My dear friend Kyla is more graceful and talented with words than I am. During her recent adventure to Maine I quickly learned that I judge a blog solely based on the appearance and she actually judges the content. (What does that say about me?)
On the same topic, I've bought a lot of books in my life and never agreed with the 'Don't judge a book by it's cover'. If it has an ugly cover it's never going to make it into my shopping basket... maybe that makes me a shallow person or maybe I just don't like to read that much? I have no doubt that there are plenty of good books in the world worth reading with horribly designed covers... but why would you save all the good content for the inside? That's like spending months on a masterpiece painting and wrapping it in a brown paper bag on auction day. Nobody knows whats inside the bag? Someone might bid if they've followed your work and know you're an excellent artist, but for all of us who have never heard of you we're putting our wallets back in our pockets.
I have the same problem at the grocery store. This is the reason huge corporations spend thousands of dollars on good graphic design: If it comes in an ugly box I don't want to eat it! I know it's completely psychological, but we buy things because of how they make us feel.
Call me crazy, but the WAFFLE HOUSE sign (I know we don't have any in Maine, Thank God... but for those of you who have traveled I'm going to assume you've seen the dreaded sign along the highway). The sign itself makes me want to vomit every time I see it. I've been dragged there on multiple road trips and the food surprisingly tastes fine... but every time I see the sign I get nauseous. I'm not even joking, just thinking about the sign in my head as I write this makes me not want to eat for days.
The last thing that made me think quite a bit while Kyla was here, actually had me thinking for days. During our photo session she made the comment that she does not like re-touched photos. She likes candid, authentic images, wrinkles and all. This struck me as odd, probably because we live in America where everything that isn't already fake is photoshopped... but it made me realize that in a plastic surgery crazed country there are still some pretty awesome authentic & genuine people, including my good friend Kyla. I think she's pretty great and I bet she has no problem reading poorly designed blogs, books with ugly covers, or buying generic labeled food. She does however have a newly designed blog thanks to her brother and photos from Mower Photography, which helps us creative minded people stick around and actually read the amazing content! Check her out and leave her a comment telling her you stopped by. http://www.kylajoyful.com
Check out Kyla's newly designed blog and article about Mower Photography: http://www.kylajoyful.com/2011/07/blog-redesign-mower-photography/
