Design in Context: A Web Design Blog by Greg Kihlstrom

Web Usability: the 99 cent version

Let me start by saying this:  if you are in the process of setting up multiple focus groups and utilizing the latest in eye-tracking software, etc. etc. then I'm not writing this article for you. 

This is for those of you that have outline 'usability' as one of the goals for your new small to medium-sized corporate or organizational Web site. It would be nice to have all the fancy equipment and human research at your disposal, but there just isn't the time or the budget to do so.

So what do we mean by usable? That's really the issue.  And for this, the 99 cent version, I'm going to boil basic Web site usability down into 3 rules:

People are able to use and enjoy interactive experiences because:

1) The labels, icons, buttons and directions are meaningful because of their context
2) The experience is similar to interactions they have had previously with other sites/content
3) They have a deep understanding of the content

Let's start with #1: The labels, icons, buttons are meaningful because of their context.
This is something like on a site for pest control - like http://www.americanpest.net a visitor to the Web site knows automatically what "Schedule an Appointment" means because they have searched for a Web site that can help them with their pest control needs.  If there was a button for "Schedule an Appointment" on the side of this blog, it would not be so readily apparent what it was for.

2. The experience is similar to interactions they have had previously with other sites/content. Shopping cart sites work solely on this principle in my opinion.  Whose idea was it to call it a "Shopping Cart" in the first place? At this point, it doesn't even matter - we're so used to our online shopping using a "cart" that we "add items" to that the metaphor doesn't even have to make sense.

At the same time, if you are redesigning your corporate Web site and you want to have a section devoted to an overview of your company's history, mission, etc., please call it "About" or "About us" or maybe even "About [company name]" if you like a lot of words.  People know what that means because they see it all the time.  "Who we are," "What we do," are fairly straightforward but again... is there a reason why you're not using conventions that people are used to.  If you can back it up, by all means do it. Rules are there to... well you know the rest.  But just don't complain to me if people end up saying your site isn't very "usable."

3 - They have a deep understanding of the content

I saved this one for last because this is a trouble one.  Who has the deepest understanding of your company's content?  Most likely, ... YOU. Basically, you need to remember that, while YOU understand the subtle nuances of everything about your business, a casual visitor might not.  Part of my job as a Web Designer is to help distill that information, but it always helps when my clients are prepared to take a step back from their 'baby' and look at things as objectively as possible.

This is, of course, why there ARE focus groups and usability studies.  Because, everyone who gets involved in a project eventually becomes emotionally or intellectually involved in the project and it gets harder and harder to be objective.  Fortunately, for most smaller projects it's something that is a little easier to do with a little practice.

Best of luck... and if you DO need a usability study done, call me.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Greg RS Kihlström is an award-winning Designer and is currently Creative Director at Carousel30, a Washington, DC-based firm that specializes in Web site Design, Video Production and Post-Production and Print Graphic Design.

 

Web 2.0 for Small Businesses, Part 1

All this buzz about Web 2.0 has been centering around two things: Large companies and startups.  But there's plenty in this whole thing they call "Web 2.0" for smaller organizations.  In fact, some of the technologies and methods of connecting with customers are a way of levelling the playing field, so smaller companies can appear larger.  You don't have to be a large company to have blogs - we all know this, of course, because large companies have actually come into the blogging game a little late.  But they are catching on fast.  Smaller companies that can make quicker decisions and have more direct contact with their customers are able to build a more personal network more quickly.

And that's what Web 2.0 is really about: tapping into social networks of people that are already talking about the subjects that your potential customers are interested in.  The trick is to get them to notice YOUR product and company and create something that is useful, inventive and unique enough to get conversations going about it.

Does your company need a Myspace account?  That depends, and, I'm going to say it might not.  But there are plenty of other ways to get people talking about you. Part of what my company, Carousel30, does is to help companies and organizations find ways to get influencers to start conversations that involve your company's products or services.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Greg RS Kihlström is an award-winning Designer and is currently Creative Director at Carousel30, a Washington, DC-based firm that specializes in Web site Design, Video Production and Post-Production and Print Graphic Design.

 

There's a REASON to Skip an Intro

Some sites still have a 'Skip Intro' button. What's even more disturbing is that these sites have an intro that you are given the option to SKIP. Imagine:  an entire page designed like an unwanted television commercial that keeps you from getting to the content that you are looking for.

I'm sure that someone, somewhere is saying that there is STILL a need for these types of communications in some cases.  I welcome your comments, because I have yet to actually  see something like this used where I think to myself, "an animated Intro is actually what I want to see right now."

