Crikey, it’s a very long photo of a postbox – read on for some thoughts about information architecture and the Royal Mail.
From a distance
- Everyone knows what a postbox looks like – if you’re looking for one, they’re easy to find
- Anyone who isn’t looking for a postbox can ignore the postbox at no cost to their time and attention
- Most local people will remember where this one is even if they’ve never used it – so they know where to go when they do need it, or when others do. (Top British Question: “Excuse me, but do you know if there’s a postbox nearby?”)
Close up
When you want it, when you’ve found it, it’s got all the info in the right place, in the order you’ll ask for it:
- Is this postbox in use? (answer implied)
- When’s the next collection?
- What’s the latest I can drop my letter today and have it collected? (If I’m happy with this, I can stop reading straight away).
- If I’m in a hurry, where’s the nearest place I can go for an earlier collection?
- If I’ve missed that too, what’s my last chance at a collection?
- If I have other questions, where can I find answers or who can I call?*
*With apologies that I was in too much of a hurry to architect the second photo well enough to include everything!