the simpleton

My occasional notes on simplification, information design, clear writing and the like

Monday, August 02, 2021

Let me help you


This came with some online shopping I ordered from Marks & Spencer. It says 'Hey, I'm important' twice - once verbally and once visually. But the inside of the leaflet was disappointing - a bureaucratic form in small type.

It's a bit like someone spotting you're in trouble and saying 'I'll help' in a very loud voice, but not actually helping much.

A helpful, on-brand, slightly wacky (in an Innocent smoothie kind of way) headline is almost invariably followed by a spectacular failure to solve the problem. Have you ever noticed that the larger the headline saying 'The small print' the smaller the print actually is?

   

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Rob Waller
Frome, United Kingdom
I am an experienced simplification consultant, specialising in information design, service design, and brand experience. I've worked in many sectors, including financial services, legal information, government, telecommunications, energy, and retail. There's more about me on my website www.robwaller.org Apology: many of my older posts are missing the illustrations. I don't know why, but it will take me a while to reload them.
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