For me it was very much a seminal moment. It made me realise just how web design as an industry needs to be overhauled in order to keep up to date with modern advances in the mobile device industry. In particular the ability to browse websites on any mobile/device that can handle it. The web isn’t just accessed on the desktop anymore. Big businesses are reporting record growths in business made from mobile devices.

The trend is shifting towards accessing the web at any time and place. There is a growing number of devices that can give you access to the internet in a mobile way now. These devices all have their own software and quirks with how they interpret the code that they read (our designs and websites), not to mention different screen sizes and resolutions.

What all this means is that our test bed of devices is growing ever larger and things are getting increasingly difficult to achieve the old way of web design. We have as an industry become used to showing our clients concepts of what the finished product will look like on a desktop computer. The desktop is an ever shrinking part of the market place now. Essentially what we are doing is harking back to the old days of Print Design, methods and practices that were with us back then have followed us into the web industry. Selling concepts to clients as if they were print designs and then going to unbelievable lengths to insure that the designs are near as pixel perfect across all platforms and browsers is total insanity. The web is a medium needs that to be embraced as a fluid entity and we need to design for its fluidity otherwise what we are doing isn’t web design at all. It might be “design” but if it isn’t responsive to the device that its being used on it is a failure as web design.

Essentially what we need to do is change our methods of designing and building websites to move with the web rather than against it. When presenting concepts to clients we should be separating the design from the layout altogether. What we present instead should be a mood board or the atmosphere of the design. Including elements along the lines of – Typefaces, type treatments and white space, Colour, Emotion and interaction vocabulary, Texture, Decorative elements, line-work, patterns and shapes. The design itself will be fluid and the layout is subject to change from the bottom up.

The mobile should be considered and designed for first rather than an afterthought once the design has been built. With this in mind it means that only one version of the site needs to be built rather than a mobile only version. This is achieved by understanding the key breakpoints in device screen sizes and adding to the websites code based on the different breakpoints. A break point is the point at which a device can be recognised as having a different screen size. Working from the bottom up and expanding makes far more sense in the long run. Retrofitting a website to become mobile friendly is a near impossible task.

There are numerous other benefits to working this way but one of my favourites is how well it helps us as designers flush out what the content hierarchy is and how important various elements are to the design. What is the most important to the user? What are they coming to the site for? I often find that websites are far easier to use and access when browsed on mobile devices as they have essentially cut out all the unnecessary elements focusing more on user interface and the ease of accessing information.

In short we all need to shape up. Educating clients and leading the way forward by putting mobile first.

This was just a very brief take on a far bigger subject, If you want to know more follow the links below.

Further Reading – Recommended – (Responsive Web Design and Mobile First bundle)

http://www.abookapart.com/

A Dao of Web Design by John Allsopp

http://alistapart.com/articles/dao/

Fluid Grids by Ethan Marcotte

http://alistapart.com/articles/fluidgrids/

Mobile First by Luke Wroblewski

http://lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?933

Responsive Web Design by Ethan Marcotte

http://alistapart.com/articles/responsive-web-design/

One Web by Jeremy Keith (audio and slides)

http://adactio.com/articles/4938

There Is No Mobile Web by Jeremy Keith (video)

http://adactio.com/links/5058

For a Future-Friendly Web

http://www.slideshare.net/bradfrostweb/for-a-futurefriendly-web

Articles

A richer Canvas

http://www.markboulton.co.uk/journal/comments/a-richer-canvas

Responsive by Default

http://blog.andyhume.net/responsive-by-default

You say responsive I say adaptive

http://seesparkbox.com/foundry/you_say_responsive_i_say_adaptive

See the original video over on Vimeo.

You’ve probably heard talk about some businesses ‘going viral’ on social media and are attracting a huge audience and following as a result. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube – three of the Internet’s social media giants are becoming an increasing necessity in your company’s arsenal of marketing strategies. Whether you’re an online store selling shoes or a high school providing education, there is an abundance of ways in which your business can benefit from social media services.

