New Device

I chose to write about the "Presto" Tablet which was created by Rajat Suri, owner of E La Carta. I will give a brief overview of the tablet. The Presto was custom designed to survive the wear and tear of restaurant life. Customers at restaurants equipped with E La Carta tablets, order and pay for their food using the touch screen at their tables. Some of the reasons Rajat created his own device rather than using the iPad or Google's Android system, was for durability and longer battery life.

Based off of reviews online, the Presto is easy to use. As you swipe the tablet to look at the menu, each item has a description and a picture. After you order, you can play games to entertain both the parents and the kids. At the end of your meal, you swipe your credit card and leave a tip and you can also rate your server.

Not only does the tablet make the dining experience more fun, Presto also benefits the restaurant. People seem to order more because they do not have to wait to track down the waiter or waitress.

Here are some interesting facts I found,

Around 100 restaurants in Boston and the Bay Area use the Presto. The company charges relatively low rates for the use of the tablets. $200-700 depending of the amount of tables. E La Carte just announced that Groupon's co-founders just invested $4 million into the company. This isn't necessarily a huge haul, but it might be enough to propel tablet menus into the mainstream.

Convergence: Access, Utility, Fair Value

For the consumer, I can only see this as benifiting them. It is extremely accessable and set directly in front of them and is very easy to navigate through. I would say this tablet is definitely worth it's cost. It only costs the restaurant $200 - $700 to deck out their whole restaurant, which could ultimatly save printing money in the long run, and not to mention free for the consumers to use.

Consumerism: Choice, Convenience, Performance

The consumer does not neccessarily have a choice of which one they would like. For example, you can not choose the color or funtions of the tablet, they are all the same.

Interactivity: Individualism, Control, Security

Unlike the iPad, Presto tablets are powered by an unprecedented 18-hour battery and feature a built-in credit card reader and uniquely adjustable stand.

Font Review

This font is called "Throw my hands up in the air," I found it on DaFont a while ago and love it for my personal photos. I know this font is pretty girly and childish, but I am a girl and I still love childish things. I will probably quote lines from Spongebob until the day I die :) This font looks like cute girl handwriting which is probably another reason why I like it because my personal handwriting is horrible.

This font is half serif and half sans serif. The capitalized font is about half and half, and the lowercased font is mostly sans serif. This font is humanist because there is a very subtle difference between thick and thin lines.

Good design vs. Bad design

The goal of the campaign was to make people speak up. They wanted to reach people's emotions so they could be honest and say how they truly feel. They knew they would get bad publicity from doing this, but they also knew that they would get plenty of good reviews to compensate.

In my opinion this is an example of a bad design. There are a few things that are very wrong about this ad. Why would they want to say that they aren't for everyone and that ice cream is better? They are using some kind of youth-focused attitude campaign as they are trying to sell Miracle Whip. Teenagers don't even buy groceries. They buy candy and energy drinks.

The Social Context is where it all went wrong. They tried to break the rules by doing something that no other marketers have done before. But there is a very clear reason no one has done it.

The psychological context is one of the reasons an ad like this could work. Most people have a strong opinion between Miracle Whip and Real Mayonnaise. By saying something as bold as "Pick a side," it may motivate people to be a loyal customer and only purchase their brand.

The color contrast really makes this ad stand out. The white font on a dark surface really catches your eye. It is unique because the writing looks like it was drawn with actual Miracle Whip.

The size and position of the word ICE CREAM causes it to really stand out. But my main concern with that is why should the word ice cream be the center point of a Miracle Whip ad?

Proximity: The objects in this photo seemed to be grouped together in 3 different sections.



This ad is a great example of simplicity and creativity at it's finest.

Temporal Context: This ad is time sensitive and is used only during Christmas time. If this ad was used during august, it wouldn't have the same effect. The Santa on the spoon will bring people joy which will ultimately leave them with a good impression of the product.

I would definitely say this ad has psychological context. Emotions are what motivate us to do something. Christmas time is a time of giving and love. Since this ad is associated with Christmas, it too brings emotions of love and joy.

Food is a huge part of the holiday season. With the text saying "the only mayonnaise for Christmas" could cause people to fear not having the right food products during this important time, which would ultimately motivate them to purchase this product.

Culture plays a big role as well. It's because of culture that people can recognize the mayonnaise on the spoon as Santa. Again, people like things that are associated with Christmas.

The space on the ad is perfect and gives a sense of simplicity. I do not feel overwhelmed as I look at this ad.

Red was a great choice because it is both a power color and the color of Christmas. The shade of red is darker in the corners and is lighter in the middle. This allows the center of the ad with the spoon to be the main focus. Then after it has already grabbed your attention, your eyes can shift to the text and be motivated to buy the product.

The light gives us texture in the mayo. It looks so creamy and perfect as it drips off the spoon.

The law of continuity applies to this ad because of the way the mayo is inside of the jar. It flows so well and looks as if the spoon was freshly dipped into the jar and just happened to come out this way.