Web Designers, graphic designers, and all designers are face with Design Challenges. Let's dive into the world of web design, graphic design, usability, information technology, and look at life and the work place. Come back often to see what I see. View my world and the Design Challenges that I'm face with
Monday, October 31, 2005
Is TiVo the end of advertisement?
I was watching the Apprentice recently and the task focus on teaching senior citizens folks about technology and how grand it is. One of the older gentlemen stated that technology came from the devil. This got me thinking about what he meant.
Did he mean that technology is difficult to use therefore no good force could have created. I can see his point to this. Not everyone is technologically savvy. Within owners of technology companies, you will find many who do not use a computer, know how to program a VCR, or better yet have never heard of TIVO or DVR technologies. So if this is within the technology industry, why should we expect the older generation who grew up without Television to know how to work today's modern gadgets, let alone appreciate them as most of us do?
I don't think technology is evil by any means; I think technology has let us to great scientific discoveries, but I also think that technology has made us lazy. How could we fight technology when it makes the smallest of tasks so much easier?
Without email or cell phones I would go weeks or perhaps month without communication with my parents who live overseas. No longer do we have to warm up the oven and wait for what seems like eternity for a meal, we can simply press a few buttons and have a hot meal at our disposal. With such conveniences, how can someone say that technology is evil, I'm sure this person is confuse as to what technology is or isn't.
However, the question of TIVO/DVR still remains, we can now not only fast forward through commercials, but we can pause "live" TV, and digitally record a multitude of shows that we like; and the device can record shows we haven't heard of based on our likes... Simply brilliant!
But with this technology, marketers must be shaking in their boots. On the one hand TIVO is great for the consumer, but how about businesses who promote their goods through this medium to have their campaigns unwatched as we fast forward through them. For a person like myself this have a double fold impact. I, on one hand dislike advertisement, I think we are targeted to death in every medium of communication available. But in the other, I'm a creative person who by fast forwarding through commercial is loosing out on seeing other creative people's work who can potentially inspire me to create great work.
The bottom line is that digital recording provides great features for the person who doesn't have a lot of time in their hands to spend watching endless commercials and yet wants to catch a TV program or two at their convenience. Technology has brought us great things and as a techie my vote is for better and faster equipment which will provide more comfort to us all. But that's my opinion and I'm bias on the subject.
A few years ago I made a contract with someone stating that I would design their Web site. Further, I stated a flat fee for a per hour basis for future updates. This was a good agreement at the time and both parties were very happy.
Fast forward to the present, I'm still maintaining their Web site, however I'm working at the price stated in that contract that dates a few years back. I felt that I no longer could work for that price and decided to contact my client for new terms.
The bottom line is that you must ensure that when you agree on a price you place a date for future renegotiations to take place. In a regular job, you would have yearly reviews to account for cost of living increase. The money you are receiving today won't have the same value in the future, luckily I have a great client and they agreed that the terms were no longer fare, but we had a contract and they could had held me to it.
The present opportunities won't look the same at a later time, plan accordingly.
As Web designers, we must test our pages in multiple browsers to ensure that the design looks as intended for every user. Recently I have been using layers since they provide such usefulness and freedom of design. As well, they provide a way to increase search engine optimization, as they allow you to bring your text closer to the top of your code.
Layers are great, until recently when my layers where showing up approximately 20 pixels off in firefox versus Internet Explorer. I search deep and hard within my code at first and further on Google. My searches finally paid off as I came across a great forum which finally provided the right answer. In order to get your layers to display properly on both browsers, you must double up on your css. That is, you must specify different positions for both IE and Firefox. It is a pretty simple code change in your css file, you simply add the tag !important to the line meant for firefox. IE simply ignores this tag while firefox renders this it.
It occurred to me today that although most people usually say "any monkey can do my job", this is far from the truth. Many a companies out there would like to believe that with the proper training, any person can do a job. I, in the other hand, am an advocate of hiring a person with the right skill set that would allow them to do their job with minimal training.
