From web to print, design is about communication, the act of bringing content and aesthetics together to deliver a message.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Inside-Out Brand Marketing: The Power of the Experience

Inside-Out Brand Marketing: The Power of the Experience

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

the simplicity of complex thought

Shaun Inman brings a uniquely complex approach to thinking about simplicity as it pertains to the presentation and construction of a web site.

Fun 2.0

Jefferey Zeldman is having fun playing with the web 2.0 (ubiquitous term coined by O'Reilly Media in 2004)

Web 2.0 Thinking Game

You Tube is not very 2.0

According to the Web 2.0 validator, You Tube is not very 2.0 - scoring only 6 out of 52. The funny thing is that the O'Reilly network is not all that 2.0 itself (scoring 10 out of 52) even though O'Reilly Media (12 out of 52) helped define the term.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Doomed web site projects

I have been a professional designer since 1985, starting with the mechanical print process. I have been designing and building brand oriented web sites since I first saw the web back in 1993. I have built sites for government, international corporations, small businesses and non-profits.

Lately I have been receiving quite a few requests from print designers to “build” web sites they have designed for their clients. This is a lucrative business for me and I love doing it. Having the opportunity to get into another designers style is always interesting and an incredible learning process.

That said…these projects all have a sense of foreboding doom to them. I am always amazed that print designers do not start with a site-map. I have held the position of creative director for so long it just seems obvious that all design projects start with a creative brief. To me this brief should include a site-map (how many pages and how they connect) and a page description document (what is on those pages, and what is most important).

The truth be told, I do this for my print projects as well, after all, can you imagine designing a brochure or a catalog without knowing how many pages it will have and what is important on those pages?

I am also always surprised that may print designers do not do the ground work of finding out what the client expects the site to be or do. Are they expecting a lot flash movies, animated navigation, streaming audio or video? Do they expect to edit the content themselves? These are all questions I try to establish up front. I tend to focus on building SEO oriented accessible site as my primary focus. To some clients these are not want they want, I always feel it is best to establish these at the beginning as to be able to quote the appropriate site to the client.

What are your thoughts?