How nice to have a sign in a fitting room that says: If you don’t find what you are looking for, we can order it online. UNLESS that sign is printed in bold right in the center of the mirror you’re trying to see yourself in..

That is what I found at Zara, a store I like to stop into to check out their occasional brilliance at making something stylish that is really inexpensive but doesn’t look it. And to see what they are knocking off; they seem to have their fingers on the pulse better than most fashion magazines.

At first I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t seem to suss out the fit of the funky outfit I’d tried on, until I realized that was trying to see myself through a lot of type.

Improvised Life

 

It would seem to be a well-meaning sales strategy —part of a trend of bricks-and-mortar stores employing their digital arm — that totally forgot to consider about user experience.

They could easily have stenciled their sign at the top of the mirror, or on the adjacent wall…

As much as I LOVE signs, this is an amazing fail.

 

If you’ve found illumination, joy, or inspiration in this post, please consider supporting Improvised Life. It only takes a minute to make a secure donation that helps pay our many costs. A little goes a long way towards helping Improvised Life continue to live ad-free in the world.

Support Improvised Life ♥

5 replies on “Annals of Bad Design: Fitting Room Mirror Stenciled with Busy Signage

  1. yes, all true but what you are wearing looks great.

  2. completely agree with you – and with Nina above: you look great in that outfit!

  3. Thank you so much. The outfit was what I wore into the store…(un-ironed) Vivianne Westwood, not Zara (: The Zara stuff, from what I could tell, was impossible…plus tried on only pants, no shirt….

  4. OR, they could have written it on the wall BACKWARDS so that it could be read over your head as you looked in the mirror. #notquitecreativeenough

  5. Good idea. They could have done all sorts of things to get that message across without getting it across the center of my torso.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *