The Office of Erik Dahl

Vote For Your Favorite Pale Ale

Awesome concept, but failure on execution and experience.

I bought a beer sampler today from Southern Tier Brewing Company. I’ve had their IPA before and enjoyed it, so I thought I would try the sampler. When I opened the box I found a flyer asking me to vote for my “Favorite Pale Ale.” My first thought was “oh, cool” but I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. I didn’t know if they were competing against other breweries (and were pandering for votes) or if it was an internal initiative to connect with their customers.

The url on the flyer pointed me to the Southern Tier Brewing Company website, so I figured it was an internal initiative, which got me excited. I think its great when companies reach out to their consumers for their opinion even if its just for a taste test. I looked up the website to see what was going on. Long story short: great idea with poor execution.

Let’s take a deeper look. Continue reading…

Vote For Your Favorite Pale Ale

Awesome concept, but failure on execution and experience.

I bought a beer sampler today from Southern Tier Brewing Company. I’ve had their IPA before and enjoyed it, so I thought I would try the sampler. When I opened the box I found a flyer asking me to vote for my “Favorite Pale Ale.” My first thought was “oh, cool” but I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. I didn’t know if they were competing against other breweries (and were pandering for votes) or if it was an internal initiative to connect with their customers.

The url on the flyer pointed me to the Southern Tier Brewing Company website, so I figured it was an internal initiative, which got me excited. I think its great when companies reach out to their consumers for their opinion even if its just for a taste test. I looked up the website to see what was going on. Long story short: great idea with poor execution.

Let’s take a deeper look. Continue reading…

Vote For Your Favorite Pale Ale

Awesome concept, but failure on execution and experience.

I bought a beer sampler today from Southern Tier Brewing Company. I’ve had their IPA before and enjoyed it, so I thought I would try the sampler. When I opened the box I found a flyer asking me to vote for my “Favorite Pale Ale.” My first thought was “oh, cool” but I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. I didn’t know if they were competing against other breweries (and were pandering for votes) or if it was an internal initiative to connect with their customers.

The url on the flyer pointed me to the Southern Tier Brewing Company website, so I figured it was an internal initiative, which got me excited. I think its great when companies reach out to their consumers for their opinion even if its just for a taste test. I looked up the website to see what was going on. Long story short: great idea with poor execution.

Let’s take a deeper look. Continue reading…

Vote For Your Favorite Pale Ale

Awesome concept, but failure on execution and experience.

I bought a beer sampler today from Southern Tier Brewing Company. I’ve had their IPA before and enjoyed it, so I thought I would try the sampler. When I opened the box I found a flyer asking me to vote for my “Favorite Pale Ale.” My first thought was “oh, cool” but I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. I didn’t know if they were competing against other breweries (and were pandering for votes) or if it was an internal initiative to connect with their customers.

The url on the flyer pointed me to the Southern Tier Brewing Company website, so I figured it was an internal initiative, which got me excited. I think its great when companies reach out to their consumers for their opinion even if its just for a taste test. I looked up the website to see what was going on. Long story short: great idea with poor execution.

Let’s take a deeper look. Continue reading…

Please “Actuate Signal”

C’mon, really? Who wrote this? Who thought most people think about the sensor for traffic lights as “actuating signals?” Really?! This sign is at the exit of my office building, the Smith Bros. Hardware building in Columbus, OH. The sign is meant to tell drivers where to stop so the sensor is activated and the traffic light changes.

It blows me away every time I see it. It’s a constant reminder that bad design decisions are made all the time with everyday objects like this sign.

I originally thought this was a custom sign (made to look standard/official), but after a little search I found the Standard Sign Design Manual from the Ohio Department of Transportation, Office of Traffic Engineering. The image below is from the black and white regulatory series. Evidently, it is an Ohio specific sign type.

Continue reading…

Please “Actuate Signal”

C’mon, really? Who wrote this? Who thought most people think about the sensor for traffic lights as “actuating signals?” Really?! This sign is at the exit of my office building, the Smith Bros. Hardware building in Columbus, OH. The sign is meant to tell drivers where to stop so the sensor is activated and the traffic light changes.

It blows me away every time I see it. It’s a constant reminder that bad design decisions are made all the time with everyday objects like this sign.

I originally thought this was a custom sign (made to look standard/official), but after a little search I found the Standard Sign Design Manual from the Ohio Department of Transportation, Office of Traffic Engineering. The image below is from the black and white regulatory series. Evidently, it is an Ohio specific sign type.

Continue reading…

Please “Actuate Signal”

C’mon, really? Who wrote this? Who thought most people think about the sensor for traffic lights as “actuating signals?” Really?! This sign is at the exit of my office building, the Smith Bros. Hardware building in Columbus, OH. The sign is meant to tell drivers where to stop so the sensor is activated and the traffic light changes.

It blows me away every time I see it. It’s a constant reminder that bad design decisions are made all the time with everyday objects like this sign.

I originally thought this was a custom sign (made to look standard/official), but after a little search I found the Standard Sign Design Manual from the Ohio Department of Transportation, Office of Traffic Engineering. The image below is from the black and white regulatory series. Evidently, it is an Ohio specific sign type.

Continue reading…

Snowfall Preparation Norms

I’ve noticed recently that a handful of people raise their windshield wipers when we are expecting snow. Its pretty obvious what going on here: they are raising their wipers so they don’t get frozen to the windshield. This isn’t a shockingly new phenomenon, but I haven’t really seen it as a widespread behavior, and I’ve lived plenty of years north of the Mason-Dixon line. A simple action performed up front potentially saves alot of time and effort scraping off ice later on.

So, why don’t more people do this?

Continue reading…

Snowfall Preparation Norms

I’ve noticed recently that a handful of people raise their windshield wipers when we are expecting snow. Its pretty obvious what going on here: they are raising their wipers so they don’t get frozen to the windshield. This isn’t a shockingly new phenomenon, but I haven’t really seen it as a widespread behavior, and I’ve lived plenty of years north of the Mason-Dixon line. A simple action performed up front potentially saves alot of time and effort scraping off ice later on.

So, why don’t more people do this?

Continue reading…

Signage Obscura & Root Problems

Sometimes design solutions don’t address the root problem and subsequently cause problems of their own.

I had to use the toilet at the dentist office before my appointment the other day, and came across this obscured sign.

“Please do not flush paper towels”

The sign itself isn’t novel. It’s not like my dentist is the only one encountering this problem. What’s interesting here is the design problem. Not with the sign itself, and ultimately not with the obscuring of the sign. The question is why is the sign necessary in the first place, and secondarily why did the sign get obscured.

Continue reading…

Signage Obscura & Root Problems

Sometimes design solutions don’t address the root problem and subsequently cause problems of their own.

I had to use the toilet at the dentist office before my appointment the other day, and came across this obscured sign.

“Please do not flush paper towels”

The sign itself isn’t novel. It’s not like my dentist is the only one encountering this problem. What’s interesting here is the design problem. Not with the sign itself, and ultimately not with the obscuring of the sign. The question is why is the sign necessary in the first place, and secondarily why did the sign get obscured.

Continue reading…

Signage Obscura & Root Problems

Sometimes design solutions don’t address the root problem and subsequently cause problems of their own.

I had to use the toilet at the dentist office before my appointment the other day, and came across this obscured sign.

“Please do not flush paper towels”

The sign itself isn’t novel. It’s not like my dentist is the only one encountering this problem. What’s interesting here is the design problem. Not with the sign itself, and ultimately not with the obscuring of the sign. The question is why is the sign necessary in the first place, and secondarily why did the sign get obscured.

Continue reading…

Wrong Number (Text Version)

Do you know who these people are? I don’t. I received these photos in quick succession as a text (I’m assuming by mistake). Its the first time that I’ve received text messages sent to the wrong number. I guess its not to surprising, since people dial the wrong number all the time when dialing phone numbers for voice calls, so why should it be any different for text messages?

I sent them a reply message thanking them for their photos, and letting them know they sent them to the wrong number in case they wanted to try to send them again to the actual intended recipient. I haven’t heard back yet.

Continue reading…

Wrong Number (Text Version)

Do you know who these people are? I don’t. I received these photos in quick succession as a text (I’m assuming by mistake). Its the first time that I’ve received text messages sent to the wrong number. I guess its not to surprising, since people dial the wrong number all the time when dialing phone numbers for voice calls, so why should it be any different for text messages?

