Web Design Trends For 2009

We Web designers are a fickle lot. We love to experiment with things. We love to observe how people interact with our work. And we love to try out unusual design approaches that might possibly go mainstream and become a classic approach. As result, new design approaches come up, and as more and more designers notice them and make use of them, new trends emerge.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/01/14/web-design-trends-for-2009/

Jeffrey Zeldman: Understanding Web Design

A great video about web design, featuring the legendary Jeffrey Zeldman…

Jeffrey Zeldman: Presentations from Gain 2008: Gain: AIGA Business and Design Conference 2008: Events: AIGA.

Which Comes First, Print or Web?

When rebuilding a brand from the ground up, where should we first focus our attention? Apart from any identity development that must occur, web should always come first.

Web is the first point of contact, and has been for almost a decade. When executed correctly, a brand’s web presence should be its heart and soul. A place where it lives, breathes, connects with its audience, and delivers on its promise.

Of course web and print materials can be developed in tandem, but only after a solid web strategy has been developed and set into motion. There are some occasions when a print piece simply needs to *get out the door* for whatever reason. Those are unfortunate times, and if there is no supporting web component, it’s likely to fail anyway.

What Is Web Design?

Until I have time to write up something in my own words, this will have to do.

“Web design is the creation of digital environments that facilitate and encourage human activity; reflect or adapt to individual voices and content; and change gracefully over time while always retaining their identity”

—jeffrey zeldman

Experience Design Manifesto

via Experience Design Manifesto

End of Cable TV?

Cable TV isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. But with more and more people watching videos online, and now, media boxes streaming content from sites like Hulu, there aren’t many reasons left for keeping the old cable box around.

With signs like these, those of us who make their living online should feel pretty good about their long-term job security.

Cash Flow: Fantasy vs Reality

As sales slow across the country in nearly every industry, huge potential still exists in the digital world. Specifically, the opportunity to increase brand awareness in virtual communities and social networks, which, ultimately, lead to real-world sales.

Companies advertise and even “sell” online versions of their products on sites like Zwinky, Gaia Online and Facebook. Although very little money ever changes hands, the real and virtual worlds of commerce are continuing to merge.

Owners and operators of virtual worlds and social networks get real cash for allowing companies to participate in their virtual economy – similar to product placement in TV shows. Brand managers accrue measurable advertising. Real-world retailers sell gift cards, redeemable within the virtual worlds and communities for “fantasy” currency.

Photoshop can be scary too… happy Halloween!

Think Beyond the Task At Hand

Any designer who doesn’t think like a marketer will never be anything more than a production artist. Read the full discussion.

Social media, as we all know, can be a great marketing tool. But it is just one tool in the toolbox, and not necessarily the best tool to accomplish every job. Know your toolbox, your client and their audience, and choose wisely.