Posts Tagged ‘Design’

During a meeting with other CEOs last month, I noticed that nobody pulled out their laptops; instead, every person with a device was using an iPad. At least two of my clients have said they’ve turned in their laptops in favor of tablets. And a mom friend says she manages her entire household with her blackberry.

In case you hadn’t noticed, the world is going mobile. Check out these amazing statistics:

• There are 5.3 billion mobile subscribers; that’s 77% of the world’s population.
• In the US, 25% of Web users are mobile only, meaning they only they use their mobile device(s) to access the Web.
• Global tablet sales are expected to top 80 million by the end of 2012.

Which is why I think every organization needs a mobile strategy. Here are my top recommendations for getting started:

Include Mobile in All Of Your Marketing and IT Activities

Over a dozen years ago, I urged clients to be the person in the room who always said, “what about the Web?” Today, appoint yourself as the person who says, “what about mobile?” Know what tools you have available in your mobile toolbox, including mobile stylesheets, mobile sites, text messaging, and apps. Talk to your customers and ask them if, how and when they access your website and e-mails on a mobile device.

Budget for Mobile Initiatives

I believe mobile needs its own line item in your budget or it needs to added to your marketing and IT activities. For example, do you have the hardware you need to view your website on an iPad, Android phone, iPhone, iPad or Android tablet? Be sure to ask your Web partner (like Matrix Group!) to help you budget for mobile, whether it’s developing an app for your convention, designing a mobile version of your website, or using text messages to generate traffic at your exhibit hall.

Planning a Website Redesign? Plan for a Responsive Design!

Here at Matrix Group, we’re really excited about building websites that look and behave differently depending on the size, platform and orientation of the device, including widescreen monitors, standard size monitors, tablets and smartphones. Responsive Web design uses a mix of flexible grids and layouts, images and javascript to customize the experience for the device. For example, if I’m looking at a website on a smartphone, the large branding area could disappear and the horizontal navigation might turn into vertical text navigation. If your organization is thinking of redesigning your website, please consider a responsive design. You will spend more time and money on wireframes and design, but the results will be worth it. Just imagine: less pinching and squinting for smartphone users and lots of gestures and swipes on tablets.

Pay Attention To Your Mobile Stats

As always, pay attention to your usage reports. Google Analytics has a whole, new set of reports that tell you what your mobile users are doing and what devices they are on. I’m using our usage reports to figure out what functions to include in a new mobile version of our MatrixMaxx software since we don’t believe mobile users want to use ALL database function.

How about you? What’s your organization’s mobile strategy? How are you getting started? What kind of results are you seeing?

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• Tags: Design, Information-Architecture, mobile, strategy

Matrix Group recently had the pleasure of helping the Outdoor Foundation launch a new website for one of its initiatives — Outdoor Nation (ON). Outdoor Nation believes the world would be a better place if we all spent more time outdoors. Outdoor Nation hosts regional summits, connects outdoor enthusiasts through its social network on Ning (the website is on Ning), supports local outdoor clubs, and advocates for local and national outdoor policies.

Here’s what I absolutely love about the ON website: it’s got a ton of attitude.

The design of the site is bold, almost brash. But the attitude really shines through in the copy. The about page starts off with:

Before the recent youth-led revolutions that are now happening around the world—there was Outdoor Nation. Okay, we probably didn’t influence those uprisings but we do share a belief in the power and passion of young people and our ability to start a revolution.

ON says they “host awesome summits” and “when the ancient Greeks invented social networking, this is what they had in mind!”

In the branding area on the home page, there’s a big pitch to GTFO (get the f*** outside) because “there’s no excuse not to get the fun outside.”

How fun to see a website just brimming with enthusiasm and passion! It’s obvious that ON is targeting a specific demographic and not every organization can get away with this type of attitude and language. But I bet more of us could and should inject our marketing campaigns with fresh design and copy that signals a certain lifestyle and brand.

How about you? What attitude does your website project? Can you name other websites that have a lot of attitude?

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• Tags: branding, Content Strategy, Design, Web Design

Matrix Group recently worked with the Sheet Metal Workers – National Pension Fund (SMWNPF) on their website,  which  provides pension fund participants with information about the Fund, plan of benefits, financial information, forms, contact information, and frequently asked questions about the Fund.  Matrix Group worked closely with SMWNPF staff to design a “user-centered website” that now speaks clearly to SMWNPF’s target audiences of employers, retirees, participants, trustees, SMWNPF staff and business managers of local union affiliates.

