My faux-marble garbage can: A plea for truthfulness

The Rimrock Resort Hotel in Banff (where I arrived yesterday to help produce the employee meeting I’ve been working on for a couple of months) is lovely. The view of the mountains is breathtaking, the food is tasty, and the staff (40 percent of whom, I’m told, are Aussies) are very friendly.

Though my room is spacious and tastefully decorated, one thing caught my eye… the bathroom garbage can.

The can is made of plastic that’s meant to look like marble. Now I’ve got nothing against marble, but why would one ever want a real marble garbage can? It would be quite heavy to lift while being emptied, rather breakable if you banged it, and would do a number on your toes if you dropped it.

This humble garbage can got me thinking about truthfulness in design. I believe that on top of being functional (things doing what they’re supposed to do; being easy-to-use and durable), objects and spaces should be attractive (e.g., harmonious colours, pleasing proportions). But I wish designers would not try to make things appear to be something that they’re not. In other words, I wish things were more authentic.

Plastic is an ideal material for a garbage can, so make it look like plastic. Why not a solid colour (since it’s made from resin poured into a mould), perhaps with a texture (if the moulding process allows for it). But don’t make it look like marble!

There’s a new book out called Authenticity (James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II, Harvard Business School Press, 299 pages, $31.95) that I suspect touches on this. To be truthful (!), I’ve only skimmed the book in a store and read a review of it.

Few would argue there’s tremendous skepticism all around us these days; witness the debate about whether Hillary Clinton’s crying on the campaign trail a couple of weeks ago was a carefully staged performance, or an authentic show of emotion. As Authenticity argues, there’s a deep yearning for things to be real.

I believe the lesson for marketers is to be honest with yourself – and with your customers – about what your brand / product actually is, then truthfully present what it can and cannot do. I’m not suggesting being dull, humourless or devoid of emotion, but rather to ensure the excitement and emotion of your brand promise is grounded in believable, real-life experiences.