Design Details - April 2008

April 30th, 2008

April 2008

In this issue

1. A Change
2. Always A Little Broken
3. Are You Losing Because of Bad Design?
4. Find of the Month

Hi,

A Change.

If you receive DesignDetails each month you will notice that we have slightly changed the design. The format is essentially the same but the visual design, or ’skin,’ is different. The change is to align this email newsletter with our new website which we talk about next.

Always A Little Broken.

The ‘true inventor’ of the Internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee (sorry Al Gore) said, “The web will always be a little broken.” The Internet is never perfect, things change and web sites change to keep up. I have recently completed work on re-launching the HamiltonBerchman website. It took far too long for this to happen partly because my company is so busy (always a good thing) and because I wanted things to be “just right” before launching it. I realized that every website will always be a little broken and decided to finally publish because no website is ever truly perfect. We are still pouring some content in the news section. The new website has our portfolio of work, a blog (with more frequent thoughts/info/updates than this e-newsletter), archives of DesignDetails, and a news section, each with its own subscribable RSS feed. Take a moment to look and I welcome your feedback.

Are You Losing Because of Bad Design?

Original image concept by BadDesignKills.com

You may be losing business because of bad design. When people have bad experiences they go elsewhere for information, products, or service. As a business person this could be the kiss of death. However, there is great opportunity to address these issues and create a return on investment (ROI) that can reach up to 1000% or more.

Bad design can be applied to anything we interact with: websites, cars, houses, appliances, electronics, etc. In my field, I see bad design as anything getting in the way of easy access to and understanding of information. I’m sure you have experienced bad design in your life as most people have. I, too, recently experienced a bad design when I tried to purchase an item from an e-commerce website. After going through the entire process of selecting the desired item and entering all of my information (including credit card), I received an error that didn’t tell me anything except that there was an error. I tried a few times thinking maybe I entered something wrong but only got the error.

At this point, I was concerned that the orders went through and now my credit card was charged three times and I was going to receive three packages. After speaking with customer service, it turns out that their website cannot process orders shipping to California. They knew about the problem but did not care enough to fix the problem or to put a note on the order page letting customers know about the error. Because I needed a specific product found only at this particular company I could not go to another website. I did finally get what I needed (only one package and one charge). However, had the item been available anywhere else, I would have been out of that website in a heartbeat and that company would have lost a sale to a competitor.

The easy question to ask is, “Are my web communications meeting the goals I have defined?” If you do not have any goals for your web communications you need to rewind and define the purpose of your communications and then define their goals. Goals should be measurable in some way. For example:

• “x” number of sales per month
• “x” number of leads per month
• “x” number of downloads per month
• “x” number of subscribers per month

When you are not meeting your goals the likely culprit is bad design. Something is not performing its function to allow people to follow or flow through what you are presenting them online. Examples of bad design include:

• Incomplete information: not providing complete descriptions and/or hyperlinks to supporting material
• No call to action: are you asking for your visitor to do something in plain language? “Make a donation now!”
• Improperly labeled links: ‘Click here’ is not as effective as ‘here is a company overview PDF file’
• Unnecessary layers causing extra clicks. Extra ’splash’ pages on a website that provide no content value

I recently read a good article on Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox titled Four Bad Designs. The article gives four concrete examples of websites that can use some help. You need to ask yourself:

• Are your web communications meeting your goals?
• Are you happy with the results you are getting?
• Do you want to get more from your web communications?

If you answer no to any one of these I would be happy to talk with you about what you can do. Awareness is the first step to addressing any issues you may have.

Finally, Find of the Month

Every month I share an Internet destination that has some application to doing business, getting things done, or just plain cool. This month it’s a website called BuyMyTronics.com. They want to buy your used, new and broken Electronics today! They offer a fast, simple, and eco-friendly way to get money for your devices. Following up on ‘The Story of Stuff” and in light of needing a little extra $$$ for gas ($3.89 a gallon is as cheap as it gets around here) I thought it appropriate.

Wrap up

That’s it for this month of DesignDetails. Let me know if you have any questions about any of this content.
I am always on the lookout for article ideas. If you are facing a challenge or have a question relating to the Internet or design and are willing to share, please let me know. I can answer your questions and share with everyone—with anonymity of course.

If you like this e-newsletter, consider forwarding to a friend. Thanks for spreading the word.

Do you know someone in need of expert help or advice with web communications? I always welcome your referrals of friends, colleagues and family. And let me know if you welcome referrals as well.

I’ll talk to you again in May.

