tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037683482221783083.post4175241535840793291..comments2020-07-07T18:09:54.303-04:00Comments on information design: the purpose of the documentinfo design dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272028059242079178noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037683482221783083.post-30752246321752623682009-11-01T17:32:53.131-05:002009-11-01T17:32:53.131-05:00I think your idea that there is one important mess...I think your idea that there is one important message in a bill needs a little nuancing. I'd suggest that bills are read in stages, during which the focus switches:<br /><br />1. read/don't read - who is it from and what is it?<br />2. check/don't check - is this the amount I'm expecting? If not I'll look at the detail.<br />3. pay/dispute - assuming 'pay' is most common choice, how can I pay?<br /><br />So at each stage a different kind of information becomes the most important.<br /><br />Sinec you discuss the role of marketing, I'd be interested to know your opinion about 'transpromo', which seems to be exciting a lot of people in the document industry... but worrying me. it isn't actually a new idea - we used to talk about 'relationship communications' to cover personalised transactional documents - but it is framed in a way that encourages 'white space management'. In the wrong hands this seems to amount to sticking an ad in wherever there is room. But whenever I've researched advertising on bills with customers, they have been sensitive about the issue. They see the bill as their territory, and about stuff they have chosen to buy. They don't like ads on bills unless they are in a clearly differentiated space that can read or ignore as they choose.Rob Wallerhttp://www.robwaller.orgnoreply@blogger.com