We’ve all been to websites that offend our senses. It might be the copy, the color, too much flashing or that “something” you just can’t put your mouse on that sends you packing. In working with businesses in all industries and sizes the one common denominator is they all have a website. Unfortunately, not all of them are good and some are flat out annoying. Here are a few easy thought processes you can work through to help provide your visitors with a positive visit to your online office.
Be Clear About It’s Goal
I’m stupefied by the number of clients that …

Scott McCloud describes six elements of design in his visual textbook Understanding Comics.

• Two weeks ago I looked at idea and form, which sit at the core of the creative process.
• One week ago I examined idiom and structure, and what role they play in web design.
• Today we finish the journey by looking at craft and surface.

Craft
The craft is all the accumulated bits of knowledge and technique …

Nowadays information comes at us in a flood. Multiple TV stations run news 24-7, Twitter provides an unending stream of two line summaries of the universe, and no matter what topic interests you, there will never be a dearth of relevant blogs bringing out yet more stats and figures.

Sometimes it would be nice of somebody would just stop and take the time to take all this data that our ever expanding infosphere has made available, and turn it into something understandable.

Worry not: relief is in sight!

Designers and data analysts from around the web have been finding ways to fit …

Last week I wrote on idea and form.  These two elements of design are often decided internally before you even begin the search for a designer, and they sit at the core of the creative process outlined in Scott McCloud’s visual textbook Understanding Comics.

However, once you bring a developer into the process, they’re going to want to get at the infrastructure of the design, and for this we’ll need to move onto the next two layers….

Recently Scott Stiefvater and I were discussing the principles behind the CMS driven model of website design that MB/I favors.  In that conversation he mentioned the three levels of content and presentation (the core application, the modules, and the interface and display).  This reminded me of the six elements of design presented in Scott McCloud’s visual textbook Understanding Comics.

From inception to presentation these layers are: the idea, the form, the idiom, the structure, the craft, and the surface. This week I’d like to look at the two …

What do Good Presentations and Good Websites have in common?
It’s simply satisfying to attend a really good presentation. Although you may be one of many audience members, the speaker seems to connect directly with you. You leave, not just persuaded, but inspired to take action.

Now think about what business owners want to achieve with their websites. They want to connect with their web-surfing audiences and inspire them to action. Since the goals are similar, it only makes sense that the underlying principals are very much the same.
Attention to Audience
Too often, presenters fail to venture outside their own head as they …

We communicate with other people every day. Over the course of our lives we’ve developed verbal, written and visual communication skills that help us convey our thoughts. From time to time, we find ourselves in a position to share these ideas in a business context, often in the form of a presentation. And, it’s usually at this point where we completely forget how to talk.

I remember in 4th grade, I desperately wanted to ask Jenny Grubb to dance at a school event. Like every other 4th grader, I was plastered against the wall with the boys, while the girls giggled …

We all need a place to start when embarking upon a creative endeavor - and make no mistake about it, a good presentation is a work of creativity.  However, there are some concrete steps we can all take to make sure that the underlying core of our projects are solid.  I hope mine can speak for themselves…
10 – Stick to your Central Message
A presentation is not a survey course.  You cannot cover everything.  Make sure you know what you’re going to talk about and ruthlessly remove all subject matter which deviates from that subject.
9 – Have an Objective
As a professional, …

Much of what I advocate in the way of presentation development involves simplification. Simple messages and simple slides make it easy for the audience to enjoy your talk and understand your point.

One could argue that the mere presence of slides adds undue complexity to a talk because the audience is faced with making a choice between focusing on the presenter or the slide. There is truth enough in this argument to make you pause and think - should I even include slides with my next talk?

Between a talk with no slides and one with a heavy slide emphasis, there is …

I’m sure you’ve heard it - a business acquaintance refers to a talk or presentation he or she is soon to give as “a PowerPoint”. Perhaps you’ve done the same. Although I am not so rude as to express it outwardly, when I hear someone refer to his or her talk as “a PowerPoint”, I experience a fight-or-flight response as my blood pressure spikes and I get the urge to run for the door.

PowerPoint:  Microsoft Office product that provides users with an interface to design multimedia slides to be displayed on a projection system or personal computer.

I like to …