Whyte vs. Gibbs

1.  To what extent do Whyte and Gibbs approach city design from different perspectives? Do you find one more convincing than the other?

Whyte and Gibbs do, indeed, have different perspectives regarding city design. Gibbs' perspective is a bit more narrow - he focuses specifically on Main Streets. Gibbs talks about places he has seen, been, or helped design as examples of a good or bad "Main Street." His main focus is that Main Streets need to borrow ideas and design elements from malls in order to become more commercially prosperous. He gives specific aspects that are most important, such as external store appearance, window displays, seating arrangements, sidewalk material, and traffic - both pedestrian and automotive. Whyte, on the other hand, is much less concrete about his approach. While Gibbs tends to clearly state what works and what does not, Whyte talks about example after example, with seemingly no particular outline in mind. Furthermore, Gibbs focuses specifically on Main Streets whereas Whyte discusses city centers as a whole. I find Gibbs' style more convincing because his writing seems more genuine, more credible than Whyte's - which is simply due to how Whyte's approach seems based more on opinion and observation. Moreover, Gibbs' more focused style of writing, as compared to Whyte's jumbled, confusing narrative, certainly contributes to this conclusion.

2. What elements of an urban area are particularly attractive to you? What elements repel you?

To me, the most important and attractive elements of an urban area are safety, cleanliness, and the amount of other people there. Corresponding to this, the elements that repel me are danger, a dirty appearance, and little no activity - as well as irritating smells and sounds. Many urban areas can be dangerous, so safety is probably the first and foremost thing that I consider before venturing out. As for cleanliness, I feel like the general appearance of an urban area is something most people consider, and if there is trash or litter everywhere and the sidewalks and storefronts look dirty, the store displays, merchandise, and all the rest are almost rendered irrelevant. Lastly, as I mentioned in class, I prefer to be in an urban area where there are plenty of people around. Not only does it make me feel more safe, but it reassures me that there must not be anything terribly wrong about the place, since other people are there too. In addition, an "amiable kind of congestion," as Whyte put it, brings a sense of vitality and pleasant hustle and bustle to an urban area.

"City" by William H. Whyte - Chapter 6

1.  What do you feel were the author’s key points in this chapter?

            In Chapter Six of City: Rediscovering the Center, William H. Whyte evaluates good design for a city center/major city street. His key points are second storiness, window shopping, trash, walkways, and the selling entrance. Whyte particularly focuses on window shopping, naming stoppages, merchandise – bargain and expensive, movement, light, and sound as the most important aspects in attracting customers.

2.  Compare Whyte’s ideas on design to Norman’s concepts that we studied earlier. What’s similar? What’s different?

            The biggest difference between Whyte’s ideas on design to Norman’s concepts is that Whyte is both specific (focusing on city streets and centers) and vague (not really naming any specific elements of design). On the other hand, Norman is quite specific, categorizing design as a whole into three groups – visceral design, behavioral design, and reflective design. Furthermore, Whyte seems to be more concerned with the way things work (i.e., if certain window displays are effective, or how obstructions on street-side walkways affect pedestrian and customer traffic), whereas Norman puts just as much emphasis on visceral and reflective design as he does on behavioral. However, that is indeed a similarity between the two – both authors agree that behavioral design is essential for anything to have a successful design.

3.  Create a checklist, based on Whyte’s chapter, that could be used to analyze an urban area.

• Window shopping – the merchandise displayed and the best ways to attract customers
• Trash cans – effective and efficient
• Cleanliness
• Walkways – must be wide enough for the usual amount of pedestrian traffic
• Seating – benches and/or tables and chairs
•  Images/atmospheres that the stores project – displays, signs, music, etc.

"What Main Street Can Learn From the Mall" by Steven Lagerfeld

1.  List the criteria Robert Gibbs uses to evaluate a Main Street.

            Gibbs evaluates a Main Street based on how the different aspects of its design influence shoppers. For example, the way benches and tables are displayed can either attract or scare off shoppers. If they are grouped together too closely, squeezing between them could result in physical contact with other customers, which often dispels female shoppers. Certain arrangements also invite teenagers and loiterers, who discourage shoppers from approaching as well. Another aspect of design that Gibbs considers in evaluating a Main Street is what he calls the price-point-to-aperture ratio. Storefront displays that are too large and cluttered usually indicate that the store sells less expensive items, whereas smaller, tidy, and more eye-catching displays convey an image of higher quality – which is the case with stores like Tiffany’s. Gibbs also says that overly decorative items outside of the store, such as planters, fancy light posts, and sparkling paving stones, must be used in moderation. Too much of them can distract shoppers as they pass the store – the shoppers spend the eight seconds as they walk by staring at these decorations instead of looking at the window displays, which more often than not helps the store lose potential customers. Additionally, more intricate sidewalk materials and designs are sometimes more difficult to clean, leading to a more dirty appearance over time, which will undoubtedly repel shoppers.

