Designers and developers are often too easily ensnared by the hype of new technology — in today’s case, AJAX, etc. — and often ignore standard usability practices to be the first on the block with the latest and greatest. Remember splash pages with flash intros? How about cheesy animated gifs? Marquee tags? Of course you do. Yet you would likely never, ever put any of these elements on a website today (without giggling excessively about it).

A few years ago, however, web designers were regularly utilizing these tactics, jumping to implement latest trends. Looking back, it is quite simple to understand the errors in our ways, to see why these design tools were used both ineffectively and excessively. In order to prevent ourselves from making the same errors in the future, however, we must (more…)

This article from Computer Arts (UK) explores the challenge of staying fresh and original while still employing the tools of visual shorthand in communicating concepts.

I’m reminded of a quote from Pablo Picasso: “Good artists copy. Great artists steal.” Hey, that’s what all those award books are really for, right?

But I’m also reminded of a good technique for pushing past a pre-existing form. I’m not sure where I read this, but it was originally related to copywriting and the use of a “swipe file,” which is a file of ads and other marketing materials that one thinks are singularly effective.

The key was this: rather than re-execute the original, create the sequel.

Many designers believe that marketing the widest range of services to the largest possible group is the path to success. You’d rather be a generalist because you think you’ll get more business. And on one level it makes sense: the more opportunities you have to make a sale, the more sales you are likely to make. But in reality it doesn’t work that way. In fact, success comes to those who focus on (more…)

Several years ago, we hired a pet-sitting company to give our dogs a walk on occasional days when our work schedules meant too long a stretch for canine comfort. At first, things seemed to go well enough. But after a few weeks, the company failed to show up on several agreed-upon days and our poor dogs bore the brunt of the no-show.

Initially, I thought it was a scheduling snafu or a miscommunication. I tried to be more clear, and requested call-backs to confirm. It didn’t work. When I called one of the owners directly to address my concerns, her response hit me right between the eyes: “You’ve got no right to question us when you never even pay your bill on time!” she said angrily. (more…)

404 Not Found! 403 Forbidden! What better way to send your site visitors away then with an ugly error message? A user who encounters an error message on your site may have the good sense to head back to your home page, or, more likely, will turn tail and find some other site.

But with some clever crafting of custom error message pages, you can help users feel comfortable and quickly direct them to a working part of your website.

Pandemedia.biz has a simple 404 page design that immediately clues users in to where they are and how they may have ended up at a dead end. A basic link, as well as global navigation bar, is used to get you back to the home page safe and sound.

There are dozens of possible error codes that can be reached, but the most common for average web users are 404 Not Found (the file requested isn’t on the server), 403 Forbidden (the file request is there, but the server won’t let you access it, possibly for server permissions reasons), and 401 Unauthorized (the file is there, but authentication is needed to access it). Depending on your site, (more…)

You asked your legal, copyright and trademark questions, and Jean has answered! All questions are taken from comments posted on the original ‘Ask Jean’ post. We invite you to ask more questions.

Dear Jean,

This is regarding architect’s sketched design solutions that are produced after a request from a client, but without prior fee or professional appointment agreement.

How can I protect my copyright of the sketch design solutions that I have labored over? Do I simply show and discuss the scheme to the client, but not release or handover copies of the work? Or, do I go about formally copyrighting all sketches legally and get my fee proposal signed before issuing copies? After the agreement is made for my services, presumably the copyright of the work is still retained by me?

(more…)

Imagine that it’s a Saturday night and you’re headed to the movies with friends. There’s a new blockbuster movie and people whose taste you trust have told you it’s a must-see. Picture yourself buying your ticket and joking around with friends while standing in the concession line. Imagine the taste of the popcorn as you share a bucket with the friends sitting next to you. Imagine the trailers for upcoming flicks.

Now the blockbuster you’ve come to see begins. Let’s say, for the sake of our imagination, that it’s The Simpsons Movie.

Do you stand up and shout to the audience, “This is ridiculous! You’ve wasted your time and money! The Simpsons don’t really exist! It’s not believable! I beg you to stop listening to this!”

Of course you don’t. Hopefully. If you do, I don’t imagine your friends invite you to the movies very often. (more…)

The other day I got into a discussion about where a blog should be placed on a retail site, and it got me thinking in general about where blogs or community content should appear on any site that isn’t primarily a community site, retail or otherwise. While I could spend time discussing how to handle URLs, how many posts to feature on the homepage, and other similar issues, these details are not that relevant. The best way to generate traffic for a blog (or blogs) is to integrate posts or blog promotions into the site in places where the blog content relates to the current section or page. (more…)

Ilise Benun

Ilise Benun thinks self-promotion is like exercise: it’s something that should be done everyday for a healthy financial future, but that we almost always find excuses to avoid. As a top marketing strategist in the creative world, Ilise teaches people like you to promote themselves and their business in her own consulting firm, Marketing Mentor, as well as in her blog, newsletter, and numerous speaking events. She’s also the author of five books and various articles featured in magazines like Inc., HOW, Nation’s Business, Self, Essence, and Working Woman. Notes catches up with her here after the release of her most recent book, The Art of Self Promotion, the compilation of twelve years of advice and wisdom from her eponymously named site.

Q: Sometimes marketing seems contrary to the goal of visual communication (in this mindset, high impact work is the best tool for attracting new business, and promotion is merely extraneous effort). Why doesn’t good work just ‘speak for itself’?

Ilise: Good work does sometimes speak for itself, but the point I would make is that it’s not nearly enough. It’s unrealistic (and often wishful thinking) to believe, as many artists do, that one’s work would speak for itself. That’s putting the cart before the horse. People have to know about the work—hear about it, see it somewhere—in order for it to “speak for itself.” Marketing is everything you do to get the work in front of the people (your target market) who will appreciate it so that it can speak for itself. (more…)

Most designers love design technology: the latest Adobe release, the hottest Apple hardware, the biggest Wacom tablet. But, as many of us learned this week, being an early adopter has its risks.

After releasing the $599 iPhone on June 29, Apple slashed the price to $399 on September 5. The early adopters were none too pleased—so displeased, in fact, that within hours, attorneys general were contacted and class action lawsuits were suggested.

Apple’s latest lineup is getting overshadowed by its iPhone price cuts.

Why so much upset over a price cut? After all, price cuts happen in technology all the time. The difference here is that the price was cut 33% in only two months—an unprecedented move that alienated Apple loyalists and ended up overshadowing Apple’s big news of the day. (more…)