Design Details - November 2007

November 15th, 2007

Volume 01 // Number 11

November 2007

In this issue

• Giving Thanks
• Making Distinctions with Design
• Find of the Month

Hi friend,

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.
Giving Thanks

Hard to believe we are less than 50 days away from greeting a new year. Thanksgiving is nearly upon us and I have been taking stock of all I am thankful for. I have actually begun to make a habit of waking every day and thinking of at least 5 things I am grateful for. It helps you think about the little things you take for granted. I wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving. Now on to our topic this month.
Scheduling Design

Everyone working in business today is looking for the same thing—more time. We could all use a few more hours each day to catch up and get ahead with work. We are all pressed to get things done efficiently and effectively. Working with clients on a variety of projects over the years I find that most clients do not know how long their project—that involves design—takes to produce and complete. This can bring up the “fast, inexpensive, or good” trifecta where you need to pick 2 of the 3 and inevitably compromise the final product. If you only had more time or more money you could create the perfect solution. This can create unneeded stress and who needs that. So, how do you get to pick “inexpensive and good?” Read on.

Do you know how long that brochure you need to mail will take to get in your hands?
The parameters involved in developing commercially printed or web-based projects are not something you think about. You are busy working on your projects, or on running your business. The lists below will give you a gauge on how long the various phases of a project involving graphic or web design typically take to complete. The lists can help inform you in advance of your next project so you do not feel crunched for time and can develop an effective solution without the added stress.

Print Projects
Any project that is commercially printed takes time to produce—more time than you think.

It typically involves these phases:

1. Define the project: The who, what, where, when, and how.
   How long does it take? 1 hour to 1 month. (Depends on the complexity.)
2. Design the project: What does it look like?
   How do people interact with it? How long does it take? 1 week to 1 month. (Again depends on complexity.)
3. Produce the project: Prepare the final digital files for mass production.
   How long does it take? 1 to 3 days.
4. Manufacture the project: Print or make the project come to life.
   How long does it take? 1 week to 1 month. (Depends on complexity.)
5. Deliver the project. Get the final pieces to the people who need it.
   How long does it take? Depends on distance. Local can happen next day after manufacturing. If manufacturing happens at a distance you need to build in shipping time too.

A simple print project (like a business card) can take approximately 15 days (business days) to start, design, produce and deliver. That is the low stress verion. You can do it in less time but the stress level goes up for everyone involved. The more complex a project is in size or scope can exponentially change the timeline of a project So what defines complexity on a print project? Anything non-standard meaning die cuts, custom inks, foil, non-standard sizing, binding, and any other special requirements.

Web-Based Projects

The phases here are just like the print process minus manufacturing.

1. Define the project. The who, what, where, when, and how.
How long does it take? 1 hour to 1 month. (Depends on complexity.)
2. Design the project. What does it look like? How do people interact with it?
How long does it take? 1 week to 3 months. (Depends on complexity.)
3. Produce the project. Create the infrastructure and files necessary to execute the project.
How long does it take? 1 day to 6 months. (Depends on complexity.)
4. Deliver the project. Make the project come to life–launch it to the public.
How long does it take? Can take minutes to a few weeks.(Depends on complexity.)

Web-based projects can be simple like an email design template that can be completed relatively quickly. Or, on the other end are complex, database driven websites that involve e-commerce or other special data needs. The spectrum of projects are wide so the potential time frame is also wide.

Really, how do you know how long your project will take?
The key is knowing what you want to accomplish with your project. What are its goals? Why are you doing this project? If you bring your goals and ideas to the table it will help start the process of “defining” the project. The definition will inform what needs to happen and then you can begin to define time. Whoever you are working with on your project will help you discover how long your project will take. Let me know if you have any questions.

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 an ebook called “Seinfeld on Marketing.” I came across this ebook by Bill Gammell on one of the many blogs I read called WebInkNow by David Meerman Scott. The book uses examples from the hit television show to explain 7 marketing lessons. This is definitely worth a download and read.
Wrap up.

