Design

I love my website, but... does it love me?

2009-08-06T07:03:00.000-07:00

Are you getting the love back from your website?

Sites, almost like plants, need care. Designing your site and then leaving it untended to wilt or die will do nothing to promote your product or brand.

The Web is far too important for new clientele and your marketing program to be ignored.

How do you measure up on the web? When should you redesign your site? Are there any guide lines to follow?

In fact, there’s no one-size-fits-all way to make that determination, but here’s a list of three factors that will help you decide if it is time to redesign your web site.

1. Competition

Are you facing new competition? Are you noticing that existing competitors are getting ahead, or are your clients choosing their product or services over yours? If so, now’s the time to redesign your site. Your competitors will most likely be taking a new approach to promoting their services online and using new trends in social marketing. Take a look at how you stack up against your competition on the Web! Odds are that you’re falling short.

2. Branding

Has your company's vision, brand identity or product offering changed? If so you need – at minimum – to update your website’s pages. At most, you may need to redesign the site to show the new brand messaging and logo, and vision of the company.

3. Outdated Look and Feel

Be honest: does your site look like old or outdated (hint – a lot has changed in the last few years…)? Unless your brand is a totally retro, you should consider a redesign. The way you present yourself online is the first experience most prospects will have with your company, and users make quick decisions about you based upon your web site design. If the site is outdated, users will move on.

Next Steps

Once you’ve identified that it is time to redesign, write down the main reason. Is the competition’s product services getting more then the usual attention? Is it a rebranding initiative? Are you feeling discouraged by the look and feel of your site? Maybe all your company needs is a design refresh.

Then give Axon a call. Give us your main reason for the redesign and we can begin the process of creating the new website that will love you back.

Lauren Myers
Lead Designer & Project Manager

Simple Design Affords Big Results

2009-07-08T07:24:00.000-07:00

Why is it that we, as consumers, can instantly recognize an Apple product when we see one? Hint: it isn't just the logo.

Apple Inc. has created an extremely powerful brand. Part of that is functional; whether you own an iPhone, a MacBook Pro or a version of their software, the user always comes first and you're hooked by its simplicity and the intuitive way you learn to use it.

But it goes further than that. Everything Apple - its website, its stores, and all of their products - creates an experience that's memorable for a user and absolutely consistent with their brand. Visual design is a huge component of that.

Design is a major reason why consumers select one product over another. As consumers, most of us are first attracted to a product because of the way it looks, and secondarily by the way it functions. We immediately make assumptions about what it does based on appearance, and if it performs the way we expect, we become happy, loyal, repeat customers.

Apple's visual design evolves, but it does so carefully. Apple absolutely understands the rules of design - color, hierarchy, simplicity, alignment, contrast. They're willing to make bold visual statements that catch people off guard (example: the iPod's white earphone cords) but they're also careful to keep proven Apple design concepts in place when they move the bar.

As Apple has evolved its product line, there is one design element that truly stands out: its proportion of curved edges to straight lines. A direct comparison is the shape of an Apple laptop and the shape of the Apple iPhone. Both have evolved over time but the ratio of corners to the length of each side has, for the most part, remained consistent. Clearly, this simplicity in design has worked well for them.

When it comes to design, there's one tool Apple employs that no one else can: the Steve Jobs. Every product leaving the Cupertino headquarters has been scrutinized by him and his exacting standards that cover everything from the curve of the corner of a monitor to the exact pixel dimensions of dialogue box in the OS to the number of screws located on the bottom of a laptop. This might seem totalitarian, but you can't argue with what works.

Oh, and just for fun... what would happen if Microsoft were to design Apple's packaging? Click here to find out.

Matthew Scheumnan
Graphic Designer

The Importance of Good Site Navigation

2009-05-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

It happens all too often: you go to a website and become frustrated because you can't find what you're looking for.

Unless it's an entertainment site, users generally don't have the time or patience to learn a navigation system different from the norm. Your navigation menu must intuitively highlight the most important content.

Although there are many different navigation schemes, most fit into one of three categories: left navigation, top navigation and right navigation, so designated because of where the common tools are found in the browser window.

The most popular is the left navigation menu, which follows from the Western cultural norm of reading from left to right. Right navigation is (deservedly) the least popular because it is often the last item that viewers see, but it can work well as a secondary menu that visitors will see after reading the content on the page.

Top navigation is used to open up the area below, and has the advantage of allowing more space for more content. But it's pretty easy to abuse, too - for example, many top-nav sites that open up a new line of links below the primary bar that requires us to carefully trace our mouse pointers down a narrow band to get to the link we want. If you wander so much as a pixel outside, you're toast. Most annoying.