2.  Think critically of Gibbs’ argument.  Do you think “Main Street” should be a mall?

            I do not think Main Street should be a mall. I believe that the main appeal of downtown shopping areas is how different they are from traditional shopping malls. Malls are usually large, crowded with people, and – as nice as the mall is – very much a sterile environment. Downtown areas mingle retail with restaurants, entertainment, and the city’s style and history to create an overall pleasant community feel. This is not nearly as present in a mall. However, this is not to say that shopping malls are bad, but simply that, as a shopper, I would like the option to either go to a shopping mall or an area like Main Street rather than be confined to one specific style of shopping.

3.  Make your own checklist to judge a Main Street.  What things do you think are important?

            I think the most important things to consider when judging a Main Street are:

• An area that is aesthetically appealing – has attractive but not distracting decorations (such as plants, flowers, signs, etc.) and is clean and tidy
• Variety of destinations – a balanced mix of stores (larger, more well-known brands and smaller, more “homey” stores), restaurants, entertainment, and necessities (banks, offices, etc.)
• Convenience – proximity to methods of transportation (parking lots, streetside parking, bike racks, train stations, bus stops, etc.)

Wikipedia Article - Brita

My Wikipedia article on Brita is online! It can be found here.

Retail Analysis

1.  What store did you observe? Who do they market to?

            I observed the store Banana Republic, a higher-end clothing retailer. Banana Republic markets to both men and women. Given the more refined, professional style of clothing that they sell, as well as the high prices, I assume that they market to adults over the age of 25 – particularly those with white collar jobs who would need “business casual” clothing.

2.  Briefly describe the following:

a. appearance of store entrance (from outside)

Even from just the outside, Banana Republic had a very clean, refined, and almost “preppy” appearance. The store’s name was displayed prominently above the entrance in clear, polished font. The entranceway itself was flanked by two large window displays. The display on the left showed an entire men’s outfit on a mannequin, perfect for fall and complete with a tan sweater vest, khaki slacks, and a tie. The display on the right showed an entire women’s outfit, also befitting the season, with clothing in shades of orange, cream, and brown. In both window displays, dark wooden shelves hung from the ceiling with old school books, messenger bags, and knit hats neatly arranged on them.

b. sounds (inside the store)

            Upon entering the store, I expected to hear some sort of cultured, classical music. Instead, the music playing throughout the store was fun, peppy, and almost pop. I feel like this kind of music would be to make the atmosphere of the store more inviting and to keep customers happy and alert. Also, it is worth mentioning that the volume of the music was just right – not too loud and not too quiet.

c. how merchandise is displayed

            I have to say – I absolutely loved the way in which Banana Republic displayed its merchandise. The entire store looked extremely neat, clean, and pleasant. To begin with, the clothing displayed closest to the store’s entrance were laid out on large tables. The shelving on the walls was in clever cubic and rectangular shapes. Certain products were displayed in some of the shelves, and the larger, more square-shaped units held simplistic paintings, old books, large vintage-looking hourglasses, and coils of rope. The clothes themselves were hung using shiny wooden hangers, and organized by color, style, or type – and then, within those categories, unfailingly by size. Even the sale racks, which are usually a big mess in clothing stores, wonderfully organized, with all of the clothing in order by size and all of the same styles placed together. Men’s clothing was on the left side of the store, with all of the women’s clothing on the right. I noticed that, as compared to the women’s side, more of the men’s clothing was displayed on tables. Furthermore, much of the men’s clothing was consciously displayed together. For example, one large round table displayed a wide variety of men’s dress shirts in different colors, with matching ties laid out right next to their respective shirts, and slacks and sweater vests folded neatly on another table nearby.

d. floors

            The floors throughout Banana Republic were an attractive type of wood flooring. The floor was extremely clean, without any sort of trash or, god forbid, merchandise cluttering it up.

e. signs

            The large signs on the walls of the store were a pleasant, dark red with large, easy-to-read white text. The smaller signs that were attached to racks of clothing and shelves and displayed on tables had the same clear, white text and a soothing tan background. To the contrary, signs depicting sale items were a bold, bright red.

f. cashier area

            The cashier area consisted of two long, sturdy-looking wooden counters, with one up against the wall the other out in front of it. The counter against the wall was for the stores’ associates to use, and the counter in front held the cash registers and was where transactions were to take place. Most likely due to this, that particular counter had a darker, sleek looking countertop than the other. Three simple advertisements for the store with bold, minimalistic black frames hung at equally spaced distances on the wall behind the cashier area.