Let's back up for a minute.  See, 10 years ago or so - maybe even 6-8 years ago - when Flash was in its first few versions, some designers thought it would be a cool idea to create an Intro animation that served as a sort of 'Opening Credits' to a Web site.  Just like a feature film.  Well, as well-intentioned as it might have been, this idea began turning up everywhere, including many places that it should never have even been tried.  Corporate Web sites have no need of a Flash intro, and they never, ever, ever did.  Film sites tried it and were a little more successful at it.  Design firm sites tried it.  But after a little while, we began to notice that wherever there was one of these Intros, there was a little button or link that said "Skip Intro." This was definitely a fix for the problem.

But the problem is bigger than that.  These intros hurt Search Engine rankings, they offer little to no useful content, they are many times an ego-booster to the designer of the site or the owner of the company and, most importantly of all:  YOUR CUSTOMERS DON'T WANT TO SEE ANOTHER COMMERCIAL.  They fast-forward through television commercials, ignore banner ads, stopped reading the newspaper, and now you finally have them seeking you out on the Web and what do you do?  You offer them an unneccessary advertisement that they need to ignore.  When someone comes to your home page, this is an opportunity to build trust, to share your expertise and to give the potential customer a chance to connect with your products or services. 

Make sure that this first impression your customer has of you is an honest one.  Animations, flash text, video - these are all things that have their place.  Many sites that I've designed have had had these elements on them, but remember:  Design in Context.  Animation is used to create interest, not to divert interest.  The point is that the visitors to your site find the information they are there to get.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Greg RS Kihlström is an award-winning Designer and is currently Creative Director at Carousel30, a Washington, DC-based firm that specializes in Web site Design, Video Production and Post-Production and Print Graphic Design.

   

5 Web sites I am thankful for...

Yes, the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday was contagious.  Here's a few sites that I'm thankful for.  There probably aren't any shockers on here.  There's plenty of much more fun sites out there, but there's something to be said for the dependable sites that always deliver what they're supposed to.

1) Technorati
It's really  just the best site about blogs. Like they say... "55 million blogs... some of them have to be good..."  Some of them are good.  Most are bad, but some are that special kind of bad that is just ... good.

2) Quicktime
I know - this is a pretty old school one, but it's still my favorite place to watch movie trailers.  Because some times sitting through them for 30 minutes in the theater just isn't enough.

3) Google Maps
For some reason I'm still amazed at this technology even though it's been out for a while. Regardless, I find myself getting lost less easily using Google vs. Mapquest.  My only request is that someone find a way for me to download addresses, routes onto my car's GPS.

4) iStockPhoto
There are tons of low-cost stock photo sites out there but for some reason I keep coming back here. I can almost always find a cheap photo to at least use in a design comp here.

5) Rotten Tomatoes
Sure, I still have my OWN opinions about movies... i think.  But it does help to know if the movie I've been looking forward to seeing just got a 25% according to the Rotten Tomatoes meter.  50% and below and I've learned to wait for it on cable...

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Greg RS Kihlström is an award-winning Designer and is currently Creative Director at Carousel30, a Washington, DC-based firm that specializes in Web site Design, Video Production and Post-Production and Print Graphic Design.

 

Before You Redesign Your Web site

It’s a familiar story. Your Web site was designed around the time when an upstart named Google was just getting their foot in the door of the Search Engine market. At the time, it was a great Web site. It might have even had some cool new features like some JavaScript rollovers or maybe even some Flash.

Unfortunately, times change. Those image rollovers that you used to think were innovative are now horribly outdated and your competition seems to have redesigned their Web site about every 6 months since yours went live several years ago. It’s time to redesign.

It sounds like such a great project that it couldn’t possibly go wrong, but trust me—the best of intentions can sometimes lead to costly business mistakes. The entire redesign process would take several of these articles to properly explain, but I’d like to talk about my 4 basic rules to remember BEFORE you start the process of a Web site redesign:

1. Determine EXACTLY what you want from your new Web site and be realistic.
A Web site redesign project can be as big or small as you want it to be. Some times the written content might be fine and a freshening of the interface is all that’s in order. Other times some Web applications might need to be developed to take online orders or allow members to log in.
No matter what you decide you need, remember that everything that you do needs to accomplish your businesses’ overall goals of increasing sales and retaining current customers. Anything outside of this might not be necessary.

Also, don’t be afraid to do things in phases. A lot of my Web design clients do things this way because it allows them to focus on immediate needs first. For instance, a client might have very poor Search Engine rankings because their old Web site was poorly developed and their tags are no good. But they also want user forums where their clients can discuss and ask questions. We might do 2 phases for a project like this. The first would get their Web site up to date with the latest Search Engine Optimization techniques, and once that is done and the Search Engines are re-indexing their pages, we will develop the other features that they want on their site, such as the member forums.

