - there needs to be some way to get a constant flow of purchases going or else the place would turn into a Parisian coffee shop, with people simply sitting there all day. (I sure would.)

Although I've taken down enough material for what could easily be a twenty-page paper on Barnes & Noble, observing the sheer amount of strategic thought and energy has become a bit exhausting. Perhaps I'll grab a cup of coffee. Wait a minute...

24.3.10

MEDP 299 - Post #4

Please stand by for part 2 - I have to wait for the apples to rot.

10.3.10

MEDP 299 - Post #3

Type Crimes:

Pros:

I think that white type on a blue background is a decent enough choice. With the help of the yellow sun, it invokes a day at the beach, with a blue sky overhead.
The leading is OK - not too tight, not too loose.
The text has just enough breathing room. It isn't too close to the edges.
Although I hate the font choice, I can grant that it's pretty eye catching. The bold strokes have good impact. The large size of the type also helps here.
Tanning places seem to consistently sport terrible typography, so perhaps the bad type is an easy-recognition marketing ploy...

Cons:

Hm, I can't really say that deco typography really makes me think of getting a tan. If I saw the font out of context, I would probably think of a night out on Broadway in 1920s New York, with men wearing their pants a bit too high and speaking inhumanly fast. I would have used a typeface with a more beachy feel, like SignPainter HouseScript

The legibility of the type is questionable. The thin stokes might render the text unreadable from far away.
The placement of the the words "TANNING ZONE" is a little funky. They're weirdly centered off to the right. And next to the placement of the white arrow and the sun, the composition feels a little cluttered. I maybe would have right-aligned the text, scooted it over to the left, placed the white arrow to the right of the text, and moved the sun under "TANNING" and to the left of "ZONE."

Pros:

The red type is eye-grabbing and draws a connection to the red cross associated with medical aid.
Serif Gothic - though a dubious choice - is distinctive and easily recognizable.
The brand name spelled out in lower case letters could lend an inviting air to the store.
The combination of D and R is kind of neat.

Cons:

Lubalin's Serif Gothic is a pretty poor choice for a modern pharmacy chain, unless they were intending to impart a 1970s groove to customers. I also feel like the type simply doesn't work with the red they chose. Perhaps a more clinical sans-serif would have, but Serif Gothic's peculiarity simply doesn't complement the highly saturated, somewhat threatening red. If I were a Duane Reade executive, I would have gone along with the trend seen in major brands in changing the color of their logo from red to blue - which is more pleasant. You especially want customers who may be buying medical products to feel at ease.
The display type is completely mismatched to the more graphical logo. The rounded edges of the mortar and pestle doesn't quite jive with the display type, or the didone "DR" that it contains, for that matter.
Although the sharp terminal of the "DR" inside the graphic visually parallels those of Serif Gothic, I would have much rather seen a re-use of one font or the other, rather than a crowding-in of the two.
In fact, I think the presence of the display type mixed in with the graphical logo is over-the-top. It seems like there are two distinct, competing logos.
The presence of three colors adds too much visual noise. It also makes the header seem inconsistent, since white and blue are only in two spots; they seem out of place.
I'm not sure if I like the graphical logo interrupting the display text. One's eyes get stuck on the graphic before moving on to "reade."
I believe Duane Reade has since made a series of branding changes. As a result, you can see at least three variants of the Duane Reade logo all over the city. The lack of unified typography hurts the Duane Reade Brand.

Pros:

The bold, uppercase, white, idiosyncratic type on the red background draws the eye.

Cons:

The kerning between the "A" and the "C" in both "FARMACIA" and "PHARMACY" is off. The slant of the "A" and the curve of the "C" opens up more negative space. In order to balance the type, the space in between these letters should be decreased..
Again, the typeface is another regrettable choice for a pharmacy. The sharp edges and high contrast present in Benguiat's Tiffany give off the wrong connotations for a place where you go for your health needs.
And again, although red is eye-catching and is associated with medical care, studies show that it also raises one's blood pressure and is irritating. I would have gone with blue, which is also frequently used in the medical field.
The numbers, though likely the same typeface as the deco-esque sans serif used underneath the display text, seem out of place. The number 3, repeated three times, is pretty irregular-looking.

Pros:

The words "SHOPPING CENTER" are fairly legible from a difference.
The bold weight of the letters has impact.
All together, the composition of the sign has decent hierarchy. "SHOPPING CENTER" is emphasized via size, as it should be. (That's the first bit of information that people are going to want to know.)
Although the sign is far from elegant, this may play to its advantage. The poor aesthetic sends the signal that things can be bought here at a cheap price. On the other hand, if the signage used a sophisticated modern typeface, it might deter shopping for fear of high prices.

Cons:

Although it's difficult to tell at this resolution, "SHOPPING CENTER" is spelled out in a terrible stencil font. Do I shop here for army supplies and punk regalia?
The display type doesn't harmonize well with the "Hamilton" logo. They use drastically different typefaces. Also, the "Hamilton" logo itself is weak. Is it a credit card?
The type is situated amongst other busy signs, all using different fonts. All together, the whole thing just looks like a big mess.
I may be sounding repetitive by now, but red used in this context is just too shouty for me.