 Matrix Group:

• Developed a robust navigation that helps visitors navigate to specific sections based on their needs.  Visitors can navigate by audience, topic or most frequently requested information.
• Created a design that is friendly, professional but not slick, accurately echoing the image of the Fund.  The design includes prominent calls to action, e.g., Participant Sign in and Employer Sign in.
• Implemented a content management system that allows SMWNPF staff to update the entire site without knowing html skills.
• Supported the launch of the website by developing a postcard and video that showcase the new site.

View the Sheet Metal Workers – National Pension Fund Website.

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• Tags: Design, Matrix Group, Web site

A couple of weeks ago, we unveiled a new home page for the Matrix Group website. We didn’t change the overall navigation and we didn’t create a new look and feel for the site. All we did was revamp the branding area and re-arrange elements on the home page. Small changes, big impact.

Most organizations go years between redesigns. It’s a big deal to redesign a website; it takes a boatload of time, effort and money. But in between redesigns, most organizations become unhappy with their sites. We have clients come to us because they’re unhappy with everything on their site, which was last redesigned 3, 4, or 5 years ago. Does it have to be this way? I think not.

There are many, many reasons to redesign your website, including:

• Your organization’s mission, name, logo and/or brand have changed dramatically.
• Visitors complain about not being able to find what they’re looking for.
• Your products and services have changed or you’ve added new offerings and you don’t know where to put all the information.
• You are rethinking how your website fits into your company’s overall marketing strategy and want to redo all or nearly all of the content.

BUT, if you’re largely happy with the design and navigation of your site, visitors are able to find what they’re looking for, and your company branding and messaging remain the same, perhaps all you need is a website refresh. Here are some ways in which clients have refreshed their sites:

• One client changed the headers graphics throughout the site and added social media widgets.
• Another client made the entire website wider (the site had been designed for 800 x 600 pixels) and added another column on the home page for events and a featured publication.
• Yet another client revamped important landing pages and improved pages by editing the text and adding images and formatting.

If you don’t have the budget for a full redesign this year, opt for a refresh and focus on content and making calls to action more prominent.

BTW, here’s a photo of the new Matrix group home page and reasons for the refresh. I’d love to know what you think.

How about you? What’s in store for your site in 2011? Full site redesign or refresh?

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• Tags: Design, Matrix Group, Web Design

Last night, Matrix Group hosted an Open House to welcome clients, partners, vendors and friends to our new office in Crystal City (okay, new as of August last year).  We used the occasion to finish decorating the office and brought in Design Cuisine (Design), a leading catering company in the DC area, to orchestrate the event.

The Open House was wonderful!  The office looked great, the food and drink were outstanding (loved the beef satay and blueberry mojitos!), turnout was great, and by all accounts, guests enjoyed themselves thoroughly.  The Open House made me realize that hosting an event, much like putting up a Web site, should be a collaboration between client and vendor.  When both parties do their part, the result is almost always success. Here’s what I’ve learned:

• Clients should take the lead when it comes to goals and direction. When Matrix Group is designing a Web site, we ask lots of questions and try to find out what their goals are and what a successful project looks like.  In the same way, Seana Hale from Design Cuisine wanted to know all about Matrix Group, how we interact with clients, and how the Open House would support our client and partner relationships.

• Clients should define the overall design aesthetic and values. When Matrix Group designers are working on a design project, we don’t try to change the character and image of an organization.  Instead, we strive to understand the client’s brand, represent it well via design and multimedia and enhance it through our work.  Design Cuisine understood that we wanted a nice event that showed off our creativity and our work, was modestly priced, and played up our brand color of purple without overdoing it.

• Let the experts take the lead but be prepared to give timely feedback.  Once we’re armed with good background information, our UX (user experience team) creates navigation, wireframes and designs.  It’s great when the client trusts our judgment, takes design direction AND lets us know if we’re on the wrong track by giving us specific and timely feedback.  We also love it when clients let us brainstorm and come up with out of the box ideas, knowing that most won’t fly but the creativity that comes out is good for the project.

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• Tags: Design, Web Design

In the last twelve months, Facebook has made some major and minor changes to its interface. Each time they did this, there was hundreds of blog posts decrying or applauding the changes.  There’s even a group called “I Automatically Hate The New Facebook Home Page.”

Why do we get so upset when Facebook changes its interface?

In looking at some of the blog posts and news articles, I can understand many of the complaints. For my part, I cannot figure out the difference between News Feed and Live Feed. But I love that it’s easier to get to my Inbox and see which of my friends is currently online. I also think that Facebook generally does a great job of explaining why they have implemented specific changes.  I thought this Guide to the new Facebook Home Page was especially good.

