A key aspect of getting the right design is getting the right look and feel. Good designers have a solid awareness of what’s going on in the world. We look at what’s there and ahead to what will be there when designing for our clients and their audience. It’s a kind of empathy flavoured with the creator’s trademark style.
Too often look and feel comes down to client subjectivity—rather than what what’s happening in their market. I’ve been in so many clients meetings where my choices are shot down because that gloriously appropriate blue reminds the client of a terrible kitchen where they once cooked some fish that made them feel sick. The blue is axed—along with it all the thinking, working and feeling that got it to that stage.
Of course, the client is entitled to their view. But the blue is not just one colour or one choice—it’s a series of informed empathic decision taken for you by your chosen professional. A great way to increase client confidence is through the use of user testing—not just showing a design to a few trusted friends, but varying designs with a collective user base to decide creative outcomes based upon verifiable feedback.
The client can not like it if they want but would they change it if their desired audience was found to love it?
We build user testing into almost all of our projects at NixonMcInnes. This valuable insight helps us shape the creative direction which makes its easier for us designing it. It’s one less thing for the client to worry about—our choice is backed up by a focus group of their audience.
User testing has just gone to another, more intuitive, level. We are working with pioneering agency mindtracker who are, for the first time, quantifying the emotional response of users. Using very simple technology they are capturing complex feelings and reactions as never before. That means we can deliver even more powerful designs. For you.
Joshua wrote this on 02.09.09 – 1 comment
It's filed in the NixonMcInnes box
UK banks really have not got to grips with usability and good visual design. There have been one or two nice looking banking shopfronts online but when it comes to functionality and interfaces, it’s all very late 80s. Gordon Gecko could walk back on to Wall Street and the branding would be sadly famliar.
I want banks to add value — to help me manage my finances more effectively. It’s also in their interests for me to be flush. I want data and graphs and representations of spending patterns.
Jenni and myself often have philosophical chats about brand, the social web and how to enable ours lives more so here is a free idea for all you banks — tagging.
Imagine if you could tag all your bank transactions. All my food for the week is tagged with, erm, food — imaginative I know. At the end of the month I can get a breakdown on how much I spend at the supermarché. Other online bank account holders who have also tagged their transactions with food get added to the mix to show me what I’m spending compared to Elvis Presley and such like. Banking needn’t be boring.
Enable me to build a profile about my life: the size of my family unit, how many rooms wehave, who supplies my electricity. Capture data for my benefit (not yours–though it really is win-win). Allow bank customers to see what they are spending compared to others in their town, in their industry, their demographoic, their world. Show us how you can save us money and make us money without harming ourselves or each other. Now that’s responsible banking.
Joshua wrote this on 06.08.09 – 8 comments
It's filed in the NixonMcInnes box
Do you have a project that you would like to discuss with us? Or perhaps you know someone who is thinking about how to implement their digital strategy for 2009 and could do with some useful, actionable input and direction?
If so, we are running a limited edition special offer to help you shine online. Check it out.
If we can’t be of assistance or if you are not satisfied with the results then we will send you a delicious cake from the lovely Brighton cake boutique Choccywoccydoodah. Mmm, how can you refuse such a tasty proposal?
“And if you want to know a little bit more about our practice areas and service offerings then check out our “What we do page”. This will give you guys, the wonderful NixonMcInnes audience, a little more information about the kind of work we are helping folks with.
Just so you know in case it is still not clear; we are a full service agency; this means that not only can our skilled social media consultants help you apply social media to your marketing strategy and help you use this medium to plan specific campaigns, but the consultants are backed up by a fully formed delivery team made up of talented developers and designers able to make your ideas for websites, widgets, applications, blogs, social media press rooms and anything else web wise a reality. You can even get to know the team in advance.
So go on, book your conversation with us now, we are ready, poised to listen to your challenges and lend a hand; guaranteed!
Just e-mail or pick up the phone:
ruth@nixonmcinnes.co.uk
01273 648315.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks to EpicFireworks for the image.
Ruth wrote this on 26.03.09 – 1 comment
It's filed in the Business, Buzz monitoring, Design, Development, Free things, Marketing, NixonMcInnes, Social media, Social networks, Strategy, Web analytics, Web technology box
Note from the author: apologies if this post sounds like a Microsoft marketing campaign, but I am really excited about this technology!
Let’s say you have a website and you want to give your visitors the experience edge.
