I mean it! I don't hate much in this world, but I hate WalMart.
It's not even all the political junk; sweatshops, predatory business practices and what-have-you. Don't get me wrong, I can rant about those things too. But, the real reason I hate WalMart is simple:
IT'S UGLY!
Everything about the experience is UGLY!
The store is ugly.
The aisles are ugly.
The lighting is ugly.
The uniforms are ugly
(which, unfortunately, goes a long way toward making the people ugly.)
The products are ugly.
The packaging is ugly.
The fixtures are ugly.
The signage is ugly.
The music is ugly.
The carts are ugly.
The displays are ugly.
The card scanners are ugly.
Even the floor mats are ugly.
I CAN'T HANDLE THAT MUCH UGLINESS!
Some bit of my creative soul dies every time I go in there.
Expedience be damned! I am not going back!
(now I'm throwing temper tantrums...must be Friday)
Hahahaha! I know exactly what you mean. I once bought tea off the shelves because the packaging was gorgeous! Aesthetic has a much much higher value to designers.
Saying "hi" from Vegas! Sorry no cash here T_T.
Rofl! yes, some stores are like that. As designers, we do see the difference from one thing to the next in an aesthetic sort-of-way. :D
Good call, SJ. I actually don't mind their signage (at least the aisle indicators and section signs) because they're clear and simple. Been to Ream's lately? Good heavens. Those places are poorly designed (Scottish theme) and every store is like 30 years old.
Ditto on the expedience factor. We used to be WalMart faithfuls, but now we just go to the local grocer and pay a little more in order to have a decent checkout experience and deal with smaller crowds.
That's why I am visiting Walmart every week: I know that out there is thing like this and my work looks wonderful. Glad to have such ugly shops :D