Choosing link names is extremely important. The primary navigation menu links the important parts of the website, so the link names need to be short, descriptive and leave no doubt where they lead. Properly selected link names also make your site more visible to search engines.

From a design perspective, the menu must stand out and remain consistent across the website so that visitors are always able to find it.

Your navigation scheme should be designed so that a visitor can enter your website on any page and be able to see both where they are and where they can go. Make sure everything is easily accessible - nothing should more than 3 clicks deep.

Finally, make sure to test the implementation of your menu! User testing is the best way to find out if your navigation is effective. Have testers try to find specific information throughout the site and report back. You want to find out if they were able to do so easily - or if the site did not lead them accordingly, so that you can re-structure. Take the feedback and make sure to use it!

You want happy visitors who are likely to return, not get overwhelmed and quickly hit the back button like I did here ...

Seeing Green All Around Your Office

2009-04-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

We all spend so much time at the office that it only makes sense that the workspace is perfect place to green up our lives - and, possibly, save some money.

Here are a few practical steps to get you on a greener track or help you enhance your practice.

Look into your lighting - Turn off the lights when you're leaving any room for 15 minutes or more, and always utilize natural light when you can. Try investing in some Energy-Star lighting; it may be worth the investment you won't have to replace bulbs as often.
Maximize your computer efficiency - Make it a habit to turn off your computer (and yes this includes the power strip that is plugged in) when you leave for the day. Make sure you know when the IT department is doing backups of your computer - that's the time to leave it on. Screen savers may save screens, but they don't save energy. Set your computer to "sleep" after short periods of time. Find places that will recycle your old equipment. Old computers that still work can be donated to organizations that will refurbish them. You may even get a tax deduction.
Print smarter... digitize! - Make it a habit to print both sides, or use the back-side of old documents for scrap paper. Paperless is in, so websites and intranets are your greatest advantage. Use emails or online forms to collect important information or communicate with clients and staff. Do it yourself, print both sides, or use the back-side of old documents for scrap paper.
Recycle - Make it a habit to recycle everything you can. Just about any kind of paper you encounter in your office - including fax paper, envelopes, and junk mail - can be recycled. Make it easier for others in the office to remember by placing recycling bins in accessible, high-traffic areas. Recycle your bottles. We exchange ours for cash and bring it back into the office for supplies, such as...
Cleaning with eco-friendly materials - Make it a habit to use nontoxic cleaning products. They really don't cost much more and most work just as well. Brighten up your cubicle with plants, which absorb indoor pollution. You can even go as far as to buy furniture, carpeting, and paint that are free of volatile organic compounds and won't give off toxic chemicals.

Tweet tweet, what are you doing today?

2008-08-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

Since 2006 more and more people have moved toward the world of Twitter (1) and micro-blogging. With as many as 140 characters you can sum up your emotions, interactions, observations, and life then broadcast to anyone and everyone. The compact nature of this medium allows for the ability to easily ship your moment to moment actions in a the blink of an eye to email inboxes, cell phones, desktop applications, or web sites.

Still not sure what Twitter is?

How about this...

Twitter is like glorified facebook statuses

Twitter lets anyone see your mini-updates

Still no?

Let's try a story...

Two of my friends have logged on to my twitter account and decide they really like to read about what I'm doing.

Each decides they want to know more about what I'm doing, enough so that they create their accounts.

One friend sets up his account to work with his cell phone so that not only can he submit his own updates, but he will receive a text message everytime I update mine with my updates.

The other friend not only configures his account to send him email with my updates but takes the rss feed from my account and puts it on his web site. Now, everyone who visits him can see what I'm doing as well. (I'm so popular!)

Is it really worth it?

After reading about twitter in places like Digg (a user generated news site) and hearing about it on shows like TWIT (This Week in Tech podcast) I was eager to register for my own account. To date, I have managed a total of 15 posts, attempted to find some friends, and even configured my cell phone so I could update and be updated from anywhere.

Unfortunatly, where all my expectations of twitter resided lives nothing but a vaccuum. I have no friends to follow, no news to read but my own and there is no one waiting for the next bit of knowledge about my life that makes me want to spend my precious seconds tapping away on my phone.

While Twitter may fall prey to the rise and fall of many other social networks (Friendster?) where friends leave for something better or perhaps it will carve out a niche from the giants like Facebook and Myspace and thrive.

Until then, you can subscribe to my twitter feed if you want to know what I'm doing...now....NOW...no NOW!

ashaman212: is waiting for something to happen.