Things that made us go ?? #14/2024
???? Here's a selection of things we’ve read, watched, learned and enjoyed at?TakeFortyTwo.
????"Surreal but nice"
The Museum of Brands, brainchild of expert on British consumer culture Robert Opie, relocated to Notting Hill in 2015.
The building itself is a fascinating piece of history —?once a Jewish school, then the London Lighthouse, providing compassionate care and support to people affected by HIV in the 90s, and now home to a delightful museum.
Starting with a packet of Munchies from a vending machine in Inverness in 1963, Opie’s collection has grown immensely. The museum is a massive, literal and figurative time capsule of consumer culture, packed with vintage packaging, iconic logos, and quirky ads.
Phillip Jackson writes beautifully about the Museum of Brands in this issue of The Senses, and shares this quote that I couldn't agree more with.
"When you understand the past, the confusion of the present becomes clearer." John Betjeman
???Know when to walk away
At our weekly coffee sessions (we don't actually ever have coffee, come to think of it), we've been discussing the sunk cost fallacy and how it applies to design, development, copywriting, content creation, and pretty much life in general. The sunk cost effect leads us to stick with projects (or relationships) that are no longer viable simply because we've already invested so much in them. We are committed.
Indecision is a bad thing, and commitment is a good thing, right? Well, not always. Commitment bias, a cognitive bias where we stick to our decisions despite evidence that it's time to move on, plays a role here. Interestingly, we're not the only species to experience this bias—mice do too!
Although I'm aware of these biases, I still struggle with indecision and with knowing when to quit, and often find myself hopelessly flogging dead horses, in the very irrational belief that putting "just a little" more whatever into it (time, effort, money), will somehow save the day, or at least, make quitting less of a loss and feel less like a failure. I know it's a matter of logic (or lack thereof), but I think it's also a matter of timing, of knowing when enough has been more than enough.
To help fellow cognitively biased humans know when to hold 'em, fold 'em, walk away, and run, I'm sharing this interview with Annie Duke, former professional poker player and author, whose expertise in decision-making and risk assessment makes her insights invaluable for anyone struggling with these same issues. I don't think the mice will be watching it.
??Look, this is us!
Our team loved this. Jacin and David open sourced their tool Design Foundations, which allows users to scrape the design system of any website, including colors, icons and fonts.
Here's what we look like:
领英推荐
??Partner News
Two of our partners are celebrating major anniversaries this month, and both chose to highlight their incredible journeys by sharing the experiences and insights of the people behind their success.
?? BigCommerce turns 15!
A game-changer in the eCommerce space for the past 15 years, the BigCommerce team is not just celebrating a milestone but also gearing up for the Big Summit, which promises to be another fantastic event for networking and learning, and an opportunity to celebrate. Happy anniversary!
?? DotDigital turns 25!
For a quarter of a century, DotDigital has been a pioneer in digital marketing and customer engagement. Their anniversary video celebrates this journey and the people who made it possible. Congratulations!
?? A little autobombo on the side
Last week, Santiago wrote about the problem with eCommerce redesigns, and suggested alternatives that feel (and probably taste) way better than pizzaburgers.
The idea that websites are never done reminded me of this fantastic quote about the meaning of done from Brad Frost's Atomic Design
Another expectation we must revisit is our definition of?done. Creating things for print and other physical media involves making permanent, tangible objects. That sense of finality simply doesn’t exist in the digital world, which means change can happen with much less effort and friction than other media.?
Anyway, I digress. I just wanted to invite you to subscribe to our newsletter for fresh B2B eCommerce insights in your inbox every two weeks. Here.
?? Aaand that's a (Big Mac?) wrap!
Hope you enjoyed this issue. If you have any suggestions, opinions, or comments, I'd love to hear them. Well, read them.
Till next time.
-Pat
Credits & Acknowledgements
Optimización de recursos | Planificación y organización para la eficiencia | Transformación organizacional y cultura | Coordinadora en 4dias.es |
3 个月Fantastic edition, team! I never heard about that brand museum before; I'll try to visit it on my next trip to London. Recently, I bought a few Reader's Digest magazines that I found in a hidden antique store in Bilbao, dated from 1958 to 1966, and looking at the ads in them is fascinating! I also found the highlights about the sunk cost fallacy very interesting. It's so hard to identify those situations! It's definitely a skill that needs training. And the Design Foundations tool is really cool; there are many things to learn by using it!