Last week I did an Explore Enterprise Course with The Prince's Trust. One of the points they tried to make was on branding, marketing and professional image.
The lady held up two signs, each made of A4 paper in a poly-pocket, that said:
" Eggs for sale.
fresh eggs "
One was handwritten, legibly, in blue felt pen. One was printed out in a bold Arial font. She asked us all which sign we liked best.
She was surprised to find that at least four of us preferred the hand-written sign, instead of the "more professional, printed out one."
It was quite funny, but very interesting. I'm sure in the past I might have thought the one printed off the computer was more professional (like say, when I was a seven year old), but there is a large section of society that demands a more authentic version of "professional".
I think she made her point, but not quite in the way she intended.
Those of us who preferred the handwritten sign said the computer printed sign made us wonder whether these eggs were as fresh as they say. Why does someone with fresh eggs have time to faff around with printers? Their eggs did not seem free-range, even though they possibly were.
And here's another point I felt but didn't quite find the right words for at the time: Why on earth did they pick Arial? It could just be that the person in question doesn't really understand fonts the way most people involved in graphics do. Which is fine. You don't have to know anything about fonts and graphics to use a printer. But I want to buy eggs from someone cooler. My boyfriend said later, it would be even better if the sign were made of blackboard and chalk.
Alright guys, that's all for now. Here's your reward for making it through the text. Thanks to 5ifty2wo for showing me this.
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