I’ve seen some bad ideas in navigation, but this subtle one takes the cake (a nice German Chocolate cake). Typically when you see navigation, you see a list of links. Click on the link, you go to the next page. Wrong. On this particular site (nameless), which was recently redesigned (and nicely by the way), someone came up with the
This was a redesign project for a long-time client, a niche travel agency located in Malibu, California. The lead-generation website features small-ship adventure cruise vacations, targeting retirees and affluent professionals.
— “Put the cart before the horse.” Why do website owner’s do this? All the time? They come up with a great website element or feature. Then, they build the site around it. But they forget the primary reason for the site. The goal. Increase sales. Sell books. Increase downloads of brochures. They’ll all agree that these are the reasons
This project was not so much a redesign as a refresh of the site’s current design. The original design was flat & dated. The initial view of the site was a Flash-based animation, followed by a redirect to the About page which contained information on the organization, PDF newsletters and the club’s board members, not hardly the primary interest when
Late last year, I wanted to verify thoughts I had on web design and the industry, specifically related to the web design process. I tapped my network at LinkedIn to poll. The results are definitely not scientific, as the questions were polled at different times, with different responders. Consider this just a quick check into the industry, not an all
The topic of using text-decoration versus border-bottom for hyperlinks recently cross my mind. To be honest, I had never consider the effects and impacts of these two different implementations. However, since playing with these concepts, it has become quite an important usability item to me.
I really don’t know the official term to describe this method. It’s not new, by all means. However, it’s a powerful method of using CSS code & classes effectively and efficiently. Multiple CSS Classes First, you may not be aware that you can use multiple css classes on elements. Example: <p class=”classone classtwo”></p> Here’s where the power comes in. We
Just learned of a great new web design podcast. The Pipeline, hosted by Dan Benjamin, features interviews with leading designers, developers, writers, and entrepreneurs. The first episode featured Jeffrey Zeldman, designer, founder of ALA. I found this to be the best interview with Jeffrey. Other shows feature interviews with Ryan Carson and Jason Fried, with more interviews to come. Visit
Early in my web career, say 2000, I was always told to limit what you emphasize. The theory is that the more you emphasize, the less something is emphasized. I remember debating with several content producers on this topic.
This website redesign project was referred by my web design partner. A printing business has an existing site, which was outdated and not representing the company’s products and services. We worked with the client to examine their competition and agree upon an information architecture that would provide results. After creating wireframes that represented the content for each page type, my
Lindblad Alaska is a standards-based, lead-generation, travel-related microsite designed for an existing client and developed on a WordPress CMS. Much of the look n’ feel was derived from existing branding from travel supplier print material. I participated in the end-to-end design & development of the website.
This web design project was for a business lawyer client in Los Angeles, California. The project involved information architecture, wireframes and Photoshop design mock-ups. The site was then built on the WordPress CMS platform leveraging a web standards approach. It encompasses the clients need to communicate that their legal services provide direction. Highlights About the site WordPress, standards-based website Completed
We are truly blessed. No, I’m not getting religious. As a web professional, we here in Chicago are truly bless.
The Galapagos Islands is a standards-based, lead-generation, travel-related microsite designed for an existing client and developed on a WordPress CMS. Much of the look n’ feel was derived from existing branding from travel supplier print material. The site leverages Cufon, a font-replacement technology, that allowed me to target the well-established supplier branding. As the Galapagos Islands are a unique destination,
The client, who created the initial 10-year old website using Frontpage, was my dentist at the time. For many years, I commented on how I could freshen up the look of his website while increasing the chance the site would rank better on the search engines. After several off and on discussions over a period of years, he finally decided
The client had an existing table-based website which was designed by the hosting company. In two years, the client had never received any leads from the website. Desperate to increase business, Jean-Jacques was referred to me to redesign the website, making it more effective. The redesigned website incorporated a web standards-based approach with search engine optimization in mind, while increasing
The client contacted my web design partner requesting a redesign of a site who’s business they purchased. The old site had a grunge, retro feel to it, and didn’t match the new owner’s fun retro tone they wanted to achieve. As this was a seasonal business and the season fast approaching, we worked with the business owner to determine the