Inner Circle Media

In 2009 BIG fonts are still all the rage!

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Since it’s January 2009, it seems the trendy thing to do is to talk about web design trends for the coming year (and you know how I like to be oh-so trendy). Smashing Magazine put out a good list of the top 10 trends for 2009 (they’ll expand the list in the coming months and present some color trends too). The list of trends provides good fodder for web designers in need of inspiration; however, I found that most of the “trends” have been around for the past few years and became increasingly popular in 2008. So technically, these aren’t new or upcoming� trends; they are the current style.

Just for fun, here are design trends from the past two years:

2008 Design Trends
Best of CSS Design 2007

You’ll notice that many of the old “trends” continue to hang around. I’d argue that’s because they aren’t trends, they’re standards in typography and layout that have been around for eons – in newspapers, books, propaganda posters, and even the art world.� This year’s trends – including letterpress, huge typography, font replacement, the “magazine look,” and introduction blocks – are all standards from the world of print design. PNG transparency is the web’s take on the use of background images and collage. By comparison, rich user interfaces, modal boxes, media blocks, and carousels (slideshows) are the trends that are truly WEB trends because they rely on technology and interactivity, and can’t be achieved in print.

I appreciated a few of the smart comments on the Smashing Magazine article. One said, “I always like hearing about trends.. gives me guidance on what NOT to do too often.” I know what he means. As a designer, it’s often easier to follow the pack and create designs that look like everyone else’s stuff, but your work will be stronger if you worry less about the current fashion and more about what the user wants/needs to most effectively interact with the site you’re designing.

Also noted in one of the comments – “There are no such things as web design trends, only good, appropriate design.” Clearly trends in print media, TV, video, and most importantly user experience are influencing and guiding us on our path as web designers. I think in coming years we’ll continue to learn that ease of use can be beautiful. � On that note, keep an eye on the ways mobile devices affect design styles in the coming years. Here are some inclinations – Mobile Web Design Trends For 2009 (again from Smashing Magazine).

And in case you’re desperate for one more list of trends for the year – here’s an informative list of the 20 Internet Marketing Trends for 2009 from Start Up Nation. Good stuff!

On occasion we have a client who asks, “If one website is good for my business, then doesn’t it stand to reason that 2, 3, 4 or more sites would be even better?” The answer is “MAYBE – It all depends on your audience.”If you serve just one audience, then one website is probably all you need.

If you serve multiple audiences, you should first determine – are their information needs different enough to warrant separate websites? If yes, then perhaps you should have multiple websites geared specifically at each audience.

………………..

For the sake of example, here’s a story…

Imagine you sell goats. For the past 20 years your target audience has been people who buy your goats for milk production. You’ve had a website for the past 6 years that promotes your goats’ abilities to make prolific amounts of tasty, nutritious milk.

Then you get a phone call one day. Someone visited your website and wants to know if your goats are good grazers. You say, “Why sure, our goats are good grazers. They eat just about anything, but they prefer to eat the finest clover hay which makes their milk taste ever-so-sweet.”

And the caller says, “Oh no, I don’t want your goats for milk production. I started a new company called Rent-A-Goat Services. We’re looking for friendly goats to use as an efficient, holistic, environmentally healthy approach to weed control. It sounds like your goats wouldn’t be good for this since they’ve been spoiled on the finest clover hay. I’ll call someone else. Toodle-loo.”

Initially, you are surprised, but because you are such a brilliant entrepreneur, you recognize a new market for your goats. Immediately you call your favorite web design company and get started on a new website that promotes your goats as the world’s most voracious weed eaters. Six months later you’ve sold more goats than the previous five years combined. You decide to establish a company called, “Hungry Goat Staffing Services.” A year later you are the preferred goat provider to Rent-A-Goat Services all over the country. Two years later you decide to sell your goat staffing company and move to Tuscany to learn Italian, drink good Chianti, and perfect your Mostaccioli recipe.

You get the picture? If you decide you need more than one website, keep these things in mind:

1. Multiple sites can be good for your search engine ranking - because you can cross link between sites and because you’ll have multiple search engine listings.

2. Managing multiple sites can be time-consuming. Don’t spread yourself to thin. If you can’t handle the maintenance of several sites, then just stick with one.

3. Don’t cannibalize from your other sites. If you set up two or three sites that market the same product, they may compete for visitors and may not help you increase market share.

………………..

By the way, Rent-A-Goat is the real deal. We don’t make this stuff up!

There really are Rent-A-Goat services sprouting up around the country. Here’s a link to one in San Francisco City Crazing.

For small lawns and those hard to reach places…

… consider baby pigmy goats. They’re cute, bouncy, always hungry, and many people will think they’re just strange looking cats – which means you can keep them in your backyard in Ann Arbor. Perhaps they’ll become friends with your flock of urban chickens.

Last week one of our websites (Saint Joseph Academy) won an award. Yahoo!

For 9 years, the Troy Chamber of Commerce has held its Helen eWards for Web Excellence.� This year over 200 sites were submitted to the competition by many Michigan-based web design and development companies.� Our site for Saint Joseph Academy, a private school in Lenawee County, won in the category of “Informational Resource.” This site is jam-packed with lots of easily accessible information. One of the esteemed judges, Jim Taylor Oakland County’s eGovernment Chief, said he thought the site was a breeze to navigate and he loved the color-coded calendar – which was music to Karl the Coder’s ears because he worked for many agonous hours to make sure that calendar worked just right.

Secretly, we know that the real reason the St Joe’s site won was because it features huge, colorful photos of extra cute kids with big smiles and rosy, just-dying-to-be-pinched cheeks.� Gosh, they grow cute kids in Lenawee County! The only way we’ll top the cuteness on this site is if we design a site about fuzzy kittens and/or unbearably cute baby animals. Oh wait, those sites have already been done, and they’re where we spend most of our time (when we’re not working on client projects of course!).

Here’s a photo of Catherine (our fearless leader) with Sheila (Web Mistress of St. Joe’s Academy) and yes, that’s Carol Cain, host of Michigan Matters and Detroit Free Press columnist.

Does your website look a bit rusty? Is it time for a fresh new site design? Often prospective clients come to us with websites that were built at the turn of the century (the 21st century that is), and they want to get a head start on planning for their new and improved site. If you are revved up to revamp your old, stagnant website, you can get a jump on the process by considering the following questions before you even meet with a web development company:

GOALS:

• What are the high level business goals for your company or organization?
• What are the goals for the new web site?
• How are those goals different from your previous website?
• How will you measure success of the new web site?

AUDIENCE & MESSAGE:

• Who is the primary audience? Secondary targets?
• What will visitors do on the site? Consider age, education level, gender, tech savvinesss, and any other visitor attributes that might help you understand how they’ll use your site.
• Please sum up your customer’s/audience’s needs and concerns in a sentence.
• What are your key marketing and communications messages?
• What does your audience think you do/are? What do you want them to think?

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN:

• Will the new site’s architecture differ from that of the current site?
• Have you established hierarchy and labeling for navigation for new site? (Global navigation/main buttons, local navigation/subsections, etc.)
• Has style guide been approved by your company? (i.e., colors, fonts, etc.)
• What is the desired site attitude/look and feel?
• What sites inspire you? What do you find appealing about these sites?
• Who are your competitors (or comparable organizations)?� What do you like/dislike about their sites?

CONTENT:

• Is content already prepared for the site, including illustrations, photography, and other graphic or audiovisual content?
• Who will write the content for your site? Who will be the main editor?
• Do you have a plan for creating, gathering, tracking, and managing site content assets prior to site development?
• How will the site be maintained?
• Will you use a Content Management System (CMS?
• Do you have a specific CMS in mind?

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION:

• Search Terms: Please list the most common terms that users might type into Google to look for a company/organization/service like yours:
• Outgoing Links: Please list sites that your site links to.
• Incoming Links: Please list websites that already link to your site.

FUNCTIONALITY, IMPLEMENTATION, INTEGRATION, AND LAUNCH:

• What functionalities will the site incorporate? � Here are some possible items you might want to consider: keyword-based site search, advanced search (specific parameters – i.e. search by last name, title, city, etc.), Flash / animated areas of site, blog, discussion forum, wiki, RSS feeds, online forms, online surveys or polls, eCommerce/shopping cart, online donations, event calendar, event registration, photo gallery, video clips, audio clips/podcasts, web cams, advertising/sponsorship, member/user management, password protected content
• Do you have/use a database for contacts, membership, products, etc.? Do you want your site to tie to your database?
• Do you have any requirements for how the site is built? i.e. you would prefer the use of open source technologies.
• Are there any 3rd party applications which will integrate with the site?
• Did you buy your domain name(s) yet?
• Do you have a hosting company in mind?
• Who will test the website? (It’s best to test the beta site with at least 7-10 actual site visitors)

If you complete this long list of questions, you’ll be well on your way to a well-planned website. But hey – you’re not off the hook yet. This is just the start. You should expect (or even demand) that your chosen web company bombard you with further questions.

