The
Three Points of Design
There are three people that need to be satisfied with a DHC design: the
client, the
designer, and the
user.
The
Client: More than being the person who signs the check, the client
is a person who came to DHC for help in achieving a goal. So the
first point that needs to be satisfied is: Will the client be happy?
The
Designer: It's very simple. I never want to create things I'm
not proud enough of to put my name on. Besides personal pride, the
second point to be satisfied is: Will the designer be happy?
The
User: In the end, if the target audience doesn't like the creation,
or the end user can't use it easily, we've wasted time and money.
So the third point is: Will the user be happy?
The
Target Audience
Who
are you trying to reach? Who will be using your site? Who should
your logo/identity appeal to? What kind of internet connection (speed)
do they have? Why are they coming to your web site and what
are they looking for?
These
are some of the most important questions to think about when designing
anything for your business. Your answers will dramatically change the
direction of the project.
We wouldn't create the same style for a company whose target
customers are white-collar businessmen as we would for a company catering
to Gen-Y club kids. We wouldn't limit a site to tiny file sizes if
we know the target users typically have broadband connections and can
handle large images or animation and sound. Creating the right
image will attract the business you want to attract. Creating the wrong
image ... well, let's not think about that.
The Lowest Common
Denominator
We would love to create an internet like the movies would have
us believe exists .... where everything moves and has sound and is
INSTANT. But the truth is, that while DHC strives to create a more
creative internet, we understand that a very large portion of users
don't have new, powerful computers and high-speed access. These people
make up the Lowest Common Denominator.
When
creating a site with a wide general audience, We have to keep the LCD
in mind. That means short download times, and using all the tricks
in the book to achieve them. That means that, when using large fields
of color, we use web-safe colors that will appear solid no matter what
platform or browser the user has, or how many colors their monitor
supports. That means not using too many browser-dependant tricks to
create designs that won't look the same, or worse, not work AT ALL
in older browsers.
Of course, this all truly depends on your target audience. If
they're known to be excited by, and looking for, and audio/video
experiences, and have the broadband access to enjoy them, then
it's time for a more aggressive approach to the site design.
Everything
is a LOT to Know
"The
more you learn, the less you know."
DHC
has learned enough to know that, especially in a technological
field like ours, there are constantly new & improved ways of doing
things. We try to stay on top of the new and best software, techniques,
vendors, design trends, browsers, platforms ...dizzy yet? And
we do a good job of it. But tomorrow is always today.
DHC takes great pride in it's work, but not so much as to not admit
weaknesses that can compromise your project. Hurting clients is
not something a business can take pride in. If there's something
you need that we don't know how to accomplish, we'll find out how.
And when we do find out, if we simply CAN'T do it for you, we'll find
someone who can, and work with them to make sure your goal is achieved.
The Client isn't
ALWAYS Right
I don't think there's an easy way to say this. We've all heard that "the
customer is always right", and at times, we've all disagreed with it.
And that's because it's simply NOT ALWAYS true. Simply put, if our
clients knew as much about web design as we do, DHC wouldn't exist.
Just as simply, you wouldn't expect DHC to be able to run your business
without your guidance.
While the client provides the project's direction and enhances our ideas regarding
how the business should be represented, DHC is sometimes forced to tell the
client "No" when
it comes to specific ideas they have. And while that may not be common business
practice, at times it is essential to satisfying our Three
Points of Design and ensuring a successful project. And
we do try to be nice about it. =)
There is a running joke with a long-time DHC client about his wanting
blinking red text on his first e-commerce site. Right now, you may
be laughing at the thought of blinking red text, but at the time it
wasn't such a widely-known no-no. And he thought it was a splendid
idea. Until DHC convinced him otherwise. The client was much happier
in the end. To this day, that client still occasionally asks for some
blinking red text on his new pages, before he starts laughing out loud.
And for future reference, here are a few other common requests we have
to politely say "no" to:
- Hit counters visible on the page. You can always look at your web
reports (included in DHC hosting) to see how your site is doing. And
if it's not doing well, do you really want to tell every visitor that?
- Music playing in the background. More sites get left
because of what's supposed to be a background "enhancement" than you
realize. It's hard to read anything of depth with a midi version of
Queen's "We Are the Champions" playing.
- Clip Art. Unless you're the artist that created
it, or the design just so happens to match the rest of the site's style,
clip art shouldn't even be considered .Stock photography is a completely
different animal.
- Pop-up windows. I know you're sick of seeing them,
so why would your user want to see them. Actually, a good rule of thumb
is: if everyone you know complains about it, it's not a good idea.
=) This entire site used to be inside a small pop-up window to control
the size and just be ... cool. Well, you can see where it is now.
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