Let's face it, how can you hire a Web designer who has only design for print or a writer for which English is a second language. Yet, I see this day in day out in many companies. This companies try and train someone to perform a task for which they seldom have a desire to perform. This is a double whammy since not only the companies looses the time they took to train the employee, but it also causes negativity and low moral within a team and further causes great trauma to the person who is force to quit their job after not being able to perform.
The bottom line is that to make great gains, a company needs to spend a couple of thousand dollars more for the right person with the right skill set, otherwise they will find themselves seeking for a new employee in a couple of month with a lot of money and time wasted.
Remember those days when your teacher used to tell you: "don't erase, you might get extra points"? How right were they! Even to this day you should follow that advise.
When it comes to the Web, content is king. The more content the more information available to search engines. The better your search engine ranking, the more traffic you generate, hence the more revenue. It is all very simple math actually!
This leads to my point, if more pages equals more page rank, why in the world would anyone ever delete content? Let the content sit there; it isn't harming anyone. If you find yourself at a point where the content must change though, make sure you create a redirect instead of deleting the file. At some point the search engine spiders might have hit the page in question and by deleting the page you might leave someone stranded for information. If you must delete, make sure you leave a note or redirect to a relevant page. The bottom line is that when it comes to the Web, deleting is bad, while leaving behind is good; a great rule to follow.
Patience is a virtue and although we like to deny it, we all have it. It just a matter of how quickly our fuse burns. However, when you deal with people that fuse must run longer. This is true for every occasion in your life.
Patience is hard to maintain, with the loss of patience comes several other things you losse, such as lost of hearing (or rather selective hearing). That said, if you are dealing with a client, it is important to maintain your composure, you must never loose your focus. If you loose sight of what the client wants, because you become impatient with them or otherwise, you are setting yourself up for failure. Listen to all of your clients request, making clear notes and understanding what they are asking of you. At times the client might think they know what they want, but as a professional designer, it is your role to advise them if you think something can be done otherwise.
The worst kind of client is usually the best client. That is, when a client is a designer, it might seem at times that they are requesting the impossible or being overly picky, but you must remember that they had a vision when they came to you and if you aren't delivering that vision, you must work harder to understand what they want and not loose your patience, maintain professionalism, and keep in mind that if you make them happy they will provide a referral and word of mouth is the best marketing you can have.
I understand that stock photos are expensive. I understand that you may be a great designer, but not an illustrator and therefore cannot create your own imagery. I understand that you may not be a great photographer or that you lack professional equipment. I am a very understanding guy, but what I don't understand is ripping someone stuff from a Web site and calling it yours.
I know that the Web browser makes it pretty darn easy to download photos. Simple HTML allows you to place this images on your site, but that doesn't make it right. Folks, I have said once, twice, even more than three times, but it bears repeating, copyright violations are unacceptable. Just because images are on the Web, does not mean that they are free for the taking. Look at it this way, if you had a can of soda by your desk, but you weren't around, would it be okay for me to take a sip or better yet the whole can, because you are not there to tell me NO!!!
So why do so many people think it is alright for me as a designer to go to someone's Web site and rip imagery that they find appealing? The bottom line is that I will not commit copyright infringement and you shouldn't either. The fact that your mom told you not to steal when you were a youngster still holds true.
"Don't assume because it makes..." This is an often heard phrase among US citizens. Although somewhat vulgar, it still holds some value to it. As a Web designer you must never assume, and if you are going to assume, then always assume that the user has the oldest version of whatever you are assuming about.
For example, when loading flash onto your site, don't assume that the user has the latest and greatest flash plug-in. Assume, that they don't have flash install. With that said, you must always provide a way to obtain whatever feature you are assuming your user lacks, as to provide your user with the browsing experience you intended them to have, when you designed your site.