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

We are always on the lookout for article ideas. If you have a challenge or questions you are facing and would be willing to share, let me know. I can answer your issues here and share with everyone.

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 December.

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 - October 2007

October 15th, 2007

Volume 01 // Number 10

October 2007

In this issue

• The Last Quarter of 2007
• Making Distinctions with Design
• Find of the Month

Hi,

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.
The Last Quarter of 2007

As we enter the last quarter of 2007 most of you are undoubtedly preparing for, or at least thinking about, the inevitable coming of 2008. We here at HamiltonBerchman are preparing a new marketing campaign as we look towards taking steps to grow and serve our clients. With our upcoming marketing plan in development we are looking at the design of everything and it partly inspires this months feature.

We wonder what plans you have in action in this last quarter and if you have any design-related, or web-related questions we would love to start a dialog. Perhaps something you share could become a topic in DesignDetails and help other readers.
Making Distinctions with Design

Design is all around us. As noted design consultant, author, and public speaker Ralph Caplan stated “the fact is we live in a designed world and we will never live in any other kind.” Design affects our everyday lives and informs us in ways that are both obvious and subtle.

This month I want to focus a bit on how important design is in the process of informing people simply through appearances. In other words, how can the “look” of something create an emotion, feeling, or assumption and therefore influence people’s decision making process.

A couple of visual examples will help illustrate what we are referring to. Below we have two objects, two boxes of tea to be exact. One is a box of Tazo tea, the other is a box of Springfield tea.

Tazo Tea
Tazo Tea Packaging

Springfield Tea
Springfield Tea Packaging

Questions

• If you were shopping for tea, which would you select were you faced with these two options?
• Were you looking for savings?
• Were you looking for a superior quality product?
• What package looks more expensive?
• What package looks less expensive?

You will now be thinking “well that one, the Springfield brand, looks cheaper” and many people will agree with that statement. People can easily make the assumption of one looking cheaper than the other, but can many people explain why?

No. Why?
Because they most likely lack the language and vocabulary of a designer. However, what is important here is that even though they lack the language to explain, they get it! They understand what is at play, they just cannot put it into words. The appearance, image, or design is communicating vast amounts of non-verbal information about the object.

How do they get it?
Assume you know nothing about what is inside any package, or in this case these teas. What elements of design informed your conclusions and ultimately made your decision?

• Color
• Shape/Form
• Line quality
• Typesize
• Typeface (or font)
• Prominence of product description–it says what it is
• Prominent use of an image of the product

Both of these boxes designs are intentional. I am not saying one design is better than the other. They are both effectively communicating by generating their desired responses. The Tazo packaging wants to evoke a high-end sophisticate feel to its teas, the Springfield wants to say “I am a good value, inexpensive tea.” Again this is about the distinction the design is playing in getting you to pay attention to it. If you were to blind taste test these teas, who knows what one might actually taste better? It’s not about the tea, its about the packaging–the wrapper–the design.

Note: The Tazo packaging is an award winning design.

What about you?
These subtle issues with a simple box of tea are brought to bear on every piece of communication you exchange with anyone in contact with your business. A business card, a website, a newsletter, a brochure, anything bearing your company name and its identity does exactly what the tea boxes do. They create a emotion, feeling, or assumption people have about your business simply through their visual appearance using principles of design. So, This all happens without having to even read a word on the boxes, or a word of your content on your business card, brochure, or website. Have you heard of the saying “make your first impression the best one?” Once an impression is made thoughts are in place and your brand in the eyes of the beholder takes shape. You can change perceptions, but it takes effort, time, and diligence.

So, are the visuals your business uses to communicate sending the impression you want to make? Are customers, clients, and people in general getting the right impression?
Finally, Find of the Month

In every issue of DesignDetails 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 something cool. I am subscribed to a variety of blogs and in one there was a post about the “perfect” iTunes setting. For those of you who may not know what iTunes is, it is a piece of software you can download for free from Apple. It allows you to digitize your own music and play it on your computer, purchase music online, or subscribe to podcasts and videocasts.

