Designing From the Inside Out

Ever since the dawn of instant coffee, people crave immediacy. It’s a demand that frustrates and challenges today’s designers. Without an endless supply of duct tape, people aren’t going to sit still long enough to be educated by unfamiliar concepts and images. They’ll see what they expect to see based on what they already know. Unless you hit a nerve immediately, they might not even bother to notice.

That’s why marketing and design have to be from the inside out. Don’t start by selling. Start by figuring out what people want to buy. Go inside the customer’s head. Do they already use something similar? Strike that chord and tell them why yours is better. Do they share a particular need? Relate to it and tell them you’ve found a solution. Associate with a common image, phrase or experience and you’re much more likely to make a rapid connection.

Don’t believe me? Try this tonight. Send your child to the fridge for a bottle of oxidane. See if you get anything besides a confused look and a “Huh?”

Then ask them to get you a bottle of water . . .