Why my phone bill is brilliant.

I’ve just had a bill through from Virgin. It’s not often I find myself smiling when I look at a bill, but this one was a bit different. Virgin have redesigned the bill and put a nice explanation in there as well, see this image (click on it for a bigger version)..

A brilliant piece of communication

I like this on several levels:

1) There’s a clear rational reason for the change

2) The points they make for change are almost 100% applicable to dashboard and report design. Here they are again..

  • Clearer structure
  • Simpler language
  • Your package – relevant to you
  • Removed clutter
  • Clearer totals
  • More information

3) Great use of side-by-side visual comparison

My only criticism is that the stated aim of “remove clutter” is undermined slightly by the use of extra guide lines and boxes.

Well done Virgin, now if only my gas supplier could make their bills simple enough for real humans…