Smiling Curves

Exhibition and experience projects usually follow what economists call a “smiling curve” of effort.

That’s a curve shaped like a smile — basically a wide “u”. It maps effort (vertical) over time (horizontal).

At the start we’re on the left side. The effort starts high, as everyone meets, paperwork gets signed, and workshops fill up hours.

Somewhere in the middle, a regular schedule smooths it out, and everyone starts chugging along, making their bit.

But towards the end, as the deadline looms, the intensity comes back. We deal with whatever we put off, and all the things you can’t anticipate until you're actually open.

Despite the name, a smiling curve isn’t always a good thing. It depends on the smile.

Often, we end up with a one-sided Harrison Ford smile: high on the right. We put in a lot of effort in the end because we didn’t plan ahead as well as we could.

Or a zig-zag jack-o'-lantern smile. All over the place.

We really want that Mona Lisa smile. Nearly flat. Effort nicely spread out.

Here’s the thing:
Our projects typically follow a “smiling curve.” Often a Harrison Ford. But we really want a Mona Lisa.

Warmly,
Jonathan

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MtM Word of the Day:
Portrait orientation. Describes the proportions of any image, display screen or other display element that has a height greater than its width. Named after the genre of paintings most associated with tall, narrow compositions. The opposite of portrait orientation is landscape orientation.