Bert Mahoney AIGA
Publisher, DesignDetails
Principal and Creative Director
HamiltonBerchman Design Group, Inc.
Director of Internet Strategy and Services
AIGA Santa Barbara

AIGA | the professional association for design

Design Details - March 2008

March 28th, 2008

Volume 02 // Number 03

March 2008

In this issue

• Spring Has Sprung
• Fail Your Way To Success
• Find of the Month

Hi,

This email newsletter comes to you in HamiltonBerchman’s never-ending pursuit of helping our clients and friends succeed.

Spring Has Sprung

At least here in Southern California spring has arrived. The smell of the orange blossoms fills the air in the Ojai Valley and to me that is the arrival of spring. The office is busy, as we get ready to release our new web site next month. Our web site will have archives of DesignDetails, our blog, portfolio, ways for you to interact with us, and more (details to follow). This month’s topic is a bit more philosophical than some of our more ‘nuts-and-bolts’ topics so we will get right to it.

One last thing, if you like this e-newsletter consider forwarding this to a friend. We always like referral subscribers. Thanks for spreading the word.

Fail Your Way To Success

A blog post I read recently used the phrase you just read, “Fail Your Way To Success.” I had to read that post just based on the title alone. I thought, “How can you fail to succeed?” And I have been ruminating on it ever since.

We are all creatures of habit. We do certain things a certain way. We all like some degree of predictability in our lives and cherish the security in knowing that some things will always be. However, when it comes to our professional lives, our ‘career’ lives, predictability can sometimes be not so predictable. Economies change, businesses change, people change and we can influence these things but really we do not have complete control over them. We are seeing some of this play out on the U.S. national scene now in the financial markets with regard to the economy as a whole. No one person has complete control. But people can influence what is going on.

In my business, a service business, things are constantly in flux. Clients come, clients go, people’s needs change, projects change, but there are some constants. I perform my processes and tasks for projects in a consistent manner. I control how they are carried out and can create some sense of predictability with how things will go. These are things that I know are a part of what I do and what I create. However, what about the unknown things? What about new challenges and the risks and rewards associated with them?

This is where failing comes into play. We like our comfort zones, so taking risks and stepping outside those zones creates the possibility of failure, or success! I’ll admit I have a deep seeded fear of failure. For me to declare I was starting my own business was risky and took an enormous leap of faith. I’ll admit I was scared as hell at failing. But here I am, still at it. Although now the challenges that I face are different than they were when I started out in this business. I am feeling a sense of failure in a few areas of business because things are not going how I envisioned them. From this I know that what I am presently doing is not working. The great thing is I have opportunities and options—as we all do—to make a change towards something else.

If I fail at something in business I see it as an opportunity to learn and make a more informed decision going forward. So, in a sense even though there is a part of me that has a fear of failure, there is a part of me that knows without failure there will be no success. Get up and get moving! Make a change, try something different, fail your way to success!

I wonder, do you have a fear of failure? Do you have any stories of where failure led to success? I would love to hear them, let me know.

Finally, Find of the Month

In every issue I share an Internet destination I have come across that has some application to doing business, getting things done, or just plain cool. This month it’s a website called The Story of Stuff, http://www.storyofstuff.com. From their web site, “The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world.”

I took time to watch the video and was fascinated at what I saw. If it helps create a little awareness in you, you might want to pass it along.

Wrap up.

That’s it for this month of DesignDetails. Let me know if you have any questions about any of this content.

I am always on the lookout for article ideas. If you have a challenge or question you are facing relating to the Internet or design and would be willing to share, let me know. I can answer your issues here and share with everyone—with anonymity of course.

I’ll talk to you again in April 2008.

Bert Mahoney AIGA
Publisher, DesignDetails

Principal and Creative Director,
HamiltonBerchman Design Group, Inc.
details@hamiltonberchman.com

Director of Internet Strategy and Services
AIGA Santa Barbara

AIGA | the professional association for design

Design Details - February 2008

February 27th, 2008

Volume 02 // Number 02

February 2008

In this issue

• Midpoint of First Quarter
• The Multi-Headed Monster
• Find of the Month

Hi,

This email newsletter comes to you in HamiltonBerchman’s never-ending pursuit of helping our clients and friends succeed.

Midpoint of First Quarter.

We are now just past the middle of the first quarter of 2008, can you believe it? I certainly cannot. I recently read on a blog that there is a six letter word that is at the core of all successful people and I find it to be true. The word exemplifies what we all, as workers in the modern world, should be doing—taking action. Have you been taking action on your goals for the first quarter of 2008? I know we have at HamiltonBerchman and we will talk about that in more detail in a future issue.
The Multi-Headed Monster.

I recently had a conversation with a reader of this e-newsletter (Hi David) and it got me thinking about the focus of this month’s newsletter: multi-channel Internet communication. It has to do with how you approach your use of the Internet as a tool to communicate your personal or company message to reach your target market. I believe in order to use the Internet effectively in today’s marketplace you need to focus on using more than one channel of communication.