2. Choose a Designer wisely.
Choosing the right Web designer is obviously a huge part of your Web site redesign project. Even large corporations with a creative department will outsource this job to an outside firm a lot of the time. The right Web designer will display creativity, but will also be sensitive to the context in which their designs are going to be viewed.

For instance, for a high-priced law firm in Manhattan, a singing, dancing animated character, executed in Flash, would not be the right way to go. Make sure that the Web designer has made work that fits the client’s personality and vision, and not the other way around.

A lot of clients that come to my firm inquiring about a Web redesign want to see only work that is in THEIR industry. I think that finding a designer that ‘knows’ your industry is a valid one, though a GOOD designer will put the time and effort to learn an industry. To me, it’s more important that someone has the sensitivity and understanding to be able to work with ANY industry. Some times firms that specialize in only one industry begin to suffer from ‘tunnel vision’ or possibly even lose their creativity altogether because they are no longer challenged with learning new things.

Either way, taking an extensive look at a Web Designer’s portfolio will tell you a lot. And you might want to call a few references as well.

3. Don’t give in to fads and eye candy
As a Web Designer, it is my job to keep up with the latest and greatest software, plugins, trends and design ideas. While some of these are great tools, with every project that I tackle, I need to ask myself: “Does this tool—as cool as it looks—accomplish what the client wants to accomplish?” A lot of times it does, some times it doesn’t. For instance, I am a proponent of Flash because of the amount of interactivity and interest that it can add to a static Web page. But it only works when it is used properly and when it fits with the rest of the Web site. There are some times when animation, sound or video will just NOT work.

4. Remember why you’re doing it in the first place.
You are redesigning your Web site because your company wants to increase sales and retain current customers. If every single feature of your new Web site does not contribute to that, you need to reconsider why you are doing it. It’s not enough to just have a facelift every once in a while. A good Web site redesign can be costly and unless it is directly contributing to the growth of your company, you could easily put your marketing budget to better use.

The best Web site redesigns are the ones that take a company’s ideas and vision and portray it in a way that is attractive, easy to use and memorable. The features you add to your Web site that truly benefit your potential clients and current customers are the ones that will pay off tenfold in the long run.

Best of luck in your Web site redesign process.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Greg RS Kihlström is an award-winning Designer and is currently Creative Director at Carousel30, a Washington, DC-based firm that specializes in Web site Design, Video Production and Post-Production and Print Graphic Design.

 

META Tags Really Do Matter

This is gonna be a very quick post.  I didn't think that I'd ever have to post such obvious truths in this blog, but I'm some times surprised by what misinformation is out there.

1) <TITLE> tags are very important

2) <META> description tags are very important - the content of them shows up on the Search results page. 

3) <META> keyword tags are very important.  Not quite as important as they used to be, but trust me, they're important.

4) CONTENT on your pages is also very important.  Never forget that.  As Search Engine spiders get smarter, the actual, real content on your page matters more and more.

But please, don't let anyone tell you that you don't need <TITLE> or <META> tags.  And please, do me a favor.  Go to your Web site right now and "View the Source" of at least the home page.  If there are no <META> tags there, please add some.  For me.

Then go to your best friends' page.  You owe it to them.

What is "Clean" and "Professional"?

I have a lot of corporate clients and have been able to do some pretty fun work with them.  Sometimes, the work required is an overhaul of their main corporate Web site. As I was saying before, our process of working with a client is one where the Discovery phase comes first, where we go through several meetings to determine exactly what the goals for the project are.

When asking a basic question like: "What are some of your thoughts about the overall look and feel you'd like to present to your potential customers," I can't count how many times I've heard the words "clean" and "professional" come up in these conversations.  And that's great.  If I hear those words come up, I know that my client is probably thinking along the right lines for a corporate Web site.  The trick is determining what those words mean to those individuals and how that is going to be presented to THEIR customers.

Perhaps one of these reasons I became a designer instead of a writer is because I have a lot easier time turning an idea into something visual than putting it into words.  But don't forget for a minute that as a designer you have to be constantly listening and interpreting words, feelings, even emotions and hand gestures(!) to capture what is being expressed. So when I hear the word "clean," I don't simply go to what I think of as clean (Google is, in my opinion, a clean, albeit sterile, design, but we'll get to things like that in a later post), I keep asking questions, keep getting examples, keep doing research on their customers until I determine what "clean" in that context, in that specific instance, is.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Greg RS Kihlström is an award-winning Designer and is currently Creative Director at Carousel30, a Washington, DC-based firm that specializes in Web site Design, Video Production and Post-Production and Print Graphic Design.