Oakdale Mall

I’m considering my local mall at Christmas time because malls and Christmas shopping go hand-in-hand.  The Oakdale Mall sits on a small hill and the exits are well marked.  Each entrance has a directory map that tells each store location.  The whole mall is decorated for Christmas, as is each store.    There is also a celebration of Hanukah.  The celebration of Festival of Lights began last Saturday night by lighting the first candle of the Menorah.

 

There are always displays in the center court.  At Christmas there is Santa doing photos with families and friends.  Christmas trees are decorated by different organizations, by Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts, or the local animal shelter.  The trees serve two purposes, one is to obviously promote the organization that did the decorating and the other is to promote the stores that supplied the decorations.   There is usually an educational component, but the shopper must shift gears to read the educational information. 

The store windows tell a story of what is available inside the store.  Toys or books or shoes or sweaters or hairstyles, the store window is your first invitation to come in the store and look around.

Retail stores have to make it comfortable for a man to shop for a woman; and a toy store will have the newest products at eye level.  According the text Chandler Screven’s claims that Gibson and Gibson’s research shows “design… needs to be pretested and adjusted during the planning stage to improve the possibility that they encourage… selective attention.” (C.G Screvens, 2000, p. 142)

Companies who design malls know all about aesthetics.  The aisles are wide and open, with seating through the middle to accommodate weary shoppers.  There is plenty of lighting, the temperature is comfortable, and there are a variety of stores situated throughout the mall.

I can plan my shopping trip online before leaving the house by using the malls web site.  This helps me to park in a more convenient place.

The space is well planned; it’s easy to navigate from store to store.  There is plenty of room, the displays are appropriate for the size of the space.  Even during the Christmas rush, there is enough room for everyone to move through the mall with arm loads of packages.

I honestly could not find an area for improvement in the design of the mall.  There is a variety of stores, there are many stores, there is plenty of room to move around and easy to navigate your way around, and there is lots of seating and not mention restrooms available.  Also, there are a variety of food places to choose from.  My local mall is well cared for: there is very little garbage; there are security and maintenance people who keep everything neat and orderly. 

Reference:

Jacobson, R. (2000). Information Design. Massachusetts: MIT Press. Print.

Scannabar System

Shrinkage is the gentle word that we use instead of saying loss or theft.  In the bar business, shrinkage is about 25%.  Losing one quarter of my income over the bar could force me to lose my business.  (Scannabar, 2012)

By using an inventory control system, like Scannabar, I can keep my employees honest and protect my profits. 

Scannabar can track and monitor every bottle of liquor, beer and wine from the door until its empty.  By using an inventory control system, I will keep accurate records of my profit center.  Using inventory control also gives the perception to the staff that I have every detail under control.

Each bottle is barcoded when it comes into the facility.  When it is opened at the bar it is scanned again.  During the inventory process, all the open bottles can be measured and scanned.  When the bottle is empty it is scanned one last time and the system will tell me how much money that bottle made. 

I can integrate the Scannabar system into my Point Of Sale system.  By doing that I can control my inventory, track my sales dollars, and manage my business more efficiently. 

Any new business needs to be managed.  A new business that depends on employees is especially vulnerable, so computer systems that help me control my business expenses are invaluable. 

Reference: 

Scannabar. (2012). Scannabar hospitality management solutions. Retrieved from http://en.scannabar.com/

 

 

 

Concept Mapping

Concept mapping is something I would use to write a business plan for my country bar.  There are many aspects to owning my own business like budgeting, marketing, location, entertainment, food,  building maintenance and hours of operation.  Business plans have many forms, but they all have these basic sections. 

In the Brainstorming phase I will be writing down everything that has to do with owning a bar.  Second phase is organizing.  Hal White on the “How to construct a concept map” website suggests putting each thought on a Post-It note.  I can move these thoughts around until each concept is within its group.  In the layout phase I am going to put the most important concept at the top or in the middle, and put the detail underneath the heading or on the outside.  (White, 2011)

By using lines and arrows, I will connect different items that have a relationship.  I can also write a short explanation on the arrow line. 

When I feel that I have covered all the information, I will complete the map and give it a title.

 White, H. (2011, January 11). How to construct a concept map. Retrieved from http://www.udel.edu/chem/white/teaching/ConceptMap.html

 

 

 

 

 

Processes of Information Design

A goal that I have in the future would be opening my own country bar.  Along the way I will be implementing information design for every step. 

First I need to firmly decide how I want my bar to look and who I want my bar to serve and then I have to design every single detail. 

In order to borrow money, I will need to write a full business plan.  Whether I build a building or remodel an existing building, there will be construction and I will need blueprints.  I will also need a marketing plan and an exit plan.  All of these things will entail a lot of research and a lot compromising. 

The business plan includes my vision of my bar, and it also includes all the financial, timeline, all my suppliers, all my codes and licenses, employees, insurance and all the other details that I haven’t thought of yet. 

According to the SBA.gov website there are 9 parts to a business plan:

Executive Summary: My vision of my business

Market Analysis: Will be a SWOT analysis

Company Description: Country Bar

Organization & Management: The business will most likely be a LLC

Marketing & Sales: I will need the details on how I will present myself

Service or Product Line: Alcohol and non-alcohol beverages and food and live bands and DJ

Funding Request: I will propose a financial statement for five years

Financial Projections: I will explain how I will make enough money to payback a loan if I were to get a business loan

Appendix: I will create an appendix that includes the licensing, permits and regulations and laws

How to Make Your Business Plan Stand Out: The business plan needs to sell the bar and to find a way to make it very special to the bank

While I’m still in college there is no chance I have time to write a business plan, but I could after graduation. 

SBA.gov. (2012). How to write a business plan. Retrieved from

http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business/how-write-business-plan
 

Designing Maps

When I think of Information Design I think of road maps.  In order to organize the layout of my state, somebody has to go from point A to point B and relate it to all the other locations around it.  By using location as the organizer, a road map explains to me where I am and I can use it to direct me where to go. Should I turn right or left?  Am I in the country or city?  Will there be parking available?  These are a few questions that need to be answered when you’re traveling to a new location.  Maps also tell us the name of the roads, towns, and the distance between specific areas, they tell us the type of road, and it points out locations of interest. 

Information involves time or numbers or continuum, and by organizing information by location, maps are created (Jacobson, 2000, p. 275, 276). 

Jacobson, R. (2000). Information design. (p. 2765& 276). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press

I think Information Design is a grouping of ramdom thoughts into a cohesive manner that tells a story or provides an explanation.  Of the gazillion bits of information out there, I only want to know how to tie my shoe.  The ability to collect that information in one place at one time, coherently, so I can follow the instructions has designed that information for my use. 

PS: I know how to tie my shoe however, I am using this as an example on how to explain information and the way I understand it.

Kim Baer, from the Information Design Workbook explains that Information design is information without structure is a jumble of data, words, pictures, movements and sound.  By designing that information for particular user or function, we can make all that information meaningful.  (p. 12 & 13) 

Baer, K. (2009). Information design workbook. (pp. 12-1). Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers.