About a week ago, I received an email from the folks at Martha Stewart Living asking me, an honored member of the Reader Advisory Panel (who knew?), to assist them in the difficult task of selecting one of two potential cover designs for the upcoming December issue. Consumer directed surveys from magazines and other businesses are not a new concept, but in the past months I’ve sensed a shift in the line of questioning, a shift that specifically addresses design issues.

My first inkling of this shift was a survey sent by Anthropologie regarding their catalog. As a huge fan of their catalog and as a former catalog designer, I had plenty to say and was pleased to see so many questions targeted specifically to not only shopping habits (typical retail survey fare) but also to matters of design. Now, I am not usually one who enjoys taking surveys and have delivered many a polite “I’m not interested” to persistent telemarketers. But both Martha Stewart Living and Anthropologie are companies I follow and respect, so the opportunity to comment on the design of their publications was too good for the inner design student in me to resist. The experience left me with the heady feeling of those “choose your own adventure” books I read as a child—the empowering feeling that I was captain of the ship, steering its course towards my dream destination. In these instances, I was steering the ship towards my dream publication, or if I was to stretch the metaphor even further, my dream way of life.

Consumer involvement and customization are noticeable trends across all sectors, from online communities (MySpace) and book covers (My Penguin) to beauty products (Olay for You) and entertainment (audience-judged American Idol). By engaging someone as an individual with valued preferences and opinions, these companies are building loyalty and a ready-made audience. Someone who feels invested in the process is much more likely to stick around to see and partake of the outcome.

Images from My Penguin: The Gallery

Images by Beck, Razorlight, and Ryan Adams from My Penguin: The Bands

I’ll admit that I received the Martha Stewart survey with mixed emotions. I had a hard time reconciling that a publication known for it’s high design standard and iron-clad brand was asking me, a reader, to weigh in on the all-important holiday issue cover (not to mention the implicit design and branding ramifications that accompany each of the two options). Was Martha Stewart Living sailing rocky waters and looking for the masses to direct its course? Or was this survey a savvy demonstration of securing loyalty by engaging the audience in the decision-making process (especially if change is being considered)? I, myself, couldn’t help but feel that I had been honored in some way by being momentarily handed the helm of the ship, especially when that ship was Martha Stewart Living. Many of you might be thinking that I’m reading a lot into a few online surveys. But hearing directly from the consumer can only better a business and the products it creates, not to mention provide consumers with something they actually want. And the fact that design is an increasing focus of consumer feedback publicly reinforces design’s significance in the success of any business venture. And that, my friends, is a good thing.

Jennifer Tolo Pierce
Associate Design Director

Popularity: 2% [?]

Email This Post | Permalink | Trackbacks (0)