If you’ve lived in this universe in the past five years, chances are you’ve heard about Facebook and you probably even have your own personal account. Founded by Mark Zuckerburg in 2004, Facebook was initially created as an online hub for Harvard students to find and contact each other. 8 years, countless revisions, 80+ languages, and 1 movie later, Facebook has become so much more as the world’s largest social media network with over 845 million active users. People are making profiles, exchanging messages, posting photos, playing games, organising events and infinitely more – but most importantly for businesses, users are sharing links!

Facebook is essentially an online playground for users to play and socialise and because of its relative anonymity (physically at least); it’s inherently a place that users feel comfortable in sharing their honest opinions; be it good, bad, or exceedingly ugly. Whatever the case may be, these off-the-cuff comments of appraisal or defamation are things that people can trust because they’re from ‘real people’ – just like them!

I can hear you think to yourself, “but I already have a testimonial box on my website” and that’s fantastic BUT, any feedback that is placed directly on your website automatically feels constructed and falsified. The beauty of social media is that is largely disconnected from your professional profile (don’t forget it is actually part of your overall image though!) so people will be more accepting of anything they read and view.

While these conversations will happen whether or not you are actively engaging on social networks, if your business manages its own page, it gives people an opportunity to contact you directly and you can effectively facilitate discussions. If you can get people to relate to your company on a social level, you can develop stronger consumer relationships which can in turn, create a passionate brand loyalty and following. Brand loyal customers are a powerful tool for your business in that they will be more willing to share and recommend your products to not only their close friends but with all the people they are connected with online! Essentially it IS just like a testimonial, but one people fully trust.

When it comes down to it, all consumers want is a bargain; quality products and services at a great price and social media is enabling them to find them. This digital age is seeing proactive consumers more willing to jump online and find out more but they need honest reviews in order to do so. As people talk about your products and as your business interacts, you are leading your potential customers; everyday people to make the right decisions in their consumption. Make sure you are giving your business the best opportunity to lead the way!

See the original video over on Vimeo.

Understanding your goals
Although designers appreciate beauty, your web designer isn’t just concerned with making your new website look great, they’re concerned with what you want it to do, and how, through visual design, we can achieve that.  Good designers are good listeners and during the planning stage of the project, the more information about your goals and aspirations for your new website that you can share with us the better.

Avoiding mind reading
In extreme cases, in order to understand what you want, a web designer may resort to the lost art of mind reading. However, be aware that mind reading is difficult, painful and expensive, so we would suggest bypassing this process by focusing on open communication.

We understand that sometimes it can be tricky to get across exactly what you mean. In these cases, finding examples can be very helpful in clarifying what it is you want, or don’t want. However, a long list of ‘don’t likes’ makes for a tricky brief, so the more positive examples the better.

Honest Feedback
Through the creative process open communication is even more important. We want you to be over the moon with your new design so your honest feedback is crucial to the projects success. If you don’t like something let us know as early in the process as you can so that we can do our best to rectify it without delay. On the other hand, if you love it, we are open to that kind of feedback too.

At Bam Creative we pride ourselves on our individualised approach to each project. We want to get to know you, understand your business and your goals. The trust between a client and web designer is founded on open communication, and a projects success thrives on it.

I hope by reading this you have a clearer understanding of how by giving us, and the project, the best of you, you will only get the best from us.

- Laura James, Senior Designer, Bam Creative.

Dave, please provide an end to this quote; “All websites should have…”

…a consistent layout. There’s nothing worse than a website that changes its layout on every page, but there are many other things that it should definitely have. Such as a very clear and intuitive menu with headings that are indicative to what you want to find.

If it takes me any more than 3 clicks to get to a page I want to see; the site is dead to me. I also think that Google+’s fixed menu bar with an anchor back to the top is a great idea that should be implemented on more sites with a long scroll down.