The original post from MacOSXhints goes into a bit more detail, but suffice it to say that it does produce a decent range of sound.
‘Perfect’ iTunes Settings

HOWTO and specific settings from the original article:

Open the equalizer, and from the pop-up menu, select “Make Preset.” Call it “Perfect,” because it is, and set the following levels, from left to right (skip the Preamp section):

db +3, +6, +9, +7, +6, +5, +7, +9, +11, +8 db

Hat tip to Merlin Mann @ 43 Folders.
That’s all folks.

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

We are always on the lookout for article ideas. If you have a challenge you are facing and would be willing to share, let me know.

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 November.

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

Design Details - September 2007

September 2nd, 2007

Volume 01 // Number 09

September 2007

In this issue

• School Has Started
• The Google Question
• A Founding Member
• Find of the Month

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.

School Has Started

My life is centered around education. Although I am not an educator in the true sense of the word, my wife is a teacher and two of my 3 children are in school. Needless to say its a busy time of year for me when schedules change and flexibility is very important. Things will settle down in a couple of weeks but every year when we go through this transition it makes me reflect on how well I am using my time, how well I handle the unexpected and to fine tune my ability to “go with the flow.” So for those of you experiencing this in your lives right now, I’m with you. And for those of you not experiencing this in your immediate lives, try to show a little kindness and understanding to the co-worker or neighbor as they get through this period.

The Google Question

Recently someone asked me with a puzzled look and a sense of urgency in their voice, “How long does it take for my website to show up in Google?” I asked them how long their website has been online. Why?

Because that is one of the keys to determining the answer. They told me their website had been online for 2 weeks and they were worried because when they typed the name of their website into a Google search box their site did not show up in the results—at all.

So, how long does it take for a website to show up in Google? It typically can take a couple of months. To have your website show up on the first page of search results is an entirely other matter that involves the field of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). I will cover that topic in a future edition of DesignDetails but for now we will focus on getting your site to show up at all.

Search engines use pieces of software, coined “spiders”, that continuously crawl websites and catalog their information. That information is stored and then shows up as the results of your searches on any Internet search tool. The spiders index billions of web pages and it is inevitable that some of them will get missed. When they miss a website it is most likely for the following reasons:

• The site isn’t well connected through multiple links to other sites on the web.
• The site launched after the most recent crawl was completed.
• The design of the site makes it difficult for the spider to effectively crawl its content.
• The site was temporarily unavailable when we tried to crawl it or we received an error when we tried to crawl it. 1

For these reasons it is hard to answer the question, “How long does it take for my website to show up in Google?” Since their website has only been online for 2 weeks it is likely that the search engine spiders have not found the website yet. The inevitable next question is, “Well how do I make it happen faster?”

There are ways to “speed up” the process. The first is to submit your website address (URL) directly to the major search engines and to the Open Directory Project (DMOZ). DMOZ is a directory that many search engines use as the source for, or supplement to, their own data.

There are companies that offer website submission services for a fee, but you can do this for yourself for free. Many companies tout that they will submit your site into thousands of search engine directories. But really, at least domestically, people are using only the major search engines.

Here are some places to submit your website:

• Submit your website to DMOZ
• Submit your website to Google
• Submit your website to Yahoo
• Submit your website to MSN

Ultimately, you need a little patience to see your website listed on the search engines. The good thing is, once it is indexed the first time, the spiders will come back to visit again to see if you have updated your website. If your website is updated, the data is then updated in the search engines.

Let me know if you have any questions about the art and science of search engines, submitting websites, and improving your results.

1The list of reasons referenced at Google’s webmaster help center.

A Founding Member

A few weeks ago I was invited to attend a meeting in Santa Barbara, CA. The meeting was called to recognize the founding members of the newest chapter of AIGA, AIGASB or AIGA Santa Barbara. I had been a member of the Los Angeles chapter, the closest to me, but now have joined Santa Barbara which is much closer.

