Saturday, October 30, 2010

What Main Street Can Learn from the Mall

Gibbs considered several different factors when evaluating a Main Street design. One of the most interesting factors he mentioned was sidewalk design and material. The pavement of the most successful downtown shopping areas in the country is plain, undecorated cement. While many downtowns favor more decorative materials, including bricks or stone, these materials are less effective construction materials for several reasons. First of all, the more intricate the sidewalk, the more likely the shopper will look at the ground as opposed to the storefronts. In addition, sidewalks made of porous, spaced apart materials are more difficult to clean, and overtime contribute to a dirty appearance. Another interesting consideration was storefront display. It takes the average Main Street shopper about eight seconds to walk past a store front, meaning that the store has no more than eight seconds to draw the pedestrian-shopper's attention. Since downtown shopping centers also have automobile traffic, stores have only about one second to draw the attention of car shoppers. The size of the window display was also an important element of Main Street design. Stores that have large, open window displays typically indicate less expensive items, while stores that have small, confined displays like Tiffany's usually sell more expensive, high quality, exclusive products. Gibbs called this idea the price-point-to-aperture ratio. Gibbs also focused on the placement and organization of tables and benches in the downtown shopping area. For example, benches and tables that are placed very close together, like at an outdoor cafe, can often be a turnoff to female shoppers. This is because when people are sitting on the benches, pedestrians need to squeeze between people, often resulting in physical contact. Additionally, excessive seating areas may look appealing during the daytime, but they can also attract teenagers and other loiterers, which contributes to uneasiness among shoppers. In evaluating Main Street design, Gibbs also gave great attention to streets that ran through the area. An effective downtown shopping area is located at the intersection of the two busiest streets. Cars should not move quickly through this intersection; instead, it should be heavily trafficked. Finally, Gibbs evaluated the differences in location of restaurants and retail stores in the Main Street area. Restaurants should not face west, so the setting sun does not interfere with the dining experience. Restaurants can also be located on side-streets, since restaurants are usually destinations, as opposed to impulse stops. Retail stores, on the other hand, should not face south, because clothes displayed in the window will fade and lose color. Retail stores should also be located in high traffic areas to attract drop-in business.

I do not think Main Street should be a mall. All of the uniqueness of walking through a nice downtown area would be lost if it was transformed into a mall-like atmosphere. There are several cities with very nice downtown areas near my home, including Birmingham, Royal Oak, and Rochester. At the same time, we also have Somerset Mall in Troy, which is one of the largest, fanciest malls in Michigan, and the Village of Rochester Hills, an upscale outdoor shopping mall that is extremely popular in the area. While both the mall and the Main Street shopping area have many appeals, they are extremely different, and experiencing only one of the two would get very tedious. Going to a shopping mall is usually not a relaxing experience. It is usually very crowded and full of other shoppers, but it is excellent if you need to browse through large amounts of clothes. When you go into a mall, you know that the primary purpose of the visit is to spend money. On the other hand, walking through downtown Birmingham can be a very relaxing, peaceful experience. There are many different possibilities, because you can go shopping, go to a restaurant, watch a movie at the theater, or simply enjoy a walk along Old Woodward Avenue. However, this is not the best option if you have a great deal of shopping to do and limited time. I think that the contrast between the shopping mall and Main Street experiences is something that should not be lost. I found the following quote from the article very intriguing: "Gibbs' prescriptions for the streets of West Palm Beach and of other American towns and small cities borrow so heavily from the mall that it becomes difficult to see how, except the absence of a roof over its streets, a place reconstructed along such lines would differ from a mall. It might be a town, but would it be a community?" This is an excellent point, and one we must carefully consider. Personally, I love Somerset Mall, but it does not define where I live or the person who I am. In other words, I have no personal attachment to the mall, since it is so similar to hundreds of other malls throughout the country. However, I feel a deep personal connection to the streets of downtown Birmingham. These streets and the surrounding community are unique, and they say so much about who I am and what I have experienced. Every downtown is different, and it would hurt communities to lose this unique nature.

