Walking the dog...Like design???

Apr 03, 2008 | milodes

Okay - I'll admit walking my dog is a lot less interesting & not nearly as fun as sitting in front of my computer designing stuff! But as I took our Lab/Sharpei dog, Heinlein, around the neighborhood today, I was reminded of how the two may be analogous.

Say what? Jumping around excitedly when I mention the word "walk"? Stopping and sniffing at every interesting bush? Giving a glance at one barking dog, sniffing noses with another? Pulling on the leash to make me go faster or in his direction? How on earth can I find any similarity to my design work?

Actually, when Heinlein stopped to sniff a neighbor's bush, it came to me: While I sniff around design sites either I've discovered or someone's mentioned to me, I'm choosing whether I want to leave a similar mark on something I do. The way another designer has worked up a logo or placed a picture is something for me to study. The use of colors, a font choice or even a particular graphic is something I must be aware of if I'm to learn & grow.

Another admission: I'm not all that analytical, but you can bet Mr. Analysis himself (my guy Kyle) has been working on me for several years to look beyond the surface & try to understand what's what. I'm far less skilled in analyzing than Kyle, but that's a skill I'll keep on honing.

I do not copy another's work, but you can bet I gather inspiration as I explore and sniff around! If a client wants something like such-and-such, I'll put my spin on a unique design that will only remind one of a particular design while being its own design.

Jumping around excitedly? As much as one can jump around while sitting on her office chair, I do so when I get a new project. Another challenge, another chance to create & I'm jazzed!

Glance at one dog, sniff noses with another? Website X may hold nothing for me to learn from or be inspired by - a glance. Stop & sniff noses? You betcha! Website Y has all kinds of cool features, terrific organization & excites the heck out of me. I'll nose up to that one for as long as needed!

Pulling on the leash? That's something my clients provide: Can you do a menu that behaves like this? Can you draw something like that? Can you get this to me yesterday? Pull me & I'll give you what you want!

All right - maybe walking the dog today was a bit more interesting than usual...



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The "body language" of a website

Feb 20, 2008 | milodes

First, I have a brilliant boyfriend whose analytical & observational skills are fantastic. Often, his comments on a blog or website inspire me as did these recent responses of his to a thread by a geek whose employer asked to work on the company's website:

The original poster wrote:

My boss has asked me to 'punch up' the website to make it more appealing.

Brilliant boyfriend responded:

Sounds like the project has already failed, then.

Seriously, start by asking questions, not offering answers. And I mean to him, not to slashdot. What is it the site is meant to communicate? What services does it provide? What values should it express? Why does he think it is not appealing now? Who is the audience? What are their values and expectations? Why are you worrying about this on Sunday?

People that do this are called graphic artists for a reason, and art is communication and it has a vocabulary. Start with what you want to communicate and how it can/should be communicated, then find colors, shapes, symbols and relationships that express that.

Get a professional if you can, he's the one that knows to ask those questions, and how to execute the answers he discovers.

And this:

Think about the information that would be conveyed by, say, a hot pink color scheme as opposed to one in earth tones. That's an extreme example, but the point is that there is information conveyed in the graphics about values, attitudes, connotation, and emphasis, etc. That's what I meant about there being a vocabulary.

It's a different kind of information being conveyed. I think of it as analogous to the facial expressions and body language that accompany speaking. And if the common wisdom is correct, that stuff accounts for more than half of the actual information conveyed in a conversation.

I'm not a graphic designer, but I play one on TV. Actually, my girlfriend is the designer, and I'm the analytical geek that she always asks to help her critique and polish her stuff, so I've picked up some basic premises in trying to explain to her things like why I think that little doohicky in the corner needs to be 3 pixels smaller, stuff like that.

Back to my comments:

Think about what your website's body language is saying to your visitors! (Applies also to your eBay pages) As BB mentioned above, that hot pink says something way different than an earthy color.

The font you use in your logo or headlines makes a difference - Times is classic, thus its body language says "conservative, old-fashioned values". Arial is a clean, sans-serif font which portrays a more modern value while being professional. Beesknees and other fancy fonts wink at you and say "I'm different, I'm frivolous, I'm not your dad's website".

What are your images saying? That clip-art of the globe you use has been seen by everyone - its body language is probably saying "don't bother paying attention to me". That photo of the business guy on the phone - yep, another over-used image. The little girl holding flowers - good, if you want to be read as "we make kids & moms happy", not so good if your site is about your power tools business!

Text is a mix of what the words are saying "colored" by the fonts used. What does this say to you:

How important is this?

How important is this?

How important is this?

How important is this?

How important is this?


Granted, adding colors & making larger or smaller will have an impact. Will your readers read your text's body language correctly?

The organization & navigability of your site speaks loudly too! Do you provide a welcoming virtual hug? Hold the visitor's hand to show him how to get to the info he's seeking? Show him what's important?

A website is composed of many parts which all belong to the body. The body has to work together and then speak in a language that reaches your audience. What does the language of your web pages say?


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