What was the last book you read?

Hmmm… a book? That was far too long ago to remember but I do read a lot of manga (Japanese comics) and subtitles when watching anime (Japanese cartoons). On a weekly basis I watch/read over 10 different series but my all-time favourites are One Piece, Bakuman, Time of Eve and Eden of the East.

If you didn’t work in the web, what would you like to do?

While I’m still very new to working in the web industry and excited to be on board, I’d like to think I’d be a pretty cool primary school teacher. I’ve always loved teaching people something new and there’s nothing more joyous than a room full of smiles!

A fact most people wouldn’t know about Dave?

The biggest fact about me that blows most people away is that I am in fact allergic to alcohol. I break out in a fever and rash after just one stubby – ouch! It’s the perfect allergy to save money.

Thanks David for the answers, and thanks for being part of our awesome team!

Answer this phrase for us, Miles; “All websites should have…”

Planning. There should be a planned execution stage, performance tracking and constant analysis and revision. Why spend all of your budget setting a website up, and then not measuring the success or continue to make improvements with it? It just doesn’t make sense to build and leave, given the data we can collect, and the tools we empower clients with to manage and refine.

What was the last book you read?

Street/Studio: The place of street art in Melbourne, by Alison Young, Miso, Ghostpatrol and Timba Smits. This book is about the Melbourne street art scene, which I’m a big fan of; one of those reasons why Melbourne has the ‘cultural vibe’ that Perth yearns for. In the alleyways of the Melbourne CBD, between the wine bars and groovy cafes, lives an ever-evolving display of the local underground art movement. This nicely designed book looks at ten artists, and their street and commissioned gallery work.

If you didn’t work in the web, what do you imagine you would be doing?

Lost. Honestly, I’d probably be a traditional graphic designer, pining for something more than static marketing and CMYK. I once worked in this field, way before the web was born. Although it is fun, user interaction design in the modern web is far more exciting (and challenging!).

A fact most people wouldn’t know about Miles?

I am also a Cub Scout Leader. I got invovled like most leaders do, through having a child in Scouts. Now my eldest two are both in Scouts, and I wear a uniform too. It has been great for me, getting to enjoy time away from the web; camping, hiking and learning plenty of new skills.

Thanks for the responses, Miles, we appreciate them.

Bam Creative on Facebook

Whilst it is true that the Facebook environment is more restictive on what you can design than say, your own website, there is still plenty of opportunity to add your branding elements in a way that will complement your Facebook experience, and encourage better user engagement.

A recent success for a Facebook page we revamped saw the page likes increase by a whopping 622% in less than six weeks. That’s amazing growth, and certainly a very good testament why you should have a custom designed Facebook page for your organisation.

The work goes beyond just the visual elements though. We can craft a different page for those who haven’t become a fan yet, versus those who are a fan. This provides an excellent opportunity to rewards those customers who are fans of your page. A recent example was a local bakery to our office that had a voucher on their Facebook page for fans only, that gave them half price loaves of bread for one week only.

As part of an overall social media strategy, a well-designed Facebook page can increase consumer engagement, reduce marketing costs and change how you see your online marketing. If you haven’t had a custom design for your Facebook page, put that on your list of goals to accomplish in the first quarter of this new year!

See our Social Media Marketing page for more information on what we can provide.

We haven’t read the book, however this four minute video outlines his thoughts in a nutshell about where innovation often comes from, and is done in a fantastic illustrative style that we couldn’t resist.

We hope you enjoy the video (and that you start contemplating where your good ideas have appeared from…). If you’ve read the book, we’d appreciate hearing what it was like.

Here’s a little message we’ve crafted just for you. Remember to keep shaking the globe for a while – you never know what it may do!

Our office is closed from Thursday 22nd December through to Tuesday 3rd January 2012. We look forward to being in touch with you in the year ahead.