I think the most important consideration when evaluating Main Street design is cohesion of the buildings that comprise the downtown area. Buildings should be made of similar materials with similar colors. This can be a challenge for older cities, where buildings constructed many years ago stand side by side modern buildings. I have seen downtown areas that completely fail in terms of design because the construction materials of side-by-side buildings clash unappealingly. I think that bringing natural elements into the Main Street design is very important. Nice downtown areas have trees in planters in the sidewalks. These trees provide beauty during the day time, and can also be prominent features at nighttime, when they are often hung with Christmas lights. Trees and other plants truly distinguish the Main Street shopping experience from simply walking down any other street. They give a "special" feel to the area. I also think having a wide variety of stores is critical to the success of Main Street. There must be a blend of clothing stores, restaurants, cafes, ice cream and snack stores, movie theaters, apartment building, banks, and offices. While shoppers are not likely to stop in banks, apartments, and offices during a routine shopping experience, these kinds of features add the very important unique feel to downtown areas, and give shoppers a sense of community, instead of simply retail store after retail store.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Cape Cod Style Architecture: Wikipedia

Here is the link to my Wikipedia article on Cape Cod Style Architecture:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cod_Style_Architecture

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Retail Analysis

1. The store that I observed for this project was Pacific Sunwear, more commonly known as Pacsun. This store primarily markets to 15 to 22 year olds. Pacsun sells clothes that fit into California beach culture, and is known as a surf and skateboard shop. The store particularly targets males with its marketing, since it sells products with big brand names, including Hurley, Volcom, and Billabong.

2. a) From the outside, Pacsun had a very inviting appearance. The store had a large, bright yellow electric sign that truly put the "sun" in Pacsun. The front of the store had very large paned windows with black metal framing, and it was clear that the entire store was visible and well lit, which showed shoppers exactly what the store was selling. A store that takes the reverse approach is Hollister. The inside of this store is very dark, and when a shopper walks by the front of the store, all that he or she can see is a bench, a fake palm tree, wood paneling, two mannikins, and a large advertisement.

b) Once inside Pacsun, the shopping experience was very positive. The store was playing alternative music by artists such as Weezer and Something Corporate. The music was quiet enough so that a conversation could be held at a normal volume, but loud enough that it was audible throughout the entire store, including in the changing rooms.

c) Pacsun used numerous means to display its clothes, including shelves and hanging racks on the walls, tables, benches, and standing racks. It was interesting that hats with flashy brand names were located at the back of the store on shelves that were stacked up to the ceiling. This created an interesting visual effect and drew attention to the brands and logos on the hats. Clearance items were hung on racks toward the back store. A large number of tee-shirts, v-necks, and graphic tees were displayed on tables and benches that ran from the front of the store all the way to the back. The shirt display was slightly messy and chaotic, since people unfolded the shirts and put them back without refolding them. The tables also had compartments below the main display level, which gave the impression of a massive amount of merchandise and countless possibilities. Finally, the store was also selling brightly colored headphones, which were dispersed on tables and counters throughout the store.

d) The floors at this store were smooth, dark brown/gray stone. This material was not perfectly uniform, so some areas were darker than others, while others swirled different shades of browns and grays. The floors were very earthy and organic, and helped bring the natural elements into the store.

e) Signs were an important part of the store. There were many signs on the walls, most of which showed pictures of bikers, skateboarders, surfers, and the ocean. All of the advertisements had a summery feel, since they were set in sunny climates. Many models were also wearing sunglasses. The advertisements displayed the big brand names mentioned above, as well as others like Vans, Fox, and O'Neill. Finally, there were many brightly colored, highly contrasting signs advertising special deals, including two pairs of jeans for 55 dollars.

f) The cashier area at Pacsun was located in the very middle of the store, and was designed so that the cashiers were positioned facing the entrance/exit of the store. The cashier counter was long, horizontal, and was not closed in on the back, which allowed the cashiers to step out from behind the counter to help customers. The counter was made of glass, and had shelves beneath it containing headphones and cologne. It was interesting that a sample of cologne was also on top of the counter for customers to try, but that it was not sprayed around the entire store: a strategy employed by other stores like Hollister and Abercrombie.

