Latest Posts
Online Shopping Carts: Know What You’re Getting Into
Let's be honest. You're not Etsy. You're not Macy's. You're a small business. A custom programmed site, like theirs, with all the bells and whistles, is going to cost several hundred thousand dollars. It would also require a full IT department running 24/7 to keep it working.
Is your real estate businesses making a great first impression on the web?
The world of real estate is a place where excellent first impressions can lead to very nice commissions. Learn some of the selling points of custom website design and how it can boost your sales.
Stock Photography and Bad Form
Bad form, simply defined as behavior that people do not like because it breaks a social rule. How does this apply to stock photography you might ask? The top faux pas in my book is using stock photography but claiming the person in the stock to be an otherwise real person. This would be similar to posting a not-real photo of yourself on a social networking site and claiming that's the real you.
How to use Information Architecture to Make Website Better
I recently read an article in a popular design magazine. It was a discussion of information architecture and how it relates to building websites. Information architecture, in a nutshell, is the organizing and labeling of websites to support usability. On a website, you are presented with options (for example, links or buttons), you make choices, and then you are presented with what you were seeking. In so doing, you're completing a series of steps that were all laid out by a designer.
Why not seeing exactly what you want in a designer’s portfolio is a good thing.
I recently received a response back from a proposal we had out. The client said the proposal was great, the price was just right, but they went with another firm because they, "felt that the portfolio of work of the company we finally chose was closer to our current needs". So basically, they did not see exactly what they wanted in our portfolio. As part of our on-going series on "client education" I'd like to take a closer look at this line of thinking and reasons why making it the number one deciding factor on choosing a designer might not be your best bet.
Thinking about “crowdsourcing” your logo?
To many companies and individuals seeking design services the attraction and benefits of crowdsourcing (outsourcing a task to a larger group of people) seem like a win-win situation. On the surface, it appears that you don't have to worry about researching designers and contacting them on your own. You can get a large variety of designs to choose from for just a fraction of the cost of hiring a single designer or company. And on many crowdsource sites it seems very, "no strings attached" in that if you don't see something you like, you can simply walk away or keep asking for more designs.