I sent them a reply message thanking them for their photos, and letting them know they sent them to the wrong number in case they wanted to try to send them again to the actual intended recipient. I haven’t heard back yet.

Continue reading…

Albums of 2009

Top 10 albums I purchased in 2009. They’re not all great, but I didn’t buy that much music this year. I’m still buying albums as opposed to individual songs. I have started buying more digital music as opposed to the physical cd’s. In terms of digital downloads, I’ve been getting most of my downloads from Amazon MP3 Downloads, as opposed to iTunes. As I was gathering images for this post, I noticed that all of the albums I purchased this year have a 4+ star rating out of 5 on Amazon.

The 2009 List, in no particular order:

Wilco, Wilco [The Album]

Slaid Cleaves, Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away

Ryan Bingham, Roadhouse Sun

Regina Spektor, Far

Levon Helm, Electric Dirt

Iron And Wine, Around The Well

The Dixie Bee Liners, Susanville

The Dead Weather, Horehound

The Band Of Heathens, One Foot In The Ether

Nolan McKelvey, The Sound of the Crash

The Gourds, Haymaker!

The Tossers, On A Fine Spring Evening

Bob Dylan, Together Through Life

If you want to see all the album art and some additional commentary, please continue reading this post. Continue reading…

Albums of 2009

Top 10 albums I purchased in 2009. They’re not all great, but I didn’t buy that much music this year. I’m still buying albums as opposed to individual songs. I have started buying more digital music as opposed to the physical cd’s. In terms of digital downloads, I’ve been getting most of my downloads from Amazon MP3 Downloads, as opposed to iTunes. As I was gathering images for this post, I noticed that all of the albums I purchased this year have a 4+ star rating out of 5 on Amazon.

The 2009 List, in no particular order:

Wilco, Wilco [The Album]

Slaid Cleaves, Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away

Ryan Bingham, Roadhouse Sun

Regina Spektor, Far

Levon Helm, Electric Dirt

Iron And Wine, Around The Well

The Dixie Bee Liners, Susanville

The Dead Weather, Horehound

The Band Of Heathens, One Foot In The Ether

Nolan McKelvey, The Sound of the Crash

The Gourds, Haymaker!

The Tossers, On A Fine Spring Evening

Bob Dylan, Together Through Life

If you want to see all the album art and some additional commentary, please continue reading this post. Continue reading…

Subtle Branding

We got a few strings of LED Icicle Lights this year from Target to put up on the house, mostly to satisfy Cooper’s holiday spirit.

I noticed the other day that the LED lights display a signature light pattern that looks suspiciously close to the Target logo. I can’t believe that the similarity is simply an accident or coincidence.

What do you think?

Subtle Branding

We got a few strings of LED Icicle Lights this year from Target to put up on the house, mostly to satisfy Cooper’s holiday spirit.

I noticed the other day that the LED lights display a signature light pattern that looks suspiciously close to the Target logo. I can’t believe that the similarity is simply an accident or coincidence.

What do you think?

Subtle Branding

We got a few strings of LED Icicle Lights this year from Target to put up on the house, mostly to satisfy Cooper’s holiday spirit.

I noticed the other day that the LED lights display a signature light pattern that looks suspiciously close to the Target logo. I can’t believe that the similarity is simply an accident or coincidence.

What do you think?

Then We Got Help

My friend Jack turned me onto his sister’s new web video/tv series, Then We Got Help. The premise is that Emily, a underemployed shoe model who has nursed her sister through her third divorce decides to host a regular session for couples therapy without the therapist. The twist is that it’s filmed mockumentary style (e.g. The Office or Modern Family) from Emily’s POV. A description from the site explains in a little more detail:

Hi!  My name is Emily.  I am a shoe model living in New York City.  Oh, I’m also married.  That’s important.  Recenty, I nursed my sister through her third divorce.  It’s not what you think.  She’s not crazy, or a train wreck.  It’s just…when the going gets tough…she has no idea what to do.  And Michael (that’s my husband) was like “Why does she always have to come to us?  Why can’t she just go to therapy?”  Well, not everyone can afford therapy.  Right?  Especially these days.  So I decided to do something about it.

It’s pretty good. I enjoyed the first episode and I’m looking forward to seeing where it’s going to go. Check it out for yourself, and let me know what you think.

Continue reading…