3. The image that this business was trying to project was young, casual, California beach. The store seemed to specialize in v-knecks, skinny jeans, striped and fitted longe-sleeves, and brightly colored hoodies. There were also many plaid shirts and flannels. Many of the clothes were made out of thin, clingy materials. Pacsun also seemed to be trying to set itself apart from preppy stores like American Eagle, Aeropostale, Abercrombie, and Hollister. This was particularly evident in the girls' clothes, which consisted of darker, natural colors, including greens, dark blues, grays, and browns. Many of the girls' clothes were not skin tight and revealing, but rather seemed low effort and low maintenance. While trying to separate itself from preppy competitors, the store also kept its distance from more dingy, rebellious stores like Hot Topic. Through its bright lighting and welcoming displays, Pacsun did a good job of not scaring away shoppers. They made it seem like there was something for everyone at the store.

4. The most noticeable way that customers interacted with the store design was by picking up tee-shirts that were folded on tables and shelves, and putting them back unfolded. Most of the tee-shirts that were sold were a combination of cotton and polyester, and thus had very soft, smooth textures that were comforting to the touch. As a result of all the touching and picking up, the tee-shirt section of the store was slightly disorganized and cluttered. In addition, the prominent hat display at the back of the store acted like a magnet that drew shoppers all the way back into Zone 4. Most shoppers started at the front of the store, looking through shirts and pants, and slowly worked their way back toward the brand name hats. The changing rooms and all of the sale items were also located in the back of the store, so it seemed like the majority of the shoppers spent most of their time in the back half of Pacsun.

5. I found it very interesting that Pacsun sold and displayed cologne on the cashiers' counter, but that the smell of cologne was not detectable anywhere within the store. This was an interesting strategy, and seemed to be deliberately standing in contrast to competitor stores like Hollister. I noticed this contrast in other ways, including bright lighting. It was also interesting that although Pacsun is in many ways a warm climate beach store, they do not use sex to sell their products. Hollister and Abercrombie fill their stores and advertisements with images of undressed or undressing teenagers. As a surf shop, Pacsun could definitely get away with using sex appeal to market its products, but this was a strategy that the store avoided. Instead of sex appeal, Pacsun relied on brand-appeal, a strategy more effective with males than females. Finally, I noticed that Pacsun seems to target males much more than females, and that most of the shoppers in the store were males. I recall from the Norman article that a men's store should be long and narrow, which fits the description of Pacsun. Belts were also located very close to the changing room and pants area, just like Paco Underhill described. However, it was interesting that the men's section was on the left, while the women's section was on the right of the store. The Norman article talked about the invariant right, which was the shopper's natural inclination to look to the right. Since Pacsun primarily targets males with its advertising, it might be more logical to put the men's section on the right and the women's section on the left.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Egg Drop

I thoroughly enjoyed the designing, building, and testing of our egg container. The process started out with a major miscommunication during my first meeting with Mehmet. I had a vision of a container attached to several helium balloons, allowing the container to fall through the air at a very slow, controlled pace. Mehmet assured me that he had access to balloons through his work, so I thought that the process would be very simple. However, when we met for the first time on Sunday, Mehmet brought a number of empty balloons that could only be filled with air. Realizing the problem, we tried to come up with an alternative method. Mehmet suggested that instead of trying to come up with a completely new solution, we make the best of the materials we already had. While designing the container, we focused on keeping the container very light and providing ample padding for the egg. In the end, we used an orange canvas bag and filled it with a number of semi-inflated balloons. We used bubble wrap to surround the egg, and then nestled the egg in between the balloons in the bag. For added protection, we decided to inflate four balloons and secure them to the outside of the bag. To attach these external balloons, we used a long piece of tape and wrapped it several times around the outside of the container. Our intention with this extra element was to soften the impact from the drop, and possibly to help the container bounce. However, the true function of the balloons was to increase the surface area of the container and slow down the speed of the fall. Overall, the design of our container was very successful: our egg survived a drop from a third-story window. The best part of our design was that it was extremely light weight and low density. The end result worked much like I expected my helium balloon idea to work. Because there were so many balloons and no heavy materials, the density of the container was similar to the density of the air, so it dropped very slowly.