The bottom line is, if you plan to use flash use a detection mechanism to ensure that the user has the flash player installed. If you don't have one, then here is a good place to read up on this. http://www.kirupa.com/developer/mx/detection.htm This detection script uses JavaScript to sniff the browser and its plug-ins. However, you will find that it also provides a workaround for users who have JavaScript disabled. Talk about a preparation for the preparation.
My horoscope for today reads as: "Your money situation is due for a great big boost, thanks to a heavenly array of planets prepared to present the powers that be with an offer they can't refuse -- on your behalf."
What exactly does this mean? That everyone who has the same birth sign as me is going to get a boost, pardon, a great big boost in their wealth. How is this possible, who designed this kind of program? Astrology is suppose to be a science, the science designed to predict what the stars hold for you based on the way they were aligned during the time period in which you were borned.
But how exactly do this work, is it similar to the weather, we know how often the weather man is correct. With the use of computers, these guys have gotten better, but astrologers haven't made that leap yet. The bottom line is that these guys are just making things up as they go and we keep on believing. Often a times I read my horoscope, because I keep on being suck into it, and say, hmm... the prediction came true, but could it be that I read the horoscope and drove myself to this goal.
Having a great looking site, easy to navigate, and loaded with excellent content is great, but when it come to the World Wide Web it comes down to who has the most visibility. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become a whole new industry. An industry which is on a fast elevator in which millions of dollars are being invested by all companies, from small businesses to large corporations.
Many sites are now dedicated to this industry. Therefore, it is of most importance to learn what matters and what is useless information. There are many factors which can influence the way your site ranks at the major search engines. A great site dedicated to showing these factors can be found at: http://www.seomoz.org/articles/search-ranking-factors.php
The bottom line is that if you want to succeed you have to get up to speed on SEO and get those sites ranked as high as possible on the major search engines like google, yahoo, and msn.
When in a rush to deliver a job, don't be afraid to borrow from the past to build for the future. There will be times in your career when you find yourself under fire. There is nothing wrong with using your previous work as a basis for your new projects. Obviously your art was great then, there is no reason to believe it won't be great now.
This is the premise behind many designs. If you think about fashion, isn't this what the great ones do, borrow from their predecessors and simply call their work retro. If they can get away with it, so you can you.
The bottom line is that you must deliver on time and as promise if you have any chance of making it as a designer. You must overcome all obstacles and creative block in order to deliver and if you must borrow, just make sure you make it your own. Looking at other's work for inspiration is one thing, stealing, slightly changing it and calling it your own is another.
and although not everyone has it, it is highly recommended if you are a designer. For example, I am currently working with a major client. This client is, however, very finicky and has gone back and forth on their likes on several occasions. I, as an expert on my field, have made several recommendations. At first, this client chose not to take me up on my suggestions, now I find myself redoing what they thought they liked and changing it slowly, revision after revision, to what I originally suggested.
As I said, as a designer you need to have a lot of patience, Stew Leonard said it right, the client is always right and they are paying the price for the privilege. Don't lose sight of who pays the bill, the bottom line is that you get to charge for every minute you put into a project, the more times they change their mind, the more you make. Hang in there, if they liked it on the first try, life would become boring without challenges.
It seems that google has more money than they know what to do with. First they come out with their own google talk, now that it hasn't proven to be a success like their search engine, they have their eye on the next big thing, AIM.
Aim is the most use Instant Messenger, problem is that is own by Time Warner owned AOL. Google has decided to tackle this challenge by offering to buy the soon to be bankrupt AOL. There have been many looking at AOL, such as comcast and the likes, but none with huge pockets like google.
We'll see what happens and develops, but we'll see soon how deep Google's pockets are.
As a teenager I use to be a movie freak, then I use to have friends who worked at movie theaters allowing for often free admission, popcorn and soda. Now a days it cost about $40 to attend a movie. On the average $9 for admission, $5 for soda and $5 for popcorn, times two, as I don't attend if I don't have a date. Who wants to be lonely at the movies, right? Anyhow, at those prices, dinner and a movie is no longer a typical date.
With rude people attending the theaters, i.e., answering cell phones, talking, wearing tall hats, instant messaging, blackberring, among other things I have been witness to; who wants to pay the high tag for the priviledge?
Well, it seems I'm not the only one thinking of this, I have been a member of netflix for over three years and now it seems the service will get help from a new label proposing to release movies to DVD simultaneously with the theaters. This is great news, now I can be at the comfort of my home and watch the same movies for an eighth of the price. Watch the sale of HDTVs go up pretty soon and theaters to either lower prices or be out of business soon!
When looking at your grand plan, make sure you choose appropriatedly. Take life by the horns, if you will, and go with it. Just make sure that whatever you choose gets taken to completition.
You wouldn't start a design and release it half way. The same way you must take your life's plan to completition. Being a designer is a great profession, you get to approach projects the same way you would your life. You wouldn't apply elements for your designs that you wouldn't incorporate into your life. Your designs are a representation of you, make sure you choose accordingly.
I recently heard this phrase, I have heard it before in different variations, but this one stroke me differently. It really got me thinking, why do you hear so many designers complain about their bosses.
When you get hire to do a job, it is for a reason and one reason only, you know your stuff and so you must convey this message. If your superiors are guiding you towards a goal that you disagree with, you cannot lie down, you must express why the company should move in your direction. If you are able to convince them, then your point was valid. If they head down a different path, then at least you know that at the end of the day, you weren't a door mat.
Which ever the final outcome, you must always be able to explain your design and the reason why you chose the different elements. If you can deliver a good message then you chose wisely and you will soon find yourself on the path to success.
So you are ready to set out into the wide world of the web and start providing information so that you can capitalize. Hold off for a second and take a step back, before you start building your page keep the future in mind.
I'm talking about the architecture of your site. Let's be honest if you were to build a house, you wouldn't start piling bricks, you would set out to create some blue prints first, so why do so many decide to start building before they create their Web site's blueprint?
If you plan to be successful you must first decide on a flexible structure which will carry your site from its infancy to its more mature years and into the future and that's the bottom line!
Many of you out there use instant messengers such as AIM, ICQ, MSN, and the likes. It has become common courtersy to leave away messages for your friends when you carelessly leave your computers on for an extended period of time. Many people get creative, they use graphics, poetry, among other things to entertain their fellow chatters; this is a wonderful tool and idea.
Not only should you apply your creativity to your away messages, but you should take the same initiative when you are updating your site. If you know that your site is going to be undergoing maintenace, then create a redirect to a placeholder letting your visitors know that your site is temporarily down and approximate time of revival. This will not only allow you to notified your visitors, but it will ensure them that you are not out of business like many companies today and notifies them of the approximate time they can come back to get the information you are providing.
Except when you are the member of a very small dysfunctional team. My team is not dysfunctional, but is being torn and pull from all directions and every now and then you hear the word I, such as, I feel, I think, I need, and I want.
In the business world there is no room for what you need, but more for what does the business needs to grow and further. If you are true to your team, you will quickly elevate through the ranks, either as recognize as the MVP of your team or through the greater value your team will receive within the company structure.
The bottom line is that you must make the greatest effort in making every request made of your team by other members of the company to both get yourself and your team recognition and finally to drive the company to profitability.
I finally got around to watching The Apprentice - Martha Stewart edition, yes I Tivo everything, and notice that the format is the same. The way the episodes were shot were the same. Scenery, graphics, video angles, and verbage were the same. It's like they took the Donald out of the show and simply replace him with Martha and a new phrase "you're going home."
Folks, when lauching a new show it's the equivalent of launching a new site, you simply don't replace graphics or text, you need a new idea, a new take, a new angle, or combination thereof; if I gave a client a template I cannot charge the same as if I design everything. The same goes for TV, you cannot just give the audience a change of host and call it a new show. The buzz around is that people rather watch Donald than Martha, now I see why, with TV time being so limited, I can only choose one of the same show.
Geezz, reality TV is now gone where sitcoms went many years ago!
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