Too much to see

It's funny that there is so much design in the every day world. Too many people don't quite know what graphic design is or what graphic designers do, but their work is just about everywhere you look. Good or bad, some form of design is usually within arm's reach.

However, so much design also presents an interesting problem. We are inundated with design, so much so that most people only process it all on a very subconscious level. Even designers themselves forget to take this into account. While we can't design in a vacuum, and we take into account where objects will be seen, sometimes we forget how many other objects will be around ours. What we have worked on may be wonderful, but it could be missed do to the visual cacophony surrounding it.

My favorite example of this is the grocery store. Not only is there so much to see, most people aren't even interested in seeing it. Most go to the store with specific needs in mind and brands they like already. This is also a good place for impulse buys, and those can be due to how the product looks and what is actually inside. However, everything still has to fight to be seen. Recently, while in the store I almost missed this little jem of design by Chiquita.



Each bunch of bananas had a different face on them, and it was easy to tell that no one else had spotted them. While I stood at the banana display and took several pictures, the rest of the shoppers looked at me like I was crazy. After I walked away, I saw a store employee look at the bananas and soon a quiet "...Oh I see!" escape him. Not even the people who are around these items ever day notice the design of them.

Another place that struggles with visual inundation is the book store. Books have a slight advantage over produce though; people expect to linger looking at books and don't necessarily have a choice of book in mind when they get there. Plus, books can catch a break in terms of how they are displayed. I never would have spotted this collections of books on the shelves, but due to their own display I now plan on buying at least one of them.



As a designer I attempt to take in all that is around me, and to point out interesting things to those I am with. But sometimes even I just tune out all the visual data that bombards us every day. I think that every designer has to find that balance within their own world. There is just so much to see that trying to truly see everything would drive you crazy. But then again, every once in a while being hyper observant allows you to see something you wouldn't have expected. :D