Article Prospect Experience Design User Interfaces That Supplement Storytelling published on July 9, 2010 After reading Chris Butler's latest newsletter, I had a few questions I wanted to answer: Are popular websites reducing the amount of design and clutter in their user interaces, allowing the user to focus on the story? Are they using well-placed calls to action in their user interfaces that encourage engagement without causing distraction? Read Now About
Article Prospect Experience Design The Dark Ages of Website Planning: Site Maps and Wireframes by Mark O’Brien on July 8, 2010 Many agencies try to communicate with their clients about what kind of website they are planning to build using absolutely any means possible other than the web. Your power in the client relationship relies completely upon your confidence in your ability to get the job done right the first time, and that won Read Now About
Article Prospect Experience Design Cool HTML5 Design Features by Justin Kerr on July 8, 2010 When I design a site, I often look for ways to do something new or different. One of the obstacles to this is the limit of my own knowledge. Thankfully, my fellow Newfanglers suggest sites and articles to aid in my enlightenment. I've been reading lately about some of the very cool features built into HTML5... Read Now About
Article Prospect Experience Design Storytelling is the Future of the Web by Christopher Butler on June 30, 2010 Most of the successful marketing campaigns that stand out in my memory all revolve around characters. Some of them are simply charismatic spokespeople, like Geico's gecko, Nationwide's "Greatest Spokesperson in the World," or, I suppose, Burger King's creepy king. Others keenly represent the intended customer—think way back to Wendy's "where's the beef?" lady, or more recently to Apple's mac and PC guys. In all of these cases, it was decided that a more compelling message could be created by using characters to tell a story, rather than putting the product itself front and center... Read Now About
Article Prospect Experience Design Newfangled Mobile Suite FAQs published on June 9, 2010 It's been a very busy month since the launch of our new mobile suite. We've been having lots of conversations with clients about it, and now after a dozen or so web meetings under our belt, we've got a good sense of the FAQs our clients will have. Here's an overview of all these questions for anyone else out there curious about our mobile suite. Read Now About
Article Prospect Experience Design New Web Lessons from an Old Print Vanguard published on May 6, 2010 It's no coincidence that the most web savvy people I know spend a lot of time on the New York Times website. While most newspapers fought the web, they dove in head first and become a source of inspiration for many of us in the web field. For our agency partners who have a strong background in print design, there is a lot to learn from their approach. Read Now About
Article Prospect Experience Design Award Winning by Justin Kerr on April 27, 2010 I recently received a direct-mail announcement for a website competition. The multi-panel fold out highlighted seven benefits of winning one of the coveted awards: a handsome plaque, a spot on the winners page of the organization's website, mention in a press release, exceptional marketing opportunities, proof that your work meets industry standards… Read Now About
Article Prospect Experience Design Screencast: Using Keyword Data to Improve Your Site published on March 23, 2010 This is the final installment of a three-part series about search keywords and how they relate to your website. Today we will discuss how to use keyword data to make decisions that will improve your website.Brian Chiou and Jillian Kuhn will be hosting these collaborative screencasts regularly, focusing on topics that are important to you and your website. Read Now About
Article Prospect Experience Design Do your calls to action give visitors a logical plan B? published on March 17, 2010 Chances are, you know the exact questions potential clients get hung up on before they're ready to commit to a sale. Sharing the information that answers these questions at the right time becomes a standard step in your sales processs because an educated prospect is your best shot at a successful sale. The same rules apply to the prospects viewing your website. By placing well chosen links to additional information to answer these questions, you give visitors the tools to answer these questions for themselves. These 'Plan B' paths for those not ready to take the leap and sign up/buy/register are called "Secondary Calls to Action (CTAs)." Read Now About
Article Prospect Experience Design How the Design Feedback Funnel Actually Worked published on March 11, 2010 It's often hard for clients to respond to design, where the considerations can feel fuzzy compared to more straightforward questions like "Well, what pages do we need?" Because it's hard to know what to say, feedback can easily get too specific—prescribing changes that may not fit in with the design as a whole—or too vague—registering a general sense of satisfaction or dissatisfaction without being able to specify what is or isn't working. One of our recent sites was a great example of how the design process works when this doesn't happen—when client feedback both conveys a clear reaction and leaves latitude for the designer to do his thing. The aim is for the feedback to explain the problem, but let the designer figure out the solution. Here's a round-by-round look at the Quebrada Baking Co. design process as an example of feedback leading toward a final result that clearly expresses the brand. Read Now About
