What we can learn from Sao Paulo's NO LOGO law

Sao Paulo has got a new law that prohibits the use of any advertisement or logo in billboards around the city, in an attempt to diminish visual and mental pollution. What's more important about this is that the citizens could not be more excited about this idea. So, what does that mean to companies, designers and advertisers? Can we still assume that our long-used and traditional approach is still effective and, more importantly, welcomed by our target audience? Think again.

Here is an extract from an article wrote by Paul Bennett (CCO at Ideo, a design firm based in Palo Alto, California):

Dialogue is the new monologue. "Co-creation" is a very overused term right now, but bringing consumers into the generative cycle of a project really is worth it. Let them create experiences that they can share, tell each other what works and what doesn't, get involved in how to make it, talk about it, fix it and, ultimately, be the real stewards for your brand. "Selling" is over. "Telling" is so last year. It's all about asking. And listening. And acting on it.

Create the theater, not the play. This is the tough one. It's all about letting go and relinquishing control. People are taking control anyway and talking about you behind your back, so you might as well acknowledge it and make it a positive. Host the conversation, good and bad, don't try to "moderate" it. Instead, use it as a feedback loop, one that you can listen to and learn from where to go next. Designers love this kind of feedback. We find ourselves again and again in the position to influence or even create how a product is marketed and communicated to the outside world as honestly and authentically as possible.

So back to Sao Paulo and the whole "pollution" debate. What have we learned from all of this? We've learned that as designers of stuff and experiences, we're on a journey as an industry -- a journey that has forced us to fundamentally reframe our role. As designers, we've learned that by involving people in our process, we have enriched our craft and engaged the inherent desire of people to design their own worlds. We were also first to understand that we ourselves were guilty of creating the problem of too much meaningless stuff. This realization is forcing us to move past the thing itself to focus on the things we help people do for themselves. Simply stated, we want the stuff we design to mean more to people. It's good for us, and it's good for people.

If you want to read the whole article go here: 

Lessons From Sao Paulo's Streets by Paul Bennett

Any thoughts?

Have a great week and remember...

design makes the world go 'round!!!!!

DesignWheel : Ximena