Monday, December 22, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
TechRepublic.com
Did they just slightly redesign that top portion? I'm definitely digging that topics/comment section to the right. Seems like it's working ...
Oh, and check out that oh-so subtle rotator below the 3 featured stories. Interesting...
www.techrepublic.com
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Looking Back at the Blog Template
Ok... so I'm currently working on a blog site for Business Finance Magazine and was reviewing some of our previous blogs and noticed a few things.
1. The pagination navigation at the bottom of each page should probably be designed a bit more (i.e. spacing out each link and perhaps giving it a button-like look?). According to Omniture, this area is frequently used and what's wrong with making a link a bit more clickable?
2. On the Big Fat Marketing Blog, no one clicks on the "more" link. I'm going to see if there are any other sites out there have similar traffic patterns. Based on Omni's report from Dec 1st to today (17th), all of Big Fat Marketer's article traffic come from users clicking on the title and not the "more" link.
3. On NBJ's blog, no one clicks on the "Related Topics" at the end of each article. Albeit, NBJ displays the entire article without the blurb & read more link, which in itself is bad from a usability point of view. On the Big Fat Marketing blog, some people click on the Related Links, but after the first page, this barely exists. Should these links belong at the bottom of the full article and not below each teaser?
Anyways, those are my thoughts for now. Let me know what you guys think.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Bridging The Distance Between Strategy & Design!
This was a pretty interesting slide show that gave a good overview of brand, what it is and how it is built, maintained and promoted. They leave out some aspects of brand like the difference between what a brand represents and what it sells as an image compared to actual products and services but overall a nice presentation. Over a hundred slides though. Some good ideas that might help us as we work with publications to uncover their brand perspective in relationship to the work we produce for them.
HereThe Original Book
New Eyetracking Study: Digital Storytelling Effects Lab
Interesting study from
DIESEL. Download the power point at the bottom to see some of the findings. Jennie, ever think of doing some user testing?
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Energy Matters > Design Process
When I first approached this project, I was constantly thinking "green". I had a general idea/direction for the initial mockup, but found myself not fulfilling the brand. My initial mockup came off as being too soft for the B2B energy industry.
Another issue that I found distracting was the logo and the colors used for the media kit. In my opinion, the logo looked like it belonged to a holy scripture and the colors were just not 'right', especially for the energy industry.
With the deadline looming, Jennie suggested typing out the logo in a different font while maintaining the general shape of the logo. As for colors, I stuck with grey tones because it enabled me to think a bit more clearly without the distractions (look below).
With only a day and half remaining (or something like that...), I was able to crank out the following mockup. I initially had it all grey tones, but Tiffany took the time to swing over and suggest some colors (thanks Tiff). I brought the logo back into the design along with a few colors that were used in the media kit. Here's what I ended up with...
Monday, December 8, 2008
Now Presenting...
The Functional Ingredients Moodboard!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Web Design Isn't Art
I'm behind on my Smashing mag reading but this is a great article from 2 weeks ago. It's my entire philosophy about design wrapped up in this one paragraph:
"Web design isn't art. Art is self-expression that is meant to be enjoyed and appreciated on its own. Design is communication; and, more specifically, Web design is an interface for content. Sure, there are websites out there that are purely art, but the large majority of them perform a certain function or deliver information. The website acts as the interface between the user and that function or information. This means it not only has to look nice, it actually has to do its job well, too. Indeed, in most cases, function should come before form."
I think a few of us sometimes fall into the trap of wanting to be overly creative with our designs and trying to find a creative outlet while working on one of our sites. That's why it's important to remain objective about the project and remember that "function should come before form."
Full article here.
Online Advertising And Its Impact on Web Design
I don't ever really see that many articles that address the relationship of online ads and design.
This one does a pretty decent job at it.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Interview with Carin Goldberg
Some interesting insights on design and some design examples.
Here
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Chief Marketer Style Guide
Employee Handbook Covers
Here is what I turned in.
One is a continuation of the theme Gene and Tiffany went with. Mine has employees who are proper and business-like, then the same employees on an all-night bender, (not that any employee would ever find themselves drunk at the Cafe Wha? at 3:00 in the morning for example.)
The other is a bit lighter and maybe vanilla enough to get past the ax?
Call for Entries
Metropolis Next Generation Design Competition"Rising energy costs present new design problems. For the 2009 Metropolis Next Generation Design Competition, redesign the broken models of the 20th century. Challenge our patterns of living and working in a fuel-hungry world and come up with solutions that connect us, make us more efficient, more humane."
Here
Monday, December 1, 2008
Ugly: How Unorthodox Thinking Will Save Design
Interesting article - in case you missed it.
"Design has long been about solving problems. Today the problems we face are in part problems created by our own professional activity. In such a climate, continued reliance on the practices and behaviors that led us here just won't do. New solutions need to be found. New practices identified."
Here
