Experience Design and the 'Future of Cornflakes!!'

Was reading an article on Experience Design in the last issue of Contagious magazine.
Archiving some learnings...

1. The definition of what actually constitutes branding is increasingly broad. Branded touch-points now include everything from an online presence to a smiling customer representative and the band-aid solution of an advertising campaign is no substitute for a holistic, positive experience. If advertising is the end of the chain, Experience Design is the chain! - 'Jess Greenwood'

2. In today's world, any company that is working within products or services of any kind needs to stop this notion of expertise. the idea that they know best what the customer wants - quite a missionary stance, actually - and start creating with the very people they want to build products and services for. - Anna Kirah, a design anthropologist.

3. I have no idea whether the chemicals in Toilet duck are any good. I just like the fact that it's shaped like a duck. - Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman, Ogilvy Group,UK

4. I'm convinced that some sort of Experience Design will become the master discipline for businesses that want to be good at selling stuff. - Russell Davies, freelance planner/ blogger

5. Looking around the work-arounds and self generated solutions that consumers create to navigate certain problems is infinitely more inspiring than sitting in a room with a one way mirror and saying "What's the future of cornflakes? - Paul Bennett, Creative Director, Ideo

Suddenly this reminds me of a packaging research amongst kids( I attended some 6 years back) where a fairly persistent researcher wouldn't leave the poor kid before he replied what story he remembered on seeing the Dabur Honey label...phew!!

These last two months I have tried to dig around a little(with my planner hat) in the conversation, social media space, the next two hopefully would be in Experience Design...

And Now User Generated Packaging

While the cola company is facing trouble in India, internationally it's embracing a design over-drive...Read a report in the ET today. Some pointers from the article!

1. Pepsi has changed it's design a mere 10 times in the last 109 years but it's ready to change it 35 times in the next 12 months!!

It reminds me of Alex Bogusky's comment that today the strength of brands is driven not by consistency but by surprise.

2. The designs include images relating to cars, music, fashion. the work being inspired by consumer 'passion points'.

3. After UGC(user-generated-content) now it's the turn of user-generated-packaging. In the US, Pepsi is launching a 'Design our Pepsi can' contest. Consumers get to submit their designs and even judge the designs of others based on a set of criteria set by Pepsi.

Packaging has always been one of the neglected, rigid and under-tapped areas of marketing. Hopefully, things will change fast. How will it impact the design companies though:-)

And what will happen to the Sacred Brand Manual? And clients and agency guys whose sole job was/ is to ensure the strictest adherence to the logo regime!!

Looks like in the future many logos will have the elasticity, the quirkiness and the topicality of the MTV logo!