Re: Typeface for wayfinding

Michael,

> I don't think discounters
> in Germany think much about
> this.  Competition is
> extreme and the only thing
> that counts are low prices.
> Thus, the supermarkets'
> flyers all look the same.

Ahhh. That is, in fact, the first thing I thought when I saw the home
page for NETTO Discount at

< http://www.netto-discount.de/ >

-- it reminded me immediately of those packed supermarket ads in the
newspaper.

I recently told a client that

	"folks like me will read chicken scratch scribbled in pale
	yellow ink on the back of a brown paper bag ... if it
	contains information they really want."

Most discounters' communications probably fall into this category.
Plus, those of us who read them know (more or less) what to expect,
and because of this, we're able to easily scan what looks on the
surface to be a jumbled mass of information, and retrieve what
interests us.

Even so, there will be conflicts over ad content, and people do get
confused about exactly what's on sale, or how many items you get for
the discounted price, etc. This is especially true, I think, for those
situations where price is the deciding factor for a purchase.

I'm often caught in supermarket lines where the person a couple of
people ahead of me is arguing vigorously with the store manager about
what an ad (and/or shelf sign for a discounted item) actually "says."

I've even been known to do this myself, on occasion. ;-)

Deborah
_____

Deborah Taylor-Pearce
[email protected]








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