Hit with the Ugly Sticker
I was riding to lunch with a co-worker the other day and noticed that he had one of those paper floor mats that mechanics use while your car is in the shop. He had continued using it for, well, I don’t know exactly how long. I found it humorous that he was using an unattractive paper mat to protect the coordinated, carpeted floor mat that was there to protect the carpet. This is the same individual that has not yet removed the protective plastic film from the iPod Touch he received for Christmas, even though it is peeling up at the edges.
These are choices he has explicitly made. I’ve noticed many instances in which people have neglected to remove stickers from consumer electronics, such as digital cameras, video cameras, DVD players, computers, and computer peripherals. These are the stickers that point out features and specifications of the equipment. I assume the manufacturers put them on so that no matter which box is opened for use as a floor model, the information is there. There is really no reason to leave them on—they are typically unattractive, and any more, they are easily removed without leaving residual adhesive. People just don’t seem to notice them. I have to hold myself back from removing them from stuff belonging to my family members. I doubt they would notice.
Of course, I compulsively remove every label I can from everything. I pull the RFID tags out of DVD cases and keep a bottle of GooGone handy for the cheap stickers that aren’t designed to be removed. I spent several minutes examining the hideous airbag warning labels on the sun visors in my PT Cruiser to see if I could remove them. Unfortunately, they appear to be permanently affixed. They are ghastly marrs of contrasting colors and crowded typography on an otherwise aesthetically pleasing interior.
I believe the general populace has become desensitized to ugly, obtrusive advertising and pretty much ignores it, much as we have come to ignore the plethora of banner ads framing our web destinations. As Paul Rand stated,
“The public is more familiar with bad design than good design. It is, in effect, conditioned to prefer bad design, because that is what it lives with. The new becomes threatening, the old reassuring.”