This may sound crazy coming from a business owner trying to grow her company, but we send away business every day. When prospective clients call, we ask a bunch of probing questions, and when it makes sense, we direct them to a trusted group of web freelancers. But, why would a company EVER send business away? Because a good fit is vital to a good outcome!How do you know who’s right for your next web project? Here’s some quick guidance on how to choose between a freelancer and a web development shop:

Reasons to Choose a Freelancer:

• You want a basic informational site.
• Your budget is limited (i.e. under $3-5 K).
• You’ve already designed your site; now you need someone to code it.
• Conversely, you need someone to design your site, and you’ll have one of your in-house techies code the site.
• You already have a decent website; you just need someone to help you make changes or additions.

Reasons to Choose a Web Development Firm:

• Your new website will be complex – perhaps it’s database-driven, with a login area, an online store, and a content management system.
• You want to work with a team with a wide breadth of expertise – marketing, search engine optimization, design, programming, animation, video for the web – you want your web team to have it all.
• You want to hang out in a funky, orange office (+ spend time with Norm the dog).

If you’re still not sure who would build you the best website, you might consider talking to both freelancers and web shops. Here are some considerations when interviewing one-woman shops vs. larger companies:

Considerations when choosing a freelancer:

• What’s in the freelancer’s portfolio? Do you like their work?
• Does s/he ask the right questions, listen intently, and understand your goals?
• Do you have a good fit with the freelancer? (This is important since it’s a one-on-one relationship.)
• How quickly can the freelancer complete the work?
• Does the freelancer build websites part-time? Do they have a day job?

Considerations when choosing a web firm:

Almost 2 years ago, I wrote a blog post about this very topic. It tells you what questions to ask when choosing a web development firm. Here’s the link – Choosing a Web Firm: 20 Questions For Prospective Web Developers. The next time you come talk to us about a web project, make sure to ask these questions, and give me a dose of my own medicine!

Recently I spent an hour in a room with representatives from five other Ann Arbor web design/development companies. We’re all bidding on a job with the university, and we attended an informational session where we asked questions and the prospective client provided answers. These types of meetings are fun for two reasons – you get to actually talk to the prospect AND you get to size up your competitors.

A little background on the project – the proposed site is modest in size. The most functionally complex site elements are a calendar and a keyword search. The client asked for wireframes, designs, and coded templates. They will develop a site diagram; they will build out and maintain the site.

It’s also important to note that the person answering our questions was a graphic designer by training. She is not a webbie. She doesn’t know much about information architecture, coding, user testing, or search engine marketing; she knows nothing about programming, frameworks, servers, etc. She just wants someone to design and code templates for her new site. That’s it. Fortunately, this thoughtful woman wanted to gather all of the bidders together to help us think about her project and decide if we want to bid. She kindly tried to answer our questions and was as open as she could be about the project.

After the meeting, I assessed the situation and here’s what I learned about my competitors: They really want to show what they know. More specifically, they wanted to tell the prospective client (and everyone else present) that they are web development experts. They did this by grilling the prospect about details of the project. They asked things like –

• “Would you like us to assure compliance to usability heuristics?”
• “Do you plan to do the requirements engineering?”
• “Don’t you think we should also develop landing pages for your online marketing campaigns?”
• “Will you add user behavior notes to your home and subpage wireframes?”

Now I’m not saying these are necessarily bad questions, but they probably aren’t appropriate questions for a not-so-web-savvy graphic designer. After many of these questions, the poor woman answered by saying, “Honestly, I have no idea what you just asked me.” I often found myself trying to translate the question into common language, so she could at least attempt an answer.

When I had the chance, I asked some questions that probably seemed rather simple to everyone in the room. I asked – Why do you want to build a new website? How will the new site help your organization? What role will you play with the new site? Will you be leading the project on your side? What matters most to you about this project?

No, these questions do not demonstrate my web expertise, nor do they highlight the capabilities of my company. But hopefully they do show that I want to understand the reasons for the new site AND I care about the prospect’s personal thoughts and concerns. Because we were in a room full of people, I doubt that the prospect felt any special connection with me, but I can tell you this – she didn’t have trouble deciphering or answering my questions. And at the end of the meeting, she called me by name.

Here at Inner Circle Media we’re somewhat resistant to formal job titles. In my previous life, I worked for a stuffy, corporate, hierarchical company where we had job titles like Senior Quality Liaison and International Documentation Coordinator. To me these titles were BS, and they often caused bickering and divisiveness because people would argue about who had what title. It was not uncommon to hear someone exclaim, “But why am I only a senior coordinator and not an associate or even a junior supervisor?!” (I’m so glad I never figured out the difference!)

So, when Catherine and I started Inner Circle, we decided to let our team members come up with their own job titles. That way, our team members can decide what they do best and how they’d like to define their role. And because they’re creating their own titles, they are all theirs. If they decide in six months that their title no longer fits their role, they can CHANGE IT.

