JKR

A short post for a small design. Ad agency BMB (Beattie McGuinness Bungay) have produced badges that London commuters can wear which state ‘Happy to stand. Just ask’. These kind of compliment the ‘Baby on board!’ ones which Transport for London produce.

They’re in response to research suggesting those in need of a seat are often too shy to ask. And from personal experience, having often offered a seat to ladies who simply turn out to be hefty (and annoyed at my offer), or where I have wavered on offering a seat to a chipper silver surfer (worried I might sound patronising), this shyness can cut both ways. So I think they are a smart idea for the crowded Olympics season (as well as being canny publicity for the agency, obviously).

My point would be a small badge can have a big effect on someone’s day. In the context of packaging design, this is evidence that even tiny devices can be powerful. Design is something whose power is not always about big scale. As Michael Caine put it in Mona Lisa “It’s the little things, George…”