Today a sign salesperson can be at a client’s site, photograph it on their cell phone and e-mail it to head office (anywhere in the world) along with dimensions and sign requirements. At head office, a proposed sign can be designed, an estimate and quotation can be generated using software it can all be e-mailed back for downloading to the client’s computer. From inquiry to design to signed contract in under an hour! Technology is wonderful!
Or is it?
The computer has had a tremendous effect on how we communicate, do business, make things and much more. It has also, because of the speed it allows things to be done at, had a very negative impact on our expectations and the quality of the design and products we receive.
Because today’s technology makes it possible for so many things to happen almost instantaneously, we have come to expect that. Yet some things need the same time to happen as they always did; computers can’t make paint dry faster or speed up the craftsmanship that is required to finish a piece of wood properly. More importantly, they cannot replace the creative mind, which needs time to come up with the best result. Writers go back to their manuscripts again and again, each time adding new ideas and refinements. So do designers, if they are given the time.
Creativity, and the refinement of ideas, requires thinking time. So, while software allows us to express our first thoughts quickly, it reduces the time available to “chew” on an idea and make it better and better. This applies to the design process, the “how to build it” process and the estimating process. The first two affect the look and effectiveness while the third affects the price.
Give yourself, your creative people and your vendors some time to think. The end result will be a better looking, more effective, more durable and more economical sign for your client. And a better bottom line for you.
Thinking Time
Today a sign salesperson can be at a client’s site, photograph it on their cell phone and e-mail it to head office (anywhere in the world) along with dimensions and sign requirements. At head office, a proposed sign can be designed, an estimate and quotation can be generated using software it can all be e-mailed back for downloading to the client’s computer. From inquiry to design to signed contract in under an hour! Technology is wonderful!
Or is it?
The computer has had a tremendous effect on how we communicate, do business, make things and much more. It has also, because of the speed it allows things to be done at, had a very negative impact on our expectations and the quality of the design and products we receive.
Because today’s technology makes it possible for so many things to happen almost instantaneously, we have come to expect that. Yet some things need the same time to happen as they always did; computers can’t make paint dry faster or speed up the craftsmanship that is required to finish a piece of wood properly. More importantly, they cannot replace the creative mind, which needs time to come up with the best result. Writers go back to their manuscripts again and again, each time adding new ideas and refinements. So do designers, if they are given the time.
Creativity, and the refinement of ideas, requires thinking time. So, while software allows us to express our first thoughts quickly, it reduces the time available to “chew” on an idea and make it better and better. This applies to the design process, the “how to build it” process and the estimating process. The first two affect the look and effectiveness while the third affects the price.
Give yourself, your creative people and your vendors some time to think. The end result will be a better looking, more effective, more durable and more economical sign for your client. And a better bottom line for you.
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