Psychologists tell us that most humans are averse to change. With over 350M users, any change then to Facebook, no matter how small, is bound to upset some segment of the user base. And if just 1% is unhappy and vocal, that’s still 3.5M people.  If 0.1 were unhappy, that would be 350,000 people!

All of this got me thinking. Matrix Group is in the business of redesigning Web sites. We work with clients who want to redesign their sites for all kinds of reasons: name change, the navigation is not intuitive, the company’s focus has changed, yada, yada. But if Facebook users are any indication of how averse we are to change, no matter how rational, articulated or needed, there is always going to be a segment that is unhappy. This unhappy user base may be vocal about it, which I think is a good thing because then you have an opportunity to respond to the concerns.  If the user base is unhappy and silent, then you’re in trouble because you don’t know you have a problem.
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• Tags: Design, strategy, Web Design

I’m following over 700 people on Twitter so I’ve looked at a lot of Twitter pages.  Yes, I look at pages and tweets closely before making a decision to follow someone.  Some profiles are pretty sparse, while others are fairly elaborate.  What’s the saying? “You only have a few seconds to make a first impression.”   This is especially true on Twitter where people scan your page, then instantly make the decision to follow or not follow.

So how do you customize your Twitter profile page to maximize followers? Here are my top tips:

• Make sure you fill out your name so it’s searchable. This sounds so simple, but consider this:  The Humane Society of the United States is @humanesociety, but the profile name is listed as HSUS.  If you use the Find People search on Twitter and type Humane Society, the HSUS page does not come up because the Twitter search only searches the Name field, NOT the username.  A better name would have been Humane Society of the US.
• Fill out the Bio and Web site fields. This is a perfect opportunity to link your Twitter page to your company Web site or blog AND provide a short elevator speech.  The bio and URL add perspective and credibility.  You can be formal, you can be clever, or you can be funny in the bio field.  Check out other bios for good ideas.  I like @pmohara and @neagle.  In addition, I hear from many, many people that if someone has not provided a bio or URL, they are much less likely to follow that person. Read the rest of this entry

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• Tags: Design, marketing, social networking, Twitter

There is an ongoing discussion at Matrix Group about content and Web design.

One camp says that clients need to have all of their content prepped and ready to go before design on a Web site even begins.  The other camp says this view is not realistic, content is always behind, and clients often need the design to inspire them to update their content.

So which view is right?  I actually think that both sides are right.  But I think the question is misdirected.  The real question is: how do we make content more important, earlier in the Web site design and development process?

Here’s something every Web design and development firm knows:  Content is often the responsibility of the client, it’s often delayed, and it’s the most common reason for delayed launches. A List Apart has a whole section on their site devoted to content strategy.  I love Bronwyn Jones’ article on how good design is not possible without good writing.  And I think Erin Kissane is on to something when she discusses content templates (not design templates) as a way to help subject matter experts put their knowledge down on paper.

Here is what I have learned about content, the importance of content to design, and coaxing good content out of clients: Read the rest of this entry

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• Tags: Content Strategy, Design, Web Design

When we moved to our new office in Crysta City, it meant reprinting all of our marketing materials.  While it was simply a matter of updating and reprinting most of our collateral, we decided to redesign our business cards.  Matrix Group Creative Director Alex Pineda wanted to update the design with the refreshed logo and show some more personality.

Here are some sample cards that demonstrate what we were trying to achieve.

Here’s my card.  The front is purple so it’s easy to find on a cluttered desk or stack o cards.  The corners are curved because Alex says the Matrix Group brand is curvey, node-y.  The prominent elements are my name and title and the company Web address.  You’ll also notice that my card has all the ways you can contact me:  phone, fax, e-mail, blog and Twitter.

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• Tags: corporate culture, Design, marketing, Matrix Group

Matrix Group worked with the Flight 93 Federal Advisory Commission and the Flight 93 Memorial Task Force, to design and launch the Flight 93 National Memorial Web site. The purpose of the site is to raise public awareness, funds, and commemorate the memorial, so that future generations may learn, and remember how the brave actions of few, can make a profound difference.

Matrix work included:

• A Web site that carries over design elements and functionality from the National Parks Web site to the Honor Flight 93 Web site.  Including, familiar navigation, imagery style and messaging.
• A “Give Now” form, encouraging public engagement and donations.
• Implementation of a user-friendly Content Management System (CMS)

Visit the Flight 93 National Memorial Web site

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• Tags: Design, Matrix Group, Web Design