Narcissism is not design. I don’t quite care if you’re a web designer or a graphic designer. If you profess yourself to be a designer with oomph (and I hope there’s pride in your work), you should get the idea that I am quite against narcissism in designers, having worked with many designers over the years. Continue reading »
It’s been a rather hectic time for us all here at Redbox Studio but we’re finally wrapping up before we welcome the Earth Rat.
Anyway, we’ll be taking a Chinese New Year break starting from 6 February (Wednesday) until 12 February (Tuesday). We will be back at work on 13 February.
Wishing you lots of good stuff this Earth Rat year and our e-card below features our late hamster, Cobee.
Of course, Cobee isn’t a rat. Yet she comes with a fantastic story - it is her website (yes, we designed and dedicated a website to her) which won us an award in 1999. See Cobee’s website at www.redboxstudio.com/cobee
A word of disclaimer though: while cute and ‘flashy’, this website was designed back in 1999 when we didn’t know what we know now. Plus it was designed for a website competition. But enjoy Cobee’s insights and philosophy all the same. 
She was a wise one, that hamster. This winning website netted us another 2 gorgeous hamsters in addition to the main prize but that’s another story for another blog post.
Anyhow, Cobee was an adventurous soul - she climbed and fell from our balcony (which was a good 20 feet from the ground) and still survived. Amazing!
While our hamster has passed on (hamsters have a lifespan of 2 to 3 years), this year we felt it is apt to celebrate Cobee’s adventurous spirit.
May you too have lots of adventures, big and small, to remember this year!
Gong Xi Gong Xi!
To CNY prosperity and wealth,
Nic
I have not been writing many articles lately (I used to write more in 2004 - 2006).
That could be due to the many things I have on my plate. Business is definitely growing [not that I am complaining! ] so that leaves me little time for writing.
I promised to share more information in this blog (as part of the resolutions for the year) so I am keeping to my end of the promise.
Writing has always been a stress-reliever. I quite enjoy sharing little tips and pointers plus it always helps me NOT to repeat myself when I speak to clients. I just email them the articles I’ve written so they can read for themselves in their free time.
So this time around, an article titled How to Build a Website that Search Engines Absolutely Love. Read it at http://ezinearticles.com/?id=930902. Ezine Articles is the only place I submit my articles to.
And once you’re done reading, come back and share with me what you think. Or even suggest some article titles - I’ll be happy to oblige with the articles.
To your website success,
Nic
I’ve been saying it over and over: get back to basics when you design your website.
Sure, it’s interesting to have Flash and all the new bells and whistles and apps when you plan for a website but it’s not about you.
I often tell clients this. No offense but the website is not designed for YOU.
Clients usually are taken aback with this statement.
They’re mystified.
Yes, my job is to design your website so that your website meets your clients’ needs. This is a reminder that needs to be hammered into people’s heads.
Because your website is NOT your toy. Repeat after me, your website is NOT your toy.
This means it’s not for your entertainment. It’s not for you to enjoy.
It’s to help you communicate with your customers better.
This reminds me of 2 important things which I want to tell you about.
One is Seth Godin’s Meatball Sundae, a new book that’s out now. If you know me, you know I am a big fan of Seth’s books. Seth is a brilliant marketer. He also speaks commonsense. He captures it perfectly by asking: is your marketing out of sync?
The title itself tells a story. Isn’t it gross to have sundae on top of meatballs? One is sweet, the other savoury. So both don’t gel. Not at all. If there’s only one thing you can take away from Seth’s book, it’s this: “understand that you don’t get to decide what the market demands. The market does.”
Do go and read the rest of Seth’s insightful stuff. You can also download some sample chapters. (Smart marketing. Like an appetiser, you’d want more after you read the first few chapters. That’s why smart bookstores let you read their unwrapped books because they KNOW you will buy the book, if not now, then later. Sooner or later.)
Besides Seth’s book (which I will probably buy), the other is of course Jakob Nielsen. This man speaks lots of commonsense, tempered with research results. In his latest finding, he says that Web2.0 can be dangerous.
Both Seth and Jakob are actually talking about the same thing if you read closely. They’re saying, use what you need. Not use the latest bling bling because it’s there and you need to look fashionable.
Sure, new bling bling can make you so ubercool. If you’ve been on Facebook, you can find a slew of new apps.
At first they’re exciting toys. But like all toys, their attractiveness fizzles out after a while. And we wait for the next app to come along and dazzle us for the next 5 minutes.
Web2.0, well, they’re not bad, says Nielsen, and I agree with that.
They just complicate matters with their complexity. And draw your customers away from what they’re there for.
The crux is: it’s best to stick to simple designs because simple designs work best. (Hear ye, hear ye). Which brings me to a conversation I had with a client recently - he asked why he couldn’t have flying objects on his website. Flying objects may be cute but they lose their appeal after the 2nd visit. And then what? What is the purpose of the objects that zoom about?
Everything has its function and place on a website. Items are not placed arbitrarily on a website, at least on websites which we design for clients. We don’t do something because it’s cute.
We ask ourselves: does this fulfill a function? Is it useful? Is it going to frustrate our client’s clients when they reach the website? If it is not going to do anything except look cute, why put it there?
Basically, go back to basics if you want to design a website which makes your clients happy. Happy means not confusing them. Happy means not making them search all over your website to find one phone number or one piece of information.
That’s what real web design is about.
Usability and accessibility.
And don’t make meatball sundaes either.
To your regular sundae success,
Nic
UPDATE: Download and read Seth’s free PDF called MisMatch (Riffs on Meatball Sundae) from ChangeThis. Love this site. If you want thought-provokers, this site has “manifestos” you can read to your heart’s delight!
This week I am going to talk about something important - shipping.
Shipping is one of those things which stump most people who start off on their e-commerce adventure. It’s also one of those things which most people don’t think seriously about or care much for, thinking it is one of those ‘trivial’ issues.
The big exciting concern is selling online, right?
Wrong. Continue reading »