While we met the primary objective of the assignment, there are many ways we could improve the design of our product. First of all, the container lacked strong visceral design. There was exposed tape wrapped haphazardly around the outside of the container, which was a major aesthetic turn-off. To fix this problem, we could have used small pins to attach the lips of the external balloons to the bag. We also could have used black tape, which would have complimented the black and orange balloons. Another problem was that our design lacked durability. If the container had to be transported a long distance, or even kept in a dorm room for an extended period of time, it would not have been effective. The balloons on the outside would pop if they accidentally came in contact with sharp objects, and the balloons on the inside would have slowly deflated over time. In addition, the tape probably would not have kept the balloons secured to the bag for more than a short time. To improve durability for a long term project, we could have probably eliminated the external balloons all together. Even without these balloons, the container still had very low density and fell slowly. Cutting out the external balloons and tape would address another problem with our design: excessive materials. From an environmental standpoint, our container wasted unnecessary resources.

I was very interested to see some of the other groups' designs during the drop in class. I though Cameron, John, and Keaton's solution was very interesting. By freezing their egg in water, they made a much heavier, bulkier container. However, because the egg was secured in the middle of the ice, it did not crack upon impact. I also liked Christina and Olivia's solution. The parachute was the most impressive part of the design, since it slowed down the speed of the fall much like our balloons. Because the parachute did not rip during the drop, it must have been constructed out of a durable material and with an effective physical design.

This is the link to Mehmet's blog: http://mhmtpov.blogspot.com/

Monday, October 11, 2010

The Science of Shopping

This was a very extensive article that covered a wide variety of important points. That being said, I believe that several of the most important points were to identify shopper behavior within a store, to distinguish between different shopping habits of men and women, and to identify how different stores rely on different design qualities to create the targeted emotion in the shopper. In regard to the first point, the article went on at great length about patterns of shopper behavior, and how stores try to manipulate and capitalize on these patterns. For example, the author described his meeting with Paco Underhill and the many things that he learned from the visit. Underhill pointed out many things, like the fact that in grocery stores, the most popular items like dairy and produce are located at the farthest ends of the store, so that customers need to walk through many rows of food before finding what they came for. By that time, the customer has likely discovered other things that he wants or needs, and has already added them to his shopping cart. Underhill also talked about the Decompression Zone: the 12 to 25 feet that it takes a pedestrian to slow down and notice a storefront display while walking on the sidewalk. Underhill advises his clients not to put prominent displays in outside-facing windows that fall in the Decompression Zone, because pedestrians will not notice it. Another trick that was brought up was the consumer's inclination to turn and look to the right after entering a store. Thus, many stores will put important sale items and displays on the right hand side after walking in through the door. In addition, "Zone Four" was brought up as a way stores try to affect shopping patterns. Zone Four is the area towards the back of the store, and many companies try to get shoppers to walk all the way back to Zone Four while shopping by placing smaller items and accessories in the front of the store and more desired items in the back. Thus, shoppers look at all of the products in the store on their way to the most important items. A second important point of the article was to differentiate between male and female shoppers. Males tend to be more easily distracted shoppers, willing to buy products other than what they came to the store to buy. Males are also generally less organized shoppers, often going shopping without lists of what they need to buy. Males also have a harder time saying no to children while shopping, so a child who puts a box of cookies in a shopping cart is more likely to get his way with his father than his mother. Grocery shopping was not the only difference that was discussed in regard to male and female shoppers. At men's clothing stores, quick purchases like socks are often placed close to the register, while most clothes are organized according to what matches and which colors go well together. Stores try to simplify choices for men, and also try to keep men's sections very confined, because male shoppers can be intimidated if they accidentally stumble into the women's section. For female shoppers, items are less pointedly organized, because women like to feel like they make their own fashion choices, and enjoy putting their own wardrobes and outfits together. Stores are well aware of the differences between male and female shoppers, and try to target these differences in the layout of their stores. One final point of the article that was discussed at length was how different stores try to create different emotions and feelings for shoppers. Two stores that were compared were Calvin Klein and Polo Ralph Lauren. The Calvin Klein store that was evaluated had white walls, high ceilings, stone floors, and a small amount of merchandise on the floor. The salesmen and saleswomen were dressed in sombre, dressy clothing and maintained very formal manners. Meanwhile, the Polo store was packed with colorful clothing, jovial salesmen, and an overall inviting atmosphere. It was not that Polo was a better store than Calvin Klein, but that the two stores were trying to create different mindsets for their customers, and trying to create a lasting impression about the respective brands of clothing.