This past week our brilliant new team member, Karl, was trying to figure out the title he’d like listed on his business cards. We suggested many possibilities – production assistant, web coder, digital developer – but none of them were quite sexy enough. So Karl created this handy little tool to generate his title. Personally, I love WEB CODE BOY. Give it a try, and let me know which one you like best.

………………

Share and Enjoy:

In March, our company (Inner Circle Media) built a web-based tool for the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority that allows visitors to the DDA website to see how many parking spots are available in each parking structure downtown. That means that right now you can check the DDA site to figure out where to park before you make the trek downtown. Isn’t that nifty?!

Last year the DDA and Republic Parking invested in equipment (signs, servers, etc.) to display the number of available parking spots on electronic signs outside each structure. We worked with Republic Parking to make this parking information available online. Right now the DDA site is the only spot to find this info, but soon other downtown organizations may incorporate our widget into their sites as well. Read an interview with Stephen Smith (IT Manager at Republic Parking + DDA technology consultant) on Teeter Talk where he explains the project (and yes, he did the interview while on a teeter totter with a storm approaching).

During the next phase of the project, we’ll make the widget accessible for hand-held devices (PDAs, phones, etc.). Neato!

WARNING: If you want to read a blog post that justifies and commiserates with your dissatisfaction at work – then please do NOT read any further! This post is about how each of us is ultimately responsible for our own happiness at work. It’s not up to our bosses, managers, or co-workers to make us happy. If we’re not happy at work, we only have ourselves to blame. Yep, if you’re unhappy, it’s your own fault.
(Sorry, I warned you.)

Perhaps this sounds a bit harsh, but let’s take an honest look at ourselves. Each of us has a choice in tough situations. We can complain to our co-workers, feel angry, and drag our feet on the job, OR we can happily rise to the challenge, help our team, and feel satisfied in the work we’re doing together.

Let’s say my boss asks me to work on a last minute project. She says, “Hey, could you please jump in and help with this big, complicated website launch? By the way, it needs to be done by tomorrow morning…”

I have a choice in how I respond. If I choose to whine, procrastinate, get angry, who does this hurt? ME! Hmm, so that choice would just suck on many levels. So what’s the other choice? I know that by taking on the task, I can really help our company in a time of need – plus, my boss is sooo nice that she’d surely give me comp time if I worked all night

So maybe I’m just a freak-nerd who likes to enjoy my time at work (I definitely am), but I’ve learned that …

1) Being angry is a big waste of time, and life is short.
2) The people around us can sense the negativity we are putting out, and that’s no fun.
3) When we are negative, we are making the CHOICE to be unhappy. Worse yet, maybe it’s not even a truly conscious choice!

Here are my tips for finding happiness at work - even when projects are due, unhappy clients are calling, and your coworker is chirping about how she hates Mondays …

1. Catch yourself in the moment. Have you ever gotten angry about some little thing that happened at work and hours later you find yourself at home – or maybe even back at work the next day – still in a horrible mood? Well, I have. It’s really so easy to convince ourselves that we are completely justified in our unhappiness, isn’t it? In fact, most of the time we might not even realize that we are just unnecessarily hanging on to unhappiness; we have unconsciously gotten stuck! OK, so how do we get un-stuck? First we need to notice that we’re stuck, and then we can try to make a conscious choice to get unstuck. What if we could catch ourselves right in the moment that grumpiness sets in, and say, “Man, I’m so totally annoyed, but I’m going to choose to NOT go with that feeling. I’m going to do something different, because I WANT to be happy”? (Even if so-and-so is a complete pain in the rump – which may very well be the case.)

2. Do something different this time. OK, so maybe I’m feeling grumpy about a task that I’ve been assigned. I could whine and moan, or I could just do it. Yes indeed, instead of being unhappy about it, I could choose to meet the work head on, enjoy the challenge, and celebrate the fact that I’ve been given the chance to do my best (for our business AND internally for myself). Here’s another one: What if I’m feeling annoyed with a co-worker because THEY’RE complaining about work? Well, I can try to consider that maybe that co-worker doesn’t realize he’s gotten stuck in negativity, AND, since I know that sometimes I get stuck too– how can I hold it against them?!� Instead, maybe something as simple as a kind gesture or a joke could help him get un-stuck (laughter at work is really, really, good).

The bottom line is this – being happy at work feels really good, and it’s up to each of us to find our bliss in our work environment. We need to learn to recognize when we’re unhappy and take steps to change our reaction to situations – because when we’re happy we tend to find more creative solutions, we’re more productive, we feel less stressed out, and we’re more fun to be around. And who doesn’t want that?!

Interested in more ways to find happiness at work?
See what The Chief Happiness Officer, Alexandar Kjerulf, has to say on the topic.