EX, DX, LX :: Less Taste, More Filling

Do Americans have bad taste? Is good design lost on Americans as pearls cast before swine? I don't think so. I've seen enough of the world, especially Europe and Asia, to know that bad taste is universal. From the atrocious fan gear for sport in Europe and Oceania to the gaudy print pant suits of Asia it is apparent that disposable income and elegance in design do not always intersect the world over. So there are many things that exhibit the presence of bad taste in America, it is not inherent. Actually, it's imported.

While I have found bad taste to be present on every corner of the globe, I have also found the causes to be different. In this post I'll detail some of what I've discovered here in the USA.

I was constantly frustrated by those that would water down designs even though they didn't save any money, and further frustrated by those that would seek to charge more for the better design simply because it looked nicer even though it cost the same. They completely missed the point and therefore missed the market 'in theory'. I finally happened upon a project where they provided good design at a good price and was shocked that they didn't experience wild success.

When I first looked into the subject I was under the mistaken impression that lack of choice was the culprit. If only there were better choices at the same price point then the better design would win. All other things being equal a better design represents better value and therefore a better buy. Yet, for some reason this didn't seem to be operating as expected in the real world. There were other factors at play that I hadn't accounted for.

In the intervening years I have been privy to a number of conversations on mass marketing and understanding the psychology of the consumer. I found the same hobgoblins that I had seen in the past. Underestimating the design intelligence of the American consumer.
The ever present tactic of offering a crappy entry level product to set the stage for the up-sell.
I also picked up on a couple other wrinkles in the marketing world that I wasn't expecting. This opened my eyes and I began to see the bigger game being played across the marketing spectrum. What the recurring themes were and what tactics paid off the best and therefore used most often.

Far from the loud, obnoxious, in your face approach, what has worked best for the largest portion of the market is humble, understated value. This has made certain retailers paranoid about the aesthetic of their stores. They want every facet they present to the public to showcase how they're keeping costs down so they can pass the savings on to the consumer. We NUers have been trying to get the Gas-Backwards model built for ages and have been rebuffed constantly because 'it looks expensive' and therefore 'would turn off their customers'. Since there has been so much success with the 'cheap but clean' buildings, especially the warehouse retailers, it's next to impossible to convince them to do better even if it costs less. Their use of 'ugly', in other words, is part of their marketing strategy. They've managed to train the market over the past several decades that they'll get better prices at an ugly store.

Now that the market has been trained, how do you get them to pay more to buy nice goods? There is a disconnect between what the buildings advertise on the outside and what they sell on the inside. The marketing game here is played in a different arena. While the sale is transacted at the ugly store the selling happens elsewhere directed by the product manufacturers.

What I've learned from print and televised advertising is that I'm a good person for saving money by shopping at Mega-Lo-Mart. The money I save directly benefits my family and is a sacrifice I'm willing to make because I'm not a greedy jerk that is looking to show off or prove that I'm better than anybody else. Because I'm such a good person, and since I've saved all this money, I can spend a little extra on certain products without feeling guilty because --- wait for it --- I'm worth it.

Re-read that last paragraph for therein lies the key to understanding the largest sector of the housing market. Within that meme is the fight between good and bad, the biblical rebuke of greed, a healthy dose of class warfare, and the granting of special dispensation to treat yourself for being good. Armed with this script I can now understand the reactions I see in response to design.

We now live in a Bizarro world where grace and elegance have been construed as greed and arrogance. The recent financial meltdown will have the affect of cementing this philosophy in place for years to come. The question is how to build anything of lasting value under these conditions. There is a lot invested in the selling of ugly, and it will take great effort to overcome market perceptions. By understanding how ugly is sold, with a certain sense of nobility, we can address the specifics and change the discourse.

Simplicity and frugality need not be ugly. Beautiful communities aren't just for rich snobs; hardworking Americans deserve nice places, too. Humble vernacular structures can be embellished over time adding value to the home and to the community. Use these to allay the fears of those who have been sold ugly so long they don't think they deserve good design.

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Kenneth Hitchens: Architect