I like to think that I am not overly affected by a store's design, because I do not want to give in to all of the tricks that I now realize are being played on me. That being said, I do not feel like I am overly affected by store design. I am a very stubborn shopper, and if I think something is overpriced, I will not consider buying it. Especially for clothing, the things I focus on are appearance and price. I also enjoy shopping in very different stores, which shows that I do not pay too much attention to store design. For example, I like Urban Outfitters, which uses a great deal of natural wood in its displays to make it look unfinished. The store is not particularly organized, with lots of wall shelves and tables in the middle of the walkways. Everywhere one looks, there are more clothes. On the other hand, I also like Express, which has shiny white walls and a very polished appearance. This store is usually more organized, with most clothing on the walls, but some racks and tables in the middle of the floor. In terms of shopping for food, I think I am much more affected by store design. I always buy more at a grocery store than I came for, because the things I need are usually placed at the back of the store. A guy has to eat, right?

When analyzing a retail store, there are many different ways to evaluate store design. One thing that I would pay attention to is the lighting of the store. Some stores, like Express (mentioned above) have very bright lighting and bright, reflective walls. Other stores, such as Hollister and Abercrombie, are so dark that shoppers can barely see the clothes. Another aspect I would include on my checklist is smell. This may seem odd, but it plays a major role in the shopping experience. Abercrombie, Hollister, and American Eagle utilize large amounts of cologne in their stores. Shoppers smell this from halfway across a mall, and it can either draw shoppers in or turn them away. I have also noticed that in other stores such as Eddie Bauer, there is a great amount of wood that actually gives the store a forest-like smell. The way that stores display their clothing is another category I would use to evaluate a retail store. Most stores utilize a combination of stacking on shelves, hanging on racks, and folding on tables. All of these different means of storing clothes creates a different response from the shopper. Displaying clothes on a table allows the shopper to feel the clothing, which can sometimes influence the purchasing decision. Stacking on shelves is a great way to display the same product in many different colors, such as sweaters or dress shirts. The shape of a store is another great way to evaluate it. Narrow, rectangular stores with the register at the back can be a great way to push shoppers all the way to Zone Four, but this layout can also be a problem for claustrophobic shoppers. It can also make the store more vulnerable to shoplifting. Large stores with vast expanses of open floor space can be effective for shoppers with a lot of time, but can be problematic for male shoppers, and those who are impatient.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Packaging Design

