Carousels are one of the first things that customers ask for on a home page. I resist but often lose the battle. Maybe, just maybe, if I had this kind of cogent, data-driven rebuttal in my arsenal of professional guidance, I might be more successful in prevailing. In the end, the customer would be the winner, not me. This article, lifted from Joni Halibi’s blog, explains the issue.
Read MoreTake a few minutes to peruse GOV.UK. Where the design consistency of most large bureaucratic websites falls apart within a couple of clicks from the homepage, GOV.UK remains remarkably consistent.
Read MoreWriting is a skill. Communication is a skill. Communicating on behalf of the organization you work for is a serious responsibility, yet tremendous communications power is often delegated to the lowest reaches of the organizational structure. Would you let junior staff write the CEO’s blog? Would you let your administrative assistant design the company’s annual report?
Read MoreThis is a reminder (via @smashingmag) that you have too much content. Even if you think you don't, you probably do. Tack this to your door.
I can't stress this enough. I'm often asked by customers to do this, mostly because they remember seeing them so frequently in the early days of the web. it's a pernicious memory that refuses to fade.
Read MoreThis is an old favorite of mine: a slide I put together for a presentation describing the role of the content strategist in major website redesigns. Of course, the sentiment in this slide is true at any stage of a website's lifecycle. Please make sure you're not just churning out sausages that no one wants.
You don’t need a website unless you have something to say. If your job is to build websites, you’ll often be asked to build them before there are any words or images to carry on them. Sometimes, there’s nothing to say; the client simply knows that they want a website. Everybody has websites now. It’s standard. Your client thinks that they need one. But do they really? Your first step as a web designer is to help them figure out what they have to say.
Read MoreThe librarian and the information architect are more similar than they are different. They both practice their craft with the intent of efficiently connecting people with the information that they seek. But only one is going to shush you for talking too loudly in the stacks.
Read MoreIn website redesign projects that I've led, I've often encountered the problems associated with ambiguous organization schemes. While there are other organization schemes, it's almost impossible to rely on a single solution. A combination of approaches is often best.
Read MoreImplementing an information strategy is what lets most business concerns survive. Given the torrent of information that floods businesses every day, a formal strategy is what lets them cope with the volume.
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