This is the type of thing I notice all the time.

These are the SF Muni Transit information screens. They are in each underground station. For the most part they are a welcome and necessary addition to out city, but the thing that has been vexing me is there has been no care to make the every so small tweaks to the UI that could vastly make the experience more useful, legible and understandable to all. Small improvement lends itself to establishing credibility and overall positive perception as well.

Posted by aynne at 03:23 PM | Permalink

Since I was too busy running around with the other AIGA-SF volunteers working at the event to see many of the sessions..
here is a wrap up from Media Bistro.

Posted by aynne at 07:54 PM | Permalink

I will give kudos when they are due. Glaxo-Smith Klein hatched a radical idea on marketing its new anti-rotavirus vaccine. (Rotavirus is responsible for the deaths of thousands of newborns and infants due to diarrhea and dehydration). Instead of launching the drug to the more prosperous markets of North America and Europe - they focused their efforts on markets where the virus was taking it's largest toll. Developing countries and countries with limited financial resources.

The vaccine was launched and paid for with grants from The Gates Foundation and pre-orders from the countries where the drug was to be launched. The price was kept down so the margin is low - but since the volume would be high it would cover the cost.

90% of newborns in countries such as Mexico are vaccinated now.
GSK gets a good story to tell and more importantly children are saved.

It is a shame that stories like this are hard to come by. I think that when businesses start thinking about how they can improve their models to consider more than just short-term economic gains we can see real change.

Posted by aynne at 03:01 PM | Permalink