Packaging is extremely important in the marketing of a product. I found that the Coca-Cola and Ciao Bella examples from "Isn't it Iconic" truly demonstrated this importance, but in different ways. In the case of Coca-Cola, the company packaged its product in an iconic bottle for many years. Throughout the generations, consumers became attached to Coca-Cola, and thus developed an emotional response to the classic Coca-Cola glass bottle. In more recent years, the company has reverted to a more environmentally friendly means of packaging, but still uses the classic bottle to market its product. For example, on the Christmas edition of the two liter Coca-Cola bottle, an image of the classic Coke bottle was displayed, thus recreating the emotional response to the classic design. The Ciao Bella example also testifies to the importance of packaging. Ciao Bella is a relatively new company that makes a high quality dessert product. As "Isn't it Iconic" mentioned, the company turned to a design firm to develop the package design for the product. The year after the new packaging was developed, sales of Ciao Bella doubled, and the company has now spread to a numerous private retailers and large grocery stores. Many different companies are capable of making delicious gelato. However, the exceptional packaging design of Ciao Bella sets it apart from the competition. The packaging of this product declares "this is a high-end, high-quality product." If a shopper walked down the frozen food section at the grocery store looking for ice cream, he or she would be drawn to Ciao Bella's product, and would be inclined to try it. In this case, the packaging does the initial selling, while the quality and taste of the product determine whether or not the consumer will continue buying the product. A recent example of how packaging influenced my decision to buy something occurred recently at a grocery store. Most days, I eat breakfast in my dorm room, so I need basic breakfast foods like yogurt, cereal, and milk. As I was looking for milk, I walked by the grocery-brand milk, which was packaged in an unappealing clear plastic carton with unattractive green lettering. The combination of the green lettering, the white milk, the plastic bottle, and the harsh refrigerator lighting gave the milk a revolting greenish hue. I continued looking for milk, and stumbled across Horizon's product, which was packaged in a bright red paper carton. The carton had a picture of an extremely happy looking cow, inviting text, and most importantly (for me) the word "organic" displayed prominently across the top of the carton. I bought the much more expensive Horizon milk because of the appealing packaging, the fact that it was organic, and because I did not want to go anywhere near the grocery-brand product.

I think that Apple uses extremely iconic and effective packaging. Apple has a very simple logo, but one that is very distinctive and recognizable to a large portion of the population. On most of the product boxes, the logo is displayed prominently against a bright white or dark black background. The boxes use very few words, usually just contain the name of the product, a picture of a product, and the Apple logo. Since Apple products are much more expensive than, say, Coca-Cola products, most people do not buy Apple products just because of the packaging. However, the packaging contributes to reflective design, and makes the consumer feel like he or she is buying a quality product before opening the box. Another excellent example of iconic packaging is Naked Juices. Naked makes high quality fruit juice and smoothie products which are packaged in a plastic bottle with a square base. The bottles are beautifully designed, containing pictures of fresh fruit and bright colors. There is a perfect balance of visibility between the juice inside the bottle and the excellently designed product label.

Many usability issues exist for packaging. The packaging must be durable, especially in the case of food products, and must seal off the product from the outside. Packages should be able to fit closely and efficiently together, so that less space and money is used while transporting the product. For example, packages that can stack or be placed together with little wasted space in between are particularly efficient. For liquids, different kinds of materials must be used to protect the product. For example, durable paper cartons, plastic bottles, or glass are typically ideal materials to package liquids. The length of use of the product must also be given consideration. For example, products like maple syrup are usually kept in refrigerators or pantries for extended periods of time. Thus, maple syrup is usually packaged in strong, lasting containers of glass or plastic. Paper cartons would not be ideal packages for syrup because over time, the box would probably lose its structure and stability. I believe that Campbell's Soup is an example of good packaging from a usability perspective. Soup is another product that is usually kept on shelves for a very long time, so the packages must be completely sealed off from the outside to prevent the growth of mold and bacteria. The material of the packaging is also very strong and can be dropped on the floor without being punctured. There is very little wasted material in the packaging of Campbell's Soup. The cans are filled up to the brim with soup, so the bare minimum amount of aluminum is used. The circular cans usually fit perfectly within one's hand. Finally, the cans can be stacked one on top of another, which is ideal for shipping and storage in grocery stores and personal pantries.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Know it All

