JKR

Men and women are pretty similar – men after all begin life in the womb as females (it’s why we chaps have nipples). But, considering humans share 95% of their DNA with mice, small differences can mean a great deal. We have looked in a little depth at how men and women respond differently to design, and have observed some basic principles. To collapse an hour’s charts into a couple of sentences: science and simple observation suggest that women are generally more aware and appreciative of nuance in design, be it colour, tactility, form etc. So building in design detailing can appeal to women but won’t put men off (they simply won’t notice it). However, while women are perfectly happy to buy into “male” aesthetics,  woe betide anyone who patronises females by overtly targeting them in mainsteam life (eg the world beyond packaging destined for handbags or bathroom cupboards).

Little wonder then that Chicago Town’s “Gorgeous” range is underperforming, combining as it does crude aesthetics with rather patronising visual content. Still, The VW Beetle advertising of the Mad Men era, once considered revolutionary,  throws up a few examples that now read as fabulously archaic. Perhaps Chicago Town were going for a genuinely retro sensibility?