What is an example of a channel?

• Websites ( personal and professional )
• E-mail Marketing Campaigns
• Blogs
• E-Newsletters
• Social Networks ( Linked In, Facebook, MySpace, etc.)
• Video ( YouTube, Revver )
• Forums (Yahoo Answers, Wikipedia, Hosting your own, etc.)

Most individuals may use one or two of these channels to participate and communicate their message and brand. However, for maximum saturation—particularly for businesses of all sizes—organizations should be using four or more of these channels at any given time.

Wow! 4 Channels? But why?
On the surface it appears to be a lot of work, and at the start it can appear to be a daunting task. But if you start with what you use most (think email) and then work your way through the other channels you use most, frequently the dividends can be large. The payoff comes through consistent use of images and message across any channel you use on the Internet by reinforcing your brand. By clearly and consistently communicating your message, and creating links between all these channels, you engage people, organizations, and prospects in a variety of ways and in turn…

• increase your exposure to a larger audience making it easier for more people to find you, your product, or service on the Internet
• provide multiple channels for your target audiences to access your information, permitting them to engage with you in the format they are most comfortable in
• interlink channels to increase exposure, subscriptions, readership, and ‘buzz’
• interlink channels to increase relevancy among search engines (think higher rankings)

Anyone who is using the Internet as a marketing tool would want this. All of these benefits can be yours, but you need a plan.

But wait there’s more…
There are costs of time and money associated with investing in developing a strategic and mindful approach to what you communicate on the Internet. However, when compared to other mediums (print advertising, television, radio, etc.) the cost of entry is minimal. Furthermore, when you look at the potential return on investment with how far your reach can extend on the Internet, using multiple channels becomes a no-brainer. Now, it is not to say that you should abandon an occasional printed ad, or other form of communication, but when you look at the ‘bang for your buck’ the Internet can’t be beat as long as you have a plan.

So how do you get a plan to do this?
This is where someone like me would step in. You need to talk with someone who lives and breathes the Internet and knows how to help you get these channels working for you. I would first suggest defining some goals for what it is you want to achieve. Is it more leads? More sales? More exposure? If you are having a tough time defining goals, no problem.

An initial consultation will help you discover some goals as well as what channels you should be working in. Chances are you are already working in 2 or more channels. An audit of what you already have in place is prudent in order to align your current work with the plan that will be developed. Once you have a plan is developed its time to execute, take action, follow up, and observe, as your goals are achieved.

Finally, Find of the Month

In every issue I share an Internet destination I have come across that has some application to doing business, getting things done, or just plain cool. This month it’s a website called Jott, [ http://www.jott.com/]. People use Jott, which is a free service, to call with their cellphone and send an email to themselves or anyone else. It’s great for people to:

• Remind themselves of important things
• Delegate tasks to people
• Communicate with teams in one step
• Record expenses
• Record hours billed, and for what
• It takes a minute to setup and it’s free

Wrap up.

That’s it for this month and year of DesignDetails. Let me know if you have any questions about any of this content.

I am always on the lookout for article ideas. If you have a challenge or question you are facing relating to the Internet or design and would be willing to share, let me know. I can answer your issues here and share with everyone—with anonymity of course.

Do you know a friend or colleague that may find the content of this newsletter interesting? Please forward to a friend, and thanks.

I’ll talk to you again in March 2008.

Bert Mahoney AIGA
Publisher, DesignDetails

Principal and Creative Director,
HamiltonBerchman Design Group, Inc.
details@hamiltonberchman.com

Director of Internet Strategy and Services
AIGA Santa Barbara

AIGA | the professional association for design

Design Details - January 2008

January 31st, 2008

Volume 01 // Number 01

January 2007

In this issue

• Cold Outside But Heating Up
• A Welcome
• A New Website
• Finally, A Thank You

Hi,

This email newsletter comes to you in our never-ending pursuit of helping our friends and clients succeed because your success is our success.

Cold Outside But Heating Up

It’s winter and unseasonably cold here in Ojai but things are heating up for HamiltonBerchman Design Group. This is the first of what we plan to be an ongoing series of email newsletters titled DesignDetails. These newsletters will be sent once a month and will share potentially beneficial information to you and your business regarding the practice of design and its impact on improving your bottom line. If you know of someone that may benefit from this newsletter, please feel free to forward it along.

A Welcome

HamiltonBerchman is pleased to welcome aboard Sydni Craig-Hart. Sydni will be assisting with project management and client communications for . Sydni’s experience and expertise will allow HamiltonBerchman to keep our clients informed in a timely manner and expand our project capacity. We are looking forward to Sydni’s start on February 1st. Please help us in welcoming Sydni!

A New Website

It’s interesting that some companies who design and develop websites tend to neglect their own, as is the case for us. However, planning, programming and testing is presently underway to publish a new HamiltonBerchman website. Our new website will provide an introduction to HamiltonBerchman for prospective clients, provide an online project tracking system for our current clients, and will offer an archive of these DesignDetails newsletters.

Finally, A Thank You

We would like to thank our clients, past and present, for choosing HamiltonBerchman and thank our many business associates and friends. Your support over our first 18 months has been amazing and appreciated. We are looking forward to working with you in 2007.

Here’s to your success!

Bert Mahoney AIGA
Publisher, DesignDetails
Principal and Creative Director, HamiltonBerchman Design Group, Inc.
details@hamiltonberchman.com

Design Details - December 2007

December 15th, 2007

Volume 02 // Number 01

January 2008

In this issue

• New Year, New Stuff
• Be Aware of Foundations
• Find of the Month

This email newsletter comes to you in HamiltonBerchman’s never-ending pursuit of helping our clients and friends succeed because your success is our success.

New Year, New Stuff.

Welcome to the end of the first month of the New Year. Although it started out slowly for the first couple of days, the pace of January quickly picked up. We had a host of meetings for new business, and new proposals—which is great—and has lead us to the topic for this months issue of DesignDetails, Foundations. Let us get right to it.

Be Aware of Foundations.

All projects, no matter what the medium, need to be based on a solid foundation and this is never truer than with the Internet. Technology advances daily and improves on current standards, and new technology is constantly in development. Building projects for Internet distribution requires investigation into what technology choice will best solve the issue at hand, and more importantly choosing technologies that will not require complete overhaul when things change.

The impetus for the topic of foundations actually stems from my recent experience budgeting web-based projects. Projects range from website designs, database programming, or email campaigns. When prospective clients approach us with a project we sometimes find they have no budget. Not that they haven’t planned, rather this is usually due to not knowing what web-based projects cost. This is understandable—its not every day you go shopping for a web specialist to help you out.

After asking questions to understand a projects parameters, we develop a proposal or simple estimate. Our proposals/estimates are based on previous work similar in scope and scale. There is very little voodoo in pricing the value of specific projects when all the questions have been answered well.

Typical Responses
Once the prospective client has the proposal in hand we typically receive one of four responses:

1. “Great! Lets move forward.”
2. “We have some questions. Can you explain “X?”
3. “Wow this is more money than we expected. I’m afraid we can’t do this now.
4. “I have a friends, uncle’s, cousin that will do this for… (insert any amount less than $150.00)”

The responses to focus on here are number 3, and number 4.

These two answers are either missing or forgetting the importance of solid foundations. For answer number 3 they need to understand that although they may not be able to afford the entire project, they should figure out what they can afford. Then come back with a question stating, “We can only afford ‘X.’ What parts of your proposal could we do for that amount to build a foundation then complete the rest of the work when our budget permits?”

The key here is in understanding the value provided by a professional who does these types of projects for a living. This is where number 4 is missing the boat entirely. You would never decide to go have your “friends, uncle’s, cousin” work on a cavity with his Dremel set just because he’ll do it for $25 whereas the dentist would charge a few hundred. I realize that is an extreme example but I am trying to stress the point of having a professional—a specialist—work on your projects. They may cost a bit more, but their knowledge, expertise, and training are worth it. They can help you avoid the pitfalls of not building a solid foundation and doing a project right. In the end this will cost you more.

So if you approach a project and receive a proposal/estimate for the services and its surprises you, be sure to ask what you can do for what you can afford. It is always smarter to build a foundation that will not have to be completely thrown away.

Finally, Find of the Month

In every issue I share an Internet destination I have come across that has some application to doing business, getting things done, or just plain cool. This month it’s a website called Catalog Choice. In an effort to be green this website helps by allowing you to eliminate catalogs and other unwanted items that you receive in the mail. The best part is the service is free.

Wrap up.

That’s it for this month and year of DesignDetails. Let me know if you have any questions about any of this content.

I am always on the lookout for article ideas. If you have a challenge or question you are facing relating to the Internet or design and would be willing to share, let me know. I can answer your issues here and share with everyone—with anonymity of course.

Do you know a friend or colleague that may find the content of this newsletter interesting? Please forward to a friend, and thanks.

I’ll talk to you again in February 2008.

Happy Holidays!

Bert Mahoney AIGA
Publisher, DesignDetails

Principal and Creative Director, HamiltonBerchman Design Group, Inc.
details@hamiltonberchman.com

Director of Internet Strategy and Services
AIGA Santa Barbara

AIGA | the professional association for design