For those of you who do not know what AIGA is—from the AIGA website:

AIGA, the professional association for design, is the place design professionals turn to first to exchange ideas and information, participate in critical analysis and research and advance education and ethical practice. AIGA sets the national agenda for the role of design in its economic, social, political, cultural and creative contexts. AIGA is the oldest and largest membership association for professionals engaged in the discipline, practice and culture of designing.

I have been a member of AIGA since I incorporated HamiltonBerchman and believe strongly in its purpose and mission. Design is such a critical component of our modern world. It provides a context for understanding, a tool to help the exchange of ideas, and communication to the masses. I feel its importance cannot be denied and goes largely unnoticed by the world at large. By working together with other AIGA members we help raise consciousness for the profession of design and its impact on, and importance in, all our lives.

Finally, Find of the Month

In Every issue we share an Internet destination we have come across that has some application to doing business, getting things done, or just plain cool. This month it’s Basecamp. We’ve known about Basecamp for years, have used it intermittently, and have now started to use it to manage all our projects in studio. Basecamp is a web-based project management and collaboration software tool. It allows you and anyone you invite to collaborate on a project. Basecamp does offer a free option for managing a single project, and beyond that requires a monthly subscription based on the number of projects you are managing. Basecamp creators 37Signals also have other web-based software solutions: Highrise, Backpack, Campfire, Ta-Da List, and Writeboard.

If you happen to sign up for one of their accounts options, we would appreciate you letting them know we referred you. All you do is enter our referral code in the sign-up form. Our code is “hbdg”—thanks!

That’s it for this month of DesignDetails. We’ll talk to you again in October.

Here’s to your success!

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

Design Details - August 2007

August 1st, 2007

Volume 01 // Number 08

August 2007

• In this issue
• Color and Contrast
• Getting Unplugged
• Find of the Month

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.

Color and Contrast

Color informs our lives. It can provide meaning (red stop signs), it can convey emotion (romantic lavender and pink), and is a constant with trends in fashion, colors of automobiles, and the colors of walls in our homes; affecting us on a daily basis. Color also provides contrast; allowing an object or message stand out when faced with a myriad of choices. We see color, we feel color, but the real key to understanding color is being able to speak color.

Speaking color involves understanding basic color terminology and there are three terms key to describing any color. They are:

• Hue
• Saturation
• and Value

Hue refers to the distinct characteristics of every color. Think of the rainbow of colors in a spectrum. Each color within that spectrum is a different hue.

Saturation refers to the intensity of a color based on how much or how little gray it contains. The more gray that is added to a color the more neutral it will appear. It will often be referred to as soft, muted, toned-down, or dusty. In a hue’s purest form, with no gray added, colors are described as pure, brilliant, rich, or bold.

The lightness or darkness of a color is its value. Lighter values of a hue are called “tints”. Darkened values of a hue are called “shades”, and medium value of colors are called “midtones.” Any two colors close in value, when put next to each other will have a soft edge, or transition, between them. Sharp changes in value create more contrast when colors are placed together.

Last color note. Colors may appear to change according to their surroundings. Very large color masses, like walls within a house, will affect smaller masses of color. For example, a small area of medium gray when surrounded by a large area of black will appear brighter than the same medium gray surrounded by a large area of white. Any color seems lighter against a darker color and a darker color again a lighter color. Please contact us with any questions.

Getting Unplugged

At the end of July I was able to get unplugged literally for a week. I was in a remote location in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona off “the grid.” I had no access to cell phone service and not an Internet connection for many miles.

An experience like this lends itself to presenting a new perspective on many things. For me, in particular, I realized how many people are slaves to their machines. Cell phones, Email, and the Internet all contribute to a feeling of busyness that pervades the modern business environment.