I think that the author's three main points in this article are to provide a background about the people and ideas behind the start-up of Wikipedia, to present information about how Wikipedia is updated and maintained, and to raise the question in the minds of readers as to whether sources like Wikipedia are worthwhile in our society. In regard to the early days of Wikipedia, I was very surprised to read that Wikipedia is nonprofit. Especially since Wikipedia is such a massive online resource, I assumed that it generated a large profit. I also found it interesting that there is no advertising on Wikipedia. I recently saw the movie "The Social Network," based on the life of the founder of Facebook during the early days of the popular social networking site. In the early days of Facebook, there was also no advertising, so the website brought in no revenue. However, after Facebook spread to a large enough audience, the site began advertising to make money. This made me wonder if Wikipedia is simply biding its time to start advertising on the site. I also found the way that Wikipedia is updated and maintained to be extremely interesting. I had no idea that there is such an extensive network of "Wikipedians" who are committed to editing and adding to the site. While I found it a little bit troubling to hear how many hours some users spend on the site each day, we should be thankful for their efforts, because they help boost the accuracy of the site. The most important objective of the article, however, is to lead readers to the question: "Is Wikipedia a valid source of information, and will it succeed in our society in the future?" The article is interesting in that it maintains an unbiased approach to Wikipedia. It is in no way a glorification of the website; rather, it is an honest analysis of the sites positive and negative qualities. Personally, I feel that Wikipedia is an extremely useful and beneficial website. Of course, I would not use the website as the primary source of information for an important research paper, but is very convenient to check quick facts and pieces of information. I would much rather live in a world with Wikipedia than a world without Wikipedia.

Although the following quote is relatively long, it contains excellent supporting detail: "Because there are no physical limits on its size, Wikipedia can aspire to be all-inclusive. It is also perfectly configured to be current: there are detailed entries for each of the twelve finalists on this season's "American Idol," and the article on the "2006 Israel-Lebanon Conflict" has been edited more than four thousand times since it was created, on July 12th, six hours after Hezbollah militants ignited the hostilities by kidnapping two Israeli soldiers. Wikipedia, which was launched in 2001, is now the seventeenth-most popular site on the Internet, generating more traffic daily than MSNBC.com and the online versions of the Times and the Wall Street Journal combined. The number of visitors has been doubling every four months; the site receives as many as fourteen thousand hits per second." This is an exceptionally well supported paragraph because it starts out with a very clear purpose: to prove the all-inclusive, large scale, with-the-times nature of Wikipedia. After making this assertion, the author uses several concrete examples showing how these characteristics pertain to Wikipedia. The American Idol reference demonstrates that Wikipedia is connected with modern pop-culture, and more importantly, the "real world." The number of edits of the "2006 Israel-Lebanon Conflict" shows the incomparable speed and outreach of Wikipedia. However, the most effective part of this paragraph in my opinion is the number of hits that Wikipedia receives every second. This speaks volumes to the popularity and usefulness of Wikipedia.

Starting at the visceral level, I give the advantage to Encyclopedia Britannica. Although I generally like the appearance of Wikipedia, the Encyclopedia Britannica has a more colorful, inviting home page, with interestingly shaped boxes and search bars. However, since Wikipedia does not have poor visceral design, the advantage is slim. In terms of behavioral design, I give the clear advantage to Wikipedia. After searching "Taylor Swift" on Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica, the Wikipedia search returns a lengthy article that is broken down in an evident table of contents, making it easy to search for desired information. There is also a box on the side of the page highlighting several quick facts that could be very helpful to searchers at a quick glance. A similar search on Encyclopedia Britannica returns five brief paragraphs with no headings, titles, or table of contents. To find a specific piece of information in this article, one would have to scan the entire text, which is inconvenient and time consuming. Thus, the Wikipedia page is much more understandable and easy to use. I do not feel that reflective design plays a huge part in the debate since reflective design varies from person to person, but for me, the advantage would again go to Wikipedia. Wikipedia gives the impression that it is the source of quick information for people of my generation. It has a modern, social, connected feel which appeals to many people my age. Encyclopedia Britannica, on the other hand, feels scholarly and formal. The name alone makes me feel like I need a law degree just to search the website. Based on these principles, I feel that Wikipedia is superior to Encyclopedia Britannica from a design standpoint.