The media experience can be improved by using Microsoft Silverlight on your website. Some of the features include:
- Vector graphics with light, degrade and other effects
- Overlaying your HTML with Silverlight content
- React to keyboard input
- Video overlay
- Real-time data
- AJAX
Some impressive examples can be found on the Silverlight website. Here’s a few from the top of my head:
- Single coloured backgrounds? Forget about them! Create amazing forms, patterns, shades and colour rich backgrounds
- Animation effects, including menu transition, drag and drop, zoom, pop-ups, animated drop down, 3D wheel and “page turning”
- Better user experience patterns
Read more…
Telmo wrote this on 18.03.08 – 36 comments
It's filed in the Design, Development, Marketing, User experience box
I’ve recently traded in the job title ‘Producer’ for a shiny new model – ‘Experience Designer’. I’m still not entirely comfortable with it and have found myself mumbling and stumbling over it when I introduce myself. I don’t think ‘Producer’ was all that explanatory but at least it didn’t sound wanky.
I think part of the problem is that experience design isn’t a phrase in common usage as yet, so it’s something that has to be explained and expanded on.
My favourite way of explaining anything is to think of an example – so what’s the best example of the process and output of experience design?
Read more…
Jenni wrote this on 20.11.07 – 8 comments
It's filed in the Design, User experience box
Josh says ‘it’s done’.
Bollocks more like.
Since when was a website ever done? This website, blog, wiki or whatever it is now or turns into WILL NEVER BE DONE :)
Done means finished, completed, never to be touched again. The web isn’t like that.
Read more…
Will McInnes wrote this on 17.11.07 – 11 comments
It's filed in the Development, Marketing, NixonMcInnes, Our sites box
What an intense labour of love it’s been rolling out the Nixon McInnes brand. My baby is born. For me, it was essential for this design to go live ASAP. The personality of NM was there from the offset but it was not being communicated in our marketing materials.
The success of this project lies in the research phase – so often this is skipped, but with this project there was a chance to embed this important phase of work. And to be honest this is the real success of the project – once the personality was defined, the rest just flowed. Read more…
Joshua wrote this on 14.11.07 – 4 comments
It's filed in the Design box
Pitching.
I love it. It’s a real buzz – get’s the adrenaline flowing.
But it’s tough, even though I love it.
We’ve been pitching like mad recently, which is a healthy sign, because to pitch a prospective client has to ask you to do so. You’ve gotta be in the running first, innit.
And we have been, so that’s good :-)
My current pitches are:
- a very very well known brand in the elderly market, website design and build
- a University looking for a digital marketing partner to provide consultancy
- an International wine company to create a sophisticated ecommerce website
- an International charity for a very funky social media website design and build
Will McInnes wrote this on 25.04.07 – what do you think?
It's filed in the NixonMcInnes box
An interactive and design led website for parents and children to use together for learning and play
The Nixon McInnes team are incredibly excited to launch today an impressive addition to our website portfolio in the children’s TV channel site Jim Jam.
Jim Jam is a cable TV channel which has launched in its first territory, Italy, with plans to roll-out across Europe. Hence why the site is in Italian!
The team has designed and built two sites for Jim Jam. The first site was a password protected press site made live in advance of the main channel and site launch to promote and manage media contact. This static HTML microsite was developed to tight deadlines to allow press release and media pack downloads.
The second and main site option is a bespoke design led site with interactive games created using Flash animation. The activities, colour and general vibrancy of the site makes it a welcome opportunity to demonstrate the creative design strength at Nixon McInnes.
The main site details the TV channel schedule which the client is able to populate using an EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) plug-in. The home page can also be updated to highlight changing channel promotions or seasonal themes.
View the Jim Jam site here.
Why not try your hand at the games – more fun than that report you should be writing!
Jo wrote this on 07.12.06 – what do you think?
It's filed in the Internet, NixonMcInnes, Our sites box
Nixon McInnes warned their customers and business partners today of the possible implications of the launch of Internet Explorer 7 by Microsoft. Internet Explorer is the major global web browser accounting for approximately 70% of website traffic. The launch of Internet Explorer 7 by Microsoft may cause fundamental access and functionality issues for existing websites. The new version of the browser due to be launched in late October may cause the website visual layout, online forms, applications using secure connections and complex Javascript to break or not function as expected.
We recommend that site owners act before the proposed launch to work with either their in-house web team or with their web design agency to take steps to ensure their site is audited and made compatible with the new version of this most popular browser.
With over 70% of target audiences using Internet Explorer to view a website it is clearly not worth taking the chance of them not being able to view or use the site correctly with the resulting negative impact that could have on business.
Find out more information from Microsoft about the launch of IE7
Jo wrote this on 18.10.06 – 1 comment
It's filed in the Interesting, Internet box