Sometimes I feel that these devices are not serving me. Rather I am serving them by attending to their incessant ringing, beeps, and pop-up windows. I am not saying they do not serve a purpose, they do. However, at what tipping point is too much? When do these tools inhibit versus advance our lives?

What we all need to be asking ourselves is, are we being busy? Or are we being productive?

Finally, Find of the Month

Every issue we share an Internet destination we have come across that has some application to doing business, getting things done, or is just plain cool. Based on our main topic this month its Color Combos, and Color Schemer. These websites contains a large number of color combinations that you can use to inspire you to see new combinations and options for your next project that needs some color.

That’s it for this month of DesignDetails. We’ll talk to you again in September.

Here’s to your success!

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

Design Details - July 2007

July 2nd, 2007

Volume 01 // Number 07

July 2007

In this issue

• Website Horrors
• Transitions, part two
• Find of the Month

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.

Website Horrors

An article I recently read in “SmallBiz” from Business Week titled “Web Design Horrors” prompts this section of DesignDetails. I realized after reading it that many people have little or no understanding of what to ask or what to be aware of when working with someone developing your web site.

The scenario typically plays out like this. You and/or your company are in need of a new web site, or you are in need of updating, or refreshing, your web site because—lets face it—too many neglected web sites become a detriment over time. Many people do not understand how a web site is actually produced and engineered but they forge ahead without knowing what they are getting into.

You may be asked many questions up front about what you want or need for your web site. The web development company then disappears behind a curtain like the “Wizard of Oz.” You may hear from them once-in-a-while but eventually things don’t turn out as you envisioned. Either the web site cannot be updated, you have no idea where the web site is actually physically hosted, or you don’t actually own your domain name. Sometimes web development companies register your web site address (www.yourname.com) under their business name—they then own your domain name outright. This is not only bad for unsuspecting business owners but gives a bad name to web developers in general. There has been more than one case of unscrupulous web development hucksters getting people to sign up only to end up with a web site that they:

• cannot update the content themselves
• do not own the web site address (www.yourname.com)
• do not know where the web site is actually hosted
  (meaning how it is “on” the Internet)

I am going to share with you a small list of items that, when used, will ensure you will get what you want.

1. Register your own domain name. This used to be difficult but there are a host of easy-to-use registrars. If you can’t register your name make sure the contract you sign with the web developer stipulates they will register the name and transfer ownership to you.
2. Stay Local. That is to say stay at least stay within the United States. There are plenty of reputable, well-established web development companies within reach. Offshore web development can be a risky proposition.
3. Check references and portfolios. Look at as many web sites the web developer has created. Contact some of the companies and get their impression of the developer.
4. Be clear about what you expect. Schedule payments based on meeting agreed upon milestones.
5. Ask the web site developer to build your site on their own web server, hidden from the public—before they make it “live” on the Internet.
6. Get a clause in your contract with the developer that states you have all rights to all content on your web site—this includes the computer code used to make the website. Make sure you have the right to reproduce, modify, delete, and display it perpetually and irrevocably.

These six items should allow you to walk away with your web site completely intact should the process not go as anticipated. Should you have any questions, get in touch with us.

Transitions, part two

We have completed moving to a new office in Ojai, CA. We are located just 2 blocks from the middle of downtown. When HamiltonBerchman incorporated exactly 2 years ago our goal was to have office space planting us firmly in downtown and that has now been realized. Our new web site is still in the works and should soon follow complete with an updated portfolio.

Finally, Find of the Month

Every issue we share an Internet destination we have come across that has some application to doing business, getting things done, or just plain cool. This month it’s Stikkit. Stikkit is a PIM (Personal Information Manager). It allows you—after signing up for a free account—to create notes that then are processed based on what types of information you have stored on them. If you type names and phone numbers, the stikkit understands that as contact info and converts it appropriately. Go to their home page and watch one of the many screen casts that show you what it can do.

That’s it for this month of DesignDetails. Have a happy 4th of July. We’ll talk to you again in August.

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