Where are we going?
The web design industry has really come along way over the past years. With the incorporation of handheld devices and online cafés, users can access it just about anywhere. Along side its convenience, the Internet has also proven to be a vehicle of self-expression and business. From major corporations to personal advertisements, anyone can acquire a space on the Internet to promote themselves. Graphic designers have always played a major role in the creation and maintenance of these websites; however, with its now simplistic nature, any average person can create their own site without any training.
It is a little intimidating when you have friends who know a little more than you do in the field of web design, especially when that is what you plan on doing as a career. This is the predicament where I currently reside. With trends (such as MySpace, YouTube, etc.) the ordinary person can create their own contraption and place it online for the world to see. Users are capable of fully customizing their personal web page with streaming video, music, layout, etc. MySpace has also proven to be a successful place for bands to advertise new music and also their latest tour dates; this also goes for companies as well with new promotions and sales. In some cases their sites on MySpace are more frequently updated than their own domain!
Students at a number of universities are also given a free space hosted by the school while they are enrolled. These private spaces are not openly advertised to students and are almost unknown to the student body to take advantage; however, the option is there. The only problem is there are no templates and one must start from scratch, which could prove to be a challenge for most because they can’t go to their favorite code generator for help. Also, strict guidelines are obviously set on these sites because students are to represent the university. Termination of this space obviously comes once the student has graduated or leaves the school.
With the simplification and ease of software use, amateurs can use Microsoft FrontPage or now Adobe Dreamweaver without having to know a thing about html or design. This is very useful for groups with a low budget who cannot afford to pay a design company for a professionally done product and just wants to get their name out in the open.
Companies have also been asking customers to submit their own designs for products and if they are chosen, ultimately their design will be mass-produced. This has always been an easy way for them to save money and not have to pay a designer for a professional job. This is very evident with Pepsi’s new strategy in releasing a new can design every month. They intend to attract teenagers to go to their company’s web site and create a billboard using preconceived stencils and the winner will have their own work placed in Times Square, what more could one ask for?
In my opinion I don’t think these average joes will take over the industry. The public sites where users can upload their own content will just prove to be a fun past time and possibly a way for people to become recognized. Not everyone can be a designer and not everyone can be a rocket scientist. What has risen recently appeals to a much younger generation and could possibly bring about a new breed of design and methods. I do feel that we should embrace these new forms of media and identify their strengths and weaknesses. Who knows where the Internet will be in the next ten years? It could be the one to make you breakfast in the morning and tuck you in at night… figuratively speaking of course.
LeapCast - Interactive Scoop: 5.30.07 - Analytics
Join Mike and Ryan today as they discuss updates to popular web analytics programs as well as recent Microsoft moves.
LFI University - It Pays to Come Here: How Relevant is Your Content?
This is the second of a three part series on user experience and its potential to enhance or detract from your brand. User experience encompasses the total impression that your site makes on a user, including visual appeal, ease of navigation, and overall usability.
In the last article, we discussed the look and feel of your site, otherwise known as your site’s Graphical User Interface (GUI), and how it affects the overall user experience. Now it’s time to talk about the content that your GUI should be built to showcase.
Writing for the web is a tricky business. Web users are a notoriously hard audience to capture. First, a study performed by Jakob Nielsen indicated that 79% of users don’t read at all on the web—they scan. Second, web users have a low level of inherent trust in what they read. The typical web user is either a Baby Boomer who is suspicious of the web as a medium, or a postmodern Generation X or Millenial who tend to be skeptical of all sources of information. You must build credibility with your audience. You must be concise and your copy must be tightly targeted.
Another important thing to remember in regards to your content is the importance of keeping it updated and relevant. Your website is most effective as a branding and public relations tool when users see it as a valuable source of relevant, topical and newsworthy information regarding your industry. Implementing a corporate weblog, or blog, can be one way of keeping a steady flow of fresh content available to your site users. A blog is an online journal written in a more informal, personal tone. While press releases are a more traditional outlet for this kind of information, typical traffic to the press release section of any website is generally lower than traffic to a corporate blog.
Another way to provide users with relevant content on your site is to produce informational White Papers and make them available for download. While users will typically not read lengthy content online, they do respond well if it’s made available as a PDF or Word document download which they can print and read offline at their convenience.
Always remember that to your users, your site’s success is not based on whether it presents a positive image of your brand, but rather on whether or not it provides them with a positive experience. Fresh, relevant, user-friendly copy can contribute to that positive experience. Ultimately, it’s that good user experience which generates buzz and goodwill for your brand.
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LFI University - Is Your GUI Turning Off Potential Customers?
This is the first of a three part series on user experience and its potential to enhance or detract from your brand. User experience encompasses the total impression that your site makes on a user, including visual appeal, ease of navigation, and overall usability.
Now that we’re ready to move on from Web 2.0, it’s time to talk about user experience. Part of the power of interactive marketing is its experiential nature. The goal of a great interactive presence is to be more than a destination for users—it should be an interactive experience. Everything about your site contributes to the overall impression users have about the site, and consequently, your brand. A frustrating, unattractive or confusing user experience can convey the idea that dealing with your organization offline may be equally unpleasant.
That is why user experience is so critical in online branding.
A major element of user experience is your site’s Graphical User Interface (GUI). The GUI consists of the visual elements that aid in navigation and user flow, visually guiding the user through all the steps required for conversion. Iconography, text and other design elements work together to guide the user through the site and paint a clear path to conversion. The first questions asked by any visitor to your site are “Where do I look first, and what do I do next?” An effective GUI can make this process painless, even fun. An ineffective GUI can create an exercise in frustration and confusion for the user, severely detracting from the overall user experience.
Usability studies show that from the time a user lands on your home page, it will take them approximately six seconds to decide whether to stay or leave. An ineffective GUI can result in a high bounce rate, making any interactive marketing efforts to drive traffic to your site a complete waste of time and money.
So it pays to take a hard look at your site from a user flow perspective.
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Being the Bungee
Client Services is a unique position, because we’re more or less the line of communication between the client and production. Part of how we add value to the company is by making it possible for the client’s desires and objectives to be clearly conveyed to a village of designers, programmers, web-architects, interactive marketers, art directors, copywriters, online media buyers, ad writers, search engine optimization specialists, and all the other specialties required to fully complete the project. We coordinate schedules, assign resources and shepherd your project throughout the process to ensure it aligns with your vision at every step along the way.
Client Services is far more than a communication team. When we do our job correctly, the client is removed from the management, coordination, and processing of the steps required to achieve their goal. Instead, the client is placed in a decision-making position – provided choices and recommendations instead of assignments and deadlines. We also act as translators in both directions, letting the client know, in layman’s terms (or at least in common business language) when there are technical issues that arise in the process. Because of that unique positioning, we’re sometimes caught in the middle when client objectives don’t align perfectly with technical and creative restrictions. It’s our job to see the big picture. It’s our job to always look out for the client’s best interest and be their in-house advocate. Sometimes that means making tough decisions that impact a timeline or goal, while other times it means going back to the client and working to develop an idea that better fits the desired result or budget. But at all times it means being an honest, dedicated advocate – we’ll always err on the side of honesty and integrity…even when it hurts.
Being the bungee cord between the objectives of the client and the requirements and restraints of implementation can be stressful at times. But we learn and grown when we are stretched, and we love becoming a valued, contributing member of our client’s team!