Pros:

Uppercase red type on the white background gives the sign an authoritative air.
Helvetica was a good choice here. It's legible from a distance and - in its uppercase form - give an impression of officialism.
The beveled rectangular border focuses the viewers eyes inward, and also might convey that the sign holds an official message.

Cons:

A case of typographic irony. This sign, found near City College, reads "DRUG FREE SCHOOL ZONE." Unfortunately, it also now hangs on its side and is covered in graffiti, giving off the impression that this may be a very drug-filled zone. Although I don't think there's anything terribly wrong with the type itself, due to lack of maintenance, the type has been re-contextualized and has lost it's original intended message.
Although there is a size hierarchy, there still might not be enough contrast to keep the viewer's attention past the first two lines. To increase contrast, I would have use a bolder form of Helvetica for "DRUG FREE SCHOOL ZONE."

Type Triumphs:

Pros:

This seepuertorico.com campaign by Oglivy uses a Bodoni varient beautifully. The pitch revolves around the country's unique culture, and the type (and it's placement) seems to communicate music and dance through its rhythm and flow, complementing the image well. The right-swooping terminals of the lowercase "m," "a," and "k" sashay across the poster. The teardrop terminals of the lowercase "s," "k," and "c" - as well as the comma - invoke musical notes (this comparison is enhanced by the black type on a white background, which conjures up sheet music).
The balance between lowercase and uppercase, between italic and roman, between large letter and small letters could have come off as messy if less artfully done. However, here these characteristics add a playful tempo to the type.
The sideways slant of the typographic composition lends interest and motion.
The yellow lettering carries connotations of happiness and sunshine. The limited color palette is tasteful.
Ample white space enhances the type's power. The large patch of emptiness to the left of the lettering's sideways slant is visually compelling, since it is something not often seen.
A didone was a good choice here. It adds elegance, but avoids coming across as pretentious due to the type's playful treatment.

Cons:

I'm not sure if the type communicates its message quickly enough. Since the poster is on the exterior of a bus stop, it has about 3-5 seconds or less of the viewer's attention. The onlooker may become lost in all of the beautiful visual movement and walk by before figuring out that the poster advertises vacations in Puerto Rico. Perhaps the words "Puerto Rico" should have the most prominent position instead of "masks."

Pros:

Although the type here isn't exactly a work of art, it gets the intended message across from a mile away: "oriental food here." You wouldn't see this kind of brushed lettering for a doctor's office or a bank.
The color palette is not too bad here. The white and orange-yellow type against the darker red grabs your attention without screaming at you (as several of the compositions under "Type Crimes" do).

Cons:

Yeah, it gets the message across, but the typographic treatment of "ORIENTAL KITCHEN" is still kind of ugly.
The telephone number is so squished that it borders on illegible. This one blunder cheapens the entire composition.
"ORIENTAL KITCHEN" is too close to the top border. The fact that it touches the border adds unnecessary visual tension.

Pros:

The header type, Hoefler and Frere-Jone's 96pt light optical variant of Didot, on this magazine is gorgeous, love the extreme contrast between the thin and thick strokes.
It's a publication about fine wine and the chosen font features fine lines - a great thematic match.
Didones in general have a certain sophistication about them, which perfectly supports the subject matter.
The slightly wide letter-spacing and use of all caps further enhances the refined look of the title.
"THE WORLD OF" is wonderfully placed, aligned with the top of the "F" and the side of "E." It has just enough breathing room below it.
The color of "FINE" parallels the negative space in the image underneath. The deep red of "WINE" parallels the red of the image while also alluding to the color or red wine.

Cons:

Personally, I might have aligned the header type with the image below for a tighter composition.

Pros:

The type here screams "heavy-duty SUV." It's bold, it's expanded, it's solid. It might have worked even better if they added "hell yeah" as a subhead.
It's visually pleasing that the letters run parallel to the lines beneath it.
The logotype is nicely center-aligned to the graphical mark to its right.

Cons:

Although visual balance may have called for a tight kern between the "C" and "A," and the "L" and "A," the fact that they're joined - whereas other letters are not - feels somewhat inconsistent. The eye likely get stuck for a few milliseconds on theses pairs, interrupting the flow of the logotype.

Pros:

The letters spelling "Chamomile" superbly communicates everything that Chamomile tea should be: relaxing, soulful, and warm. This is conveyed by the little humanistic details in the type, such as the leftward stress of the "o," the modulations in stroke-width, and the slanted terminals of letters like the "h" and the "l." The relatively small counter-space in the eye of the "e" somehow conveys coziness to me - the counter is almost being "hugged" by the surrounding stroke.
The tight kerning of "Chamomile," along with its earthy brown fill, also gives off a homey feeling.
The warm yellow space surrounding the type harmonizes well with its brown color.
The type is well-aligned to the text below it.

Cons: