3 things to make your website pop

I thought for this article I'd take a jump over to my web design roots and share some of my experience in what can make the difference between an okay website and one that will blow your clients (and not-yet clients) away.

The 3 areas below I think are crucial to the initial 'pop' of your website, as well as the positive experience of your viewers. If you're going to spend decent money on your site, you'll want to make sure these areas are covered.

1. A professional WEB designer / not a print designer

Unfortunately for those that don't know, not all designers have skills that can span all kinds of media, in fact, of the dozens of designers I know personally, very few are great at both print and web design. Each is a very specialized art, requiring finesse and refinement in order to produce something appealing and more importantly appropriate.

The biggest difference a web designer needs is a solid understanding of UID, or User Interface Design (or the understanding Usability). It's key when designing anything to understand how it will be used, and by who. Web-specific designers will generally have a better understanding of the flow, placement and prominentcy of elements to gain a desired result. Where a print designer needs to think of a single static page and how to draw the user to a single action, a web designer needs to usually draw the user to the many options available, without letting the visitor feel that they are in unfamiliar territory.

We have all been to websites where we have no idea what we're expected to click on, or find ourselves clicking the back button to get us out of an area we didn't intend to visit. This is an example of poor UID.

Although print designers can often produce very eye-catching designs, they often don't take into consideration the way elements will interact, speed of browsing and guiding the user through an experience.

The other significant difference is in load time. I learned my web design skills in an era of dial-up internet, so every byte was crucial. Things like short naming conventions which may seem trivial now, saved kilobytes (and seconds) throughout the site. The heaviest piece on loading any website will be the graphics & flash (and audio). Understanding how to utilize graphics to get a great visual with minimal file size is a skill which takes years to learn.

Although the prevalence of broadband would assume to negate the load time, the difference between a site that loads in 3 seconds as opposed to 6 may be the difference between a user browsing what you have to offer or having time to open a competitors website.

Added Note: Web developers (or coders) are generally not very good at designing great websites. They tend to think in terms of development time and not visual aesthetics or usability. Most great web designers work in partnership with a developer to allow each to do what they do best.

2. A professional logo

Unfortunately too many companies (large and small) still pay little or no regard to their logo. They feel as long as they do the 'business' side of things right it will all work out, and while this strategy may have been a hit 30 years ago - the younger generations are a LOT more visually oriented, so you may be missing out on a whole sector of the market.

A logo says a lot about a company without you having to even know anything about them. Take the examples to the right, one has a cheap logo and one has invested in a professional. Now if you can't tell which one is which, then you definitely shouldn't be making any branding decisions for your company (thanks to Penflare for allowing me to use his great Juiced logo as a sample).

Not only does a professional logo set your business into your desired market, but it automatically gives a potential customer a frame of reference for your level of quality and attention to detail. It also helps to define your 'brand' to your existing customers.

Note: A professional logo should NEVER be obtained through an online competition. These competitions are generally for design novices, who know little about branding and about market perception of a brand. The few hundred dollars you spend on a competition may 'improve' what you have, but chances are, that it will fall far short of a brand that you will want to base your company on.

3. Professional photography

One of the places a lot of small and medium sized businesses seldom want to invest money is on professional photography. In the modern era of point and shoot digital cameras, business owners feel that they are more than capable of taking photos that will be 'fine' - and at best, that's about the best it ever is - fine.

If you are in any kind of retail business, I would say pro photography is essential in properly showcasing your wares. Have you ever been to one of those take-away noodle or hamburger stores with really old and crappy looking photos? Doesn't look very appealing does it?

Compare the product photography on these sites:
1. Noodles & Company or Applebees
2. Buckhorn Grill or The Y Steakhouse

Even a mediocre product can be made to look a million bucks with some sweet photography.

I tried to find places of equivalent dining cost, to keep the playing field fair, but understand that the good sites I chose obviously have a far greater budget than the other 2. Finding a pro photographer doesn't need to cost a fortune, and you should be able to find a decent photographer for less than $500 for a shoot.

The conclusion

With these 3 aspects covered, you're almost guaranteed to get a great looking website that your customers will love and will win over your not-yet customers.

Please feel free to add any additional hints in the comments.

4 ways from brief to idea

So you've made the sale, received your deposit and the client has sent you their brief (or you've created one based on questions you've asked). What you do next will make or break you as a designer.

Every designer will have their own ways if finding 'inspiration'. Some are similar to the methods I mention below, but they are varied as much as the designs they create.

The list I've compiled here is a combination of personal experience, as well as some tricks I learned from seasoned creatives in the advertising industry.

1. Just Start

Although this is has probably the lowest success rate, some people come up with ideas on the fly. This method is as simple as it sounds. Fire up your design program and just start. You could try starting with type styles or creating the current logo. I find myself doing this if I get lazy, but the results are nearly always sub-standard. By starting with fonts, you usually limit your creativity, and end up using text as-is.

2. Box Method

Draw up a grid of 16 squares on a page (a quick way is to fold it in half 3 times) and get a pen ready. Now, close your eyes and picture a black square getting bigger and bigger until you can't see the edge any more. Now open your eyes and draw/write really quickly the first idea that comes into your head into the first square. It may be an idea of a letter variant within the logo, it may be an image of a hat, it may be a pickle - anything you can think of that vaguely relates to the brand or the name. Even if it doesn't relate, just sketch it quick and move on. This isn't a drawing exercise, its a quickfire idea generator.

Don't spend any more than 20 seconds. Now move onto the next square and the next square. Don't stop until you have filled both sides (or 32 boxes). The more the better. See if you can keep going for 30 minutes - and don't look back. If you average around 30 seconds each - you have 60 ideas.

Now go back and circle 5 or so you think have some serious value, and try to expand on them a bit more. I have a friend that makes a full page of expansion ideas for each of the 5 original ideas. If none of them work out, either go back and pick a few different ones, or do a completely new sheet.

3. Brainstorm

Similar to the box method, but here you're going to be writing a lot more than drawing. There are lots of ways to brainstorm, so I'll just share how I go about it.

Start by writing the business name in the center of the page and draw a circle around it. Then write a list of the businesses core values, circle them, and attach each one to the name. Next, write any aspects that the client would like to portray. Maybe it's 3 different departments of the business, maybe it's that they're eco-friendly or that they want to include some humor in the brand. Next, write a list of images that come to mind when you think of the business, or what the business wants people to think about them (try to stick to physical things). Next, write a list of adjectives that describe the company, then things that rhyme, and things that sound like the business name.

Now go and start circling with colored pencils or markers. Green = Must have, Blue = Would be good, Orange = Maybe.

Next try graphical thinking. Try to think of pictures that 'represent' some aspect of the company the company without using any words. Don't try to create the logo, just think of images that represent some aspect of what you're trying to convey. Once you've exhausted your first list, see if you can combine them to form 1 image or see if another image can represent a combination of them.

It may be good to stop after you've written all of your words and try the box method (above) instead of moving right onto the graphic thinking.

4. Drown

When I was doing my advertising training a lecturer told a story of a famous (but I was unable to find him online again to reference this article) Japanese advertising creative goes down to his swimming pool and sinks himself to the bottom. With his waterproof board and pen, he stays down there until he comes up with an idea. His theory is that the brain makes remarkably impressive and intuitive calculations when it goes into panic mode. I'm guessing it works because he's apparently one of the best.

I'll add more details on that if I can find them, and please feel free to help me out if you can. :)

Some things that will help

1. Always carry and notebook and pen with you, and keep one by your bed. Awesome ideas often come to you in the strangest places at the strangest times, so be ready to note them, even if you're not sure if its any good (remembering for later works 0.0001% of the time). I just got my first Molskine and I wonder why I never got one before - it's brilliant!

2. Try dedicating an hour when you first wake up each morning to be creative. Studies have shown that this is when most designers are most creative. Mostly due to the fact that the mind is fresh and uncluttered. Try fitting it in before breakfast (coffee may be needed though).

3. I can't verify this (and if someone out there can add some technical information it would be appreciated here) I've been told that moving water apparently releases positive ions into the air which stimulate brain activity. This should mean that sitting by a flowing river, or even in a running bath should all help your brain to do a bit of creative overtime. I also find that being outside in the fresh air can help to focus me on my work.

4. Although named 'identity inspiration', I would avoid browsing through places like Logopond.com until after you've started working on concepts. I find that looking at logos in a similar field will block free thinking thought, and you get stuck down a single line of thought.

5. Don't rush in. Once you've had the initial conversation with the client, make as many notes as you can, then let it simmer in your brain for 24 hours. Let your brain think about what you've learned about your client and sometimes you just come up with that brilliant idea without having to go through the whole process above.

6. Don't try to produce a logo in the idea phase, just try to get as many different ideas on the paper as possible. There's plenty of time to refine later, just get it down and move on. Don't critique ideas yet either - its all about quantity at this stage - the quality comes later.

7. If you get a mental block, push through it once, if it stays there, take a break. Have a cup of tea and do something else for a while. Take your mind off it and come back to it later.

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Well, I hope that's given you some ideas and I hope it helps you to start generating your own. Feel free to let me know if it helped.

So you want to be a logo designer?

The outset

I probably get an email at least every other week from young lads and lassies wanting to do some work experience in my 'office'. Most are young designers doing their graphic design degree or young 'uns just about to finish high school and want a taste of what it would be like to work in a design agency. There seems to be an ever-growing number of kids wanting to try their hand at logo design, and I'd say it's probably one of the easier businesses to run as a freelance designer.

In this post, I've made a bit of a rough road map to get you on the path to becoming a logo designer.

I probably need to start by saying that I have had no formal education in design (beyond 8th grade art class), but have been a professional web and logo designer for over 10 years.

Before You Jump In

I believe that the first step to any career (full or part time) is dedication. With or without any formal education in your field you need to have the heart that will get you through the times when you want to give up (there will be some).

Decide to be great. Too many designers (in all fields) are content producing mediocre work. The design industry is full of 'cheap' work and poor design. If you set your sight to be a great designer, your work will only get better with time.

Steps to get going as a logo designer

1. Invest in some software
If you're going to be producing logos, you're going to want to get yourself a vector design software package. Adobe Illustrator is probably the industry big-wig, but there are plenty of other options around that will be sufficient. I personally prefer the Corel Draw line, because I find it easier to do what I need to do, but if you want to eventually get an employed job in the industry, you're probably gong to want to get yourself familiar with Illustrator. (links at the end).

2. Read some books
I'd recommend 3 topics of books to get you ready for logo design. a) Logo design books. There are loads of books full of logos and branding case studies. b) Typography books. One of the key elements of any logo is the type. Learn to love type - it will be your best friend. c) Software instructional books. The better you can use your software, the more versatile you can be.

3. Build your library
There are plenty of places online to find 'free' fonts. Collect a wide variety, and learn when its appropriate to use each style.

4. Copy, copy and copy
Get together a collection of the best 20 or 30 logos you can find (use online sources such as logopond.com or incspring.com to get an idea of what other people feel is a good design). Once you have your list, see if you can emulate them. Without copying parts of them directly, see if you can recreate the logo using your software. Now see if you can duplicate it a different way. Learning versatility in your design techniques will open you up to knowing which tool will work best in a given situation. Once you have mastered one logo, move onto the next.

You'll probably notice that most of the best logos are really quite easy to produce because the strength of the idea is the shining light. By all means start with simple designs, but make sure you challenge yourself too.

Important Note: This is the only point on your career that I will ever advocate copying other people's work. It's okay while you're learning, but never ever, EVER use that work in your portfolio, or show it to clients. It's exclusively a learning tool and nothing more.

5. Build a portfolio
The only way you're going to get clients (at least ones that will pay) is to show them a sample of your work (please make sure pay attention to the note above here). At this stage you can either make up your own brands, or re-brand some existing companies. Places like logopond give you a place to upload your logos in a gallery style, as well as give you a forum to get feedback from other designers.

6. Grow another few layers of skin
All designers get harsh criticism, even the seasoned professionals. Listen to the opinions of everyone, then filter them to take positives and discard the negatives. If someone says 'that's a load of crap' - ignore it, if they add '..because the type looks cheap and the mark looks like wordart' then you at least have some direction.

The rules

1. Never copy or plagiarise.
You must never, ever take an existing logo and pass it off as your own work. Never look at a logo and create your own version of it. Never take significant 'inspiration' from another logo. It's very tempting when you're starting, but believe me, it will ruin your reputation and career. Don't think you won't get caught because you're in a different country or industry - there are thousands of people looking out for breaches ALL the time, especially online. There are also heavy penalties for breaches of copyright (and no a logo doesn't need a (c) , R or TM mark to be off limits).

2. Don't argue with people giving you feedback.
Try to work out what they're really saying and take out the parts of their opinion that are objective. Everyone has opinions, and nobody's opinion is right every time.

3. Don't use swooshes or bevels in your logos.
Just a personal peeve - and generally a clear sign of an amateur designer.

The End

Hopefully this has been a helpful guide to get the ball rolling for you. At the end of the day, success will find you if you put in the hard yards. You'll be frustrated a lot, and you'll spend endless hours doodling in the hope of inspiration, but you'll feel the rejuvenation all flood back to you when you hear your first client say 'i love it!'.

Resource Links

Software

• Adobe Illustrator (if you're a student make sure you look for the academic license)
• Corel Draw
• Raven (Free online vector editor)

Books

• Really Good Logos Explained: Top Design Professionals Critique 500 Logos and Explain What Makes Them Work (by Margo Chase + others)
• Design Matters: Logos 01: An Essential Primer for Today's Competitive Market (by Capsule)
• Identity Crisis: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands (by Jeff Fisher)
• Logo, Font & Lettering Bible (By Leslie Cabarga)

Websites

• Logopond.com: Great for inspiration, and great forum
• Incspring.com: Place to buy and sell logos. Some great brands on here too
• DaFont.com: Loads of free fonts to get you started (lots of garbage though)