LETTERS
Jul 1, 2004 12:00 PM
To the Editor:
Congratulations on your fine coverage of the SADI awards in your May issue. However, your selection of judges' comments on the merits of each project was cause for concern. Having experience as a judge for other retail awards programs, I know that assessing how well an environment satisfies the needs of the customer is just as compulsory an element as creativity. The seemingly trivial attributes of the comments you chose to print can only support the claims of individuals with self-serving agendas, that designers create only for other designers, are only interested in winning awards and don't care about creating a better shopping environment.
For the future, I suggest that you encourage your judges to identify and better appreciate customer service innovations or amenities represented by a design solution. Please use your publication to give appropriate credit to designers who work hard to cater to the customer (the ultimate judge), not just win beauty contests.
Jerry Gelsomino, FISP
Prospect, a retail image consultancy
Santa Monica, Calif.
