The Internet In Business

For my first blog entry, I thought I should start by introducing myself but I don’t want to give it all in one day – I’m like that -- so let’s start with the basic stuff – I’m Claire!

If you need more info you can always give it a guess.

Good – now the first thing I’d like to start screaming about is the word “design”.

Wikipedia (cause we don’t use dictionary anymore, do we?) states that “Design is the planning that lays the basis for the making of every object or system.” -- and I have to say I agree!

For me design and more specifically web design is about graphic design, information architecture, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, e-marketing and technology. It is the sum of all those things mixed for a client’s need that make a great website and value your presence online to your target audience.
In everyone’s mind, on the other hand, design is about “drawing nice images”.

We, as designers (I have given another clue, haven’t I?), hate that minimalist idea about ourselves.

Because we don’t like people thinking our work is “subjective” (because it’s not – we know what we are doing and why!) we have looked into adding some sort of science to it. We’ve come across cognitive psychology and heuristic to support our choices which became known as Web Usability.

A few years down the line, Jakob Nielsen and a few others are the god of Web Usability. They created a few books and white-papers about usability that are great but amusingly “too accessible”!
Nowadays, you frequently find yourself in clients meetings with UI (User Interface) experts that only swear by the 3 click rule. Now, how to get out of it and still make the client happy?

Thanks to Google and other Online Marketing tools, we now have another way to support our choices. Google analytics and website optimizer have saved the day!

We know that design by consensus does not work. We can now prove it by testing all the necessary designs for a certain period of time and then we just need to read the numbers out loud!

Don’t get me wrong, clients know their audience and they know what works with them unfortunately taste and subjectivity always get on the way of objective thinking. The designer will always design a site with the target audience in mind.
The client sometimes tend to forget its audience because a website is what represents them as well and it is very hard to portray an image we don’t find “beautiful”. Google tools then help the client test its audience and find the perfect match.

Have a look at this video from Google: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc086xb6qS4)

To my point of view – as a designer -- this is a exciting tool. I can make more than one design therefore content everyone (me, the client, the client’s audience) and I see results – we could even organize a bet on which alternative will win!!!
Only trouble is to have clients that actually understand and agree with this and therefore are ready to spend effort, time and money into testing their site…. ah bon entendeur (another clue? Maybe!)