Dwight’s Fragrant Crap

I’m no expert when it comes to making sales pitches, but I think I know the difference between trying to persuade someone and making a fool out of yourself. A web designer looking for an opportunity to create a website for my girlfriend’s photography portfolio sent her a personal e-mail containing the following:

I would just like to offer and make your very own official website.  The features of multiply,blogspot,geocities and other free web hosting sites are very limited including the layouts,not to mention the ads that they are including in your site.  When you have your own website, I can make you the layout that you preferred up to the smallest detail.  Website helps your company in terms of marketing the products and services that you offer.

I always treat my clients with outmost confidentiality so your files are assured safe with me and will not be distributed to unauthorized people.

I can offer you the following services:

Webspace of 300MB (The webspace can be larger depending on your needs)

• Unlimited number of email addresses (shared webspace)
• Unlimited number of webpages
• Graphic design (for website use only)
  
• Website creation (programming and coding)
• Technical Support
• Static Webpages with flash contents.

It will only cost you P15,000 (1 Yr Domain and Hosting included).  I can make the entire website within 15 days when the layout has been approved and when files is already given to me,

I would like to discuss everything with you personally or even just by phone since this written proposal is just a brief summary of the services that I offer you.

I solely made these websites starting from scratch, I have other ongiong projects but I cannot show them yet.
www.martascakes.com.ph
www.robertblancaflorgroupinc.com
www.huffnpuffpartystuff.com
www.roccicoffee.com

Do not be fooled by other designers who offer very cheap services, their services are very limited.

I didn’t include his name to save his future career in case anyone here knows the guy. Anyway, perhaps some lessons I learned when reading his convincing e-mail are:

1. Use proper grammar.
2. Don’t give out the price! In any job where the service isn’t the same for all the clients (especially design) the price will definitely vary for the needs of the client in every project. Giving the price will already put the designer in a situation where the service will be treated like an item in a restaurant’s menu—it’ll simply be compared to others and treated as a commodity.
3. Eat your own dog food! A good friend of mine once told me that you have to eat your own dog food and patronize what you’re selling. In this case, since he’s a web designer, he has to have his own website to show the client.
4. Sell Quality! Take one good look at the websites he linked to, and you’ll know what I mean.
5. Don’t mindlessly ridicule competition! His last line, “Do not be fooled by other designers who offer very cheap services, their services are very limited,” simply shows insecurity. Let your work do the talking.

Yakult is dirty, unhealthy and outdated. Well, not really, but that’s what its design is saying.

This supposedly healthy, probiotic flesh-colored milk needs a brand overhaul. Among the values that Yakult offers to its consumers, health is perhaps the single, most important reason people patronize this product. Yet, looking at Yakult, I can’t help feel that this stuff isn’t healthy or even clean at all. The semi-transparent bottle, the foil cover, and the flesh colored-milk partnered with the red markings on the bottle aren’t giving out the right message to its health-conscious consumers, which are probably children with their parents who want them to drink it.

Here are some things Yakult can do to improve the way people connect to their brand:

1. Change the foil cover. If you’ve ever tried Yakult before, I’m pretty sure that there was a time that because the foil kept on sticking to the bottle, you accidentally destroyed it and had to either bite part of it off, or punch it with a hole using your fingers or a spoon. If you’re a parent trying to teach your kids hygiene and some manners, Yakult will definitely make it more difficult for you.
2. Modify the packaging a bit. The Yakult bottle, similar to the coke bottle, is already iconic and shouldn’t be changed. However, what can be improved upon is the way the contents are shown. The semi-transparent plastic makes the contents look old and unfriendly to kids, who are the prime drinkers of Yakult. Also, there should be size variants. Most of the people I know who love their product drink more than 1 bottle in a sitting.
3. Bring back the Yakult Cart. I don’t know where it is anymore; but as a kid, I was always excited when that old lady with a Yakult cart passed by our house. It probably got outdated, but there are ways to improve and innovate the experience—change the design of the cart and the uniform of the cart lady, add freebies, create a loyalty program, or host a Yakult health-related event. Or, the cart can be changed as a whole, but the idea of the cart could be retained and convereted into something else.

Of course, Yakult has done a lot of good too. Yakult created a fantastic product, which is probably the reason why they’ve been selling for over 70 years. The vacuum-sealed container makes it look fresh and inviting. Red, a color uncommonly used and typically a bad choice for milk and dairy products, makes it stand out in the shelves of supermarkets.

Another thing, they should scrap their ads and taglines. “Yakult everyday, everyday okay.” or “Okay ka ba tiyan?” just doesn’t work. They could easily use the money on advertising to improve the whole Yakult experience and make us happier Yakult drinkers.

Well, i’ve been wanting to start a blog for over a year now, but I haven’t done so for many of the typical reasons—laziness, complacency, wanting it so much to be perfect and a million other excuses. Fortunately, an important lesson I’ve learned over the past month from some really good friends is to just start it, damn it!

Now that I’ve actually started it, the next lesson I have to learn is to continue it! I, like most of us, have this horrible habit of starting things and not pushing through. This time around, I’m dead set on making this blog live; else, if it dies, I’ll make a fool of myself by having this introductory post publicly rot in the bowels of wordpress.

So what will I be writing about? It’s mostly gonna be about design. It has become integrated in my life and I can no longer contain it to myself. I’d also like to write about philosophy, thinking, creativity, marketing, branding, innovation, food, environmentalism, cars, and so much more. Just don’t expect any posts on gossip and Britney Spears.

There. Let’s see how far this blog’s going to go.

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