3.  What image does this business try to project?

            The image that Banana Republic tries to project is luxurious, sophisticated, and refined. As I already mentioned, most of the clothes is what would be considered “business casual” – such as slacks, skirts, dresses, dress shirts, ties, blazers, and sweater vests. Furthermore, the paintings on the walls and the decorations in the shelves and window displays portray a slightly preppy, vintage image.

4. How did customers interact with various elements of the store’s design?

            As they entered the store, customers tended to gravitate first toward the large table displays straight ahead of them before then heading either to the left or the right, depending on their gender or who they were shopping for. While I was observing the store, there were not many men present, but on the women’s side, customers tended to begin at the sale racks. This was probably due to the much brighter signs that were displayed there, as well as the more enticing lower prices.

5. What did you find interesting about the design of this store?

            What I found most interesting about the design of this Banana Republic store was just the incredibly polished and refined air that it exuded. Every single aspect of the store contributed to creating this environment – even right down to the sales associates, all of whom were incredibly friendly and incredibly well-dressed.

Egg Container Experiment

Neither Olivia nor I had ever done this kind of experiment before, so at first, we had no idea where to start. We spent several minutes brainstorming ideas before deciding that placing one container inside another, with padding provided by cotton balls, shredded paper, and cardboard in between, would create a package that would absorb the force of an impact. To start with, we wrapped the egg in paper towel and taped it securely. Then, we cut the bottom halves off of two plastic bottles, placing the egg inside one and inverting the other over the egg. Our next step was the cut off the bottom half of a large one gallon jug and line it with cotton balls and tissue paper. We placed a piece of cardboard over the lining on the bottom before adding even more cotton balls, tissue paper, paper towels, and shredded paper as padding. The small container with the egg in it was then put in the jug so that it rested snugly within all of this padding.

            After all of this, we realized that no matter how much padding we used, it would not be enough to help the egg withstand a big impact. Thus, we decided to attach a parachute. We punched two holes into the plastic jug, put a smaller grocery bag inside of another, attached it to the jug, and then tested the container – only to discover that the parachute did not work at all. Olivia and I realized that the parachute did not cover enough surface area and was therefore unable to significantly slow down the package. So, we removed the garbage bag parachute and decided to use a larger, thicker garbage bag that Olivia had found. Furthermore, rather than opening up the bag, we chose to use the bag as a parachute in its folded, rectangular form. We reinforced the four corners of the bag using masking tape before punching holes in each corner, punching two more holes in the jug, and attaching the bag-parachute via connected hair ties.

            We tested the container several times – without the egg, of course – by dropping it from a stair railing as well as out of a second floor window in Trowbridge Hall. We were ecstatic to find that the parachute worked extremely well! Finally, we placed the egg back amongst all of the padding in the jug and sealed off the open top with a piece of cardboard.

            Testing the container during class proved to be just as successful as it had been when we tested it on our own. Olivia and I had initially been slightly worried that the parachute would malfunction because it was rather windy outside, but the package ended up working perfectly, surviving falls out of both a second and third story window.

Olivia's blog can be found at http://voicethroughdesign.blogspot.com/.

"The Science of Shopping" by Malcolm Gladwell

1.  What points from this article do you feel are the most important?

            Although this article was extremely thorough about the “science of shopping,” covering a wide variety of topics, the one I feel is most important is how Paco Underhill’s theories “seek not to make shoppers conform to the desires of sellers but to make sellers conform to the desires of shoppers.” Gladwell describes how, due to observations made by people like Underhill, sellers learn the best ways to plan the layout of a store, place certain items, attract specific audiences, and elicit particular emotions. For instance, stores have learned to place items that they know their consumers desire near the back of the store because consumers must walk through the entire store – thus passing other items that might attract them – in order to get to the back.

2.  How much do you personally feel you are influenced by a store’s design?

            If I am walking into a store that I am not familiar with, I feel that store design is a big influence. Because I do not know where things are, I will most likely focus more on items that are attractively displayed and easy to access instead of heading straight for where I know I will find what I am looking for.

3.  Make a check list you could use to analyze a retail store like Paco Underhill does?

·         Is the store’s layout overly complicated?

·         Are the clothes laid out in a neat and attractive way, or do the displays look cluttered and messy?

·         Are prices/signs well-placed and easy to read?

·         Are the employees friendly and helpful?

·         Is the store’s overall atmosphere inviting? (i.e. not ridiculously dim lighting or painful music)