MOMA's latest intriguing online exhibition includes this fascinating exploration of the commercial color chart: how artists rebelled against it, interpreted it, stretched it, and disobeyed it. 

In web design, the commercial color chart is just one of the tools we use to make sure that our sites evoke a certain feeling through the use of color.  As you'll notice in the works of art from the MOMA exhibition, the use of a particular color can draw you in like a warm embrace. Others make you want to turn away. Some of the pieces make you wonder about color combinations, while others make you strain to see the differences.  

John Chamberlain's U.S. Bonds. from 1965 stands out as the piece I most remember once I've turned away from the site, perhaps because the black is not easily discernible, but the orange such a stark contrast, I can't help but remember it. Jennifer Bartlett's Binary Combinations. from 1971 is one of my favorites as it uses only two colors to achieve every possible combination. John Baldessari's Common Memory Colors: Flesh, White, Grey, Black, Sky, Grass, and Sand. from 1976 is interesting because, according to Kodak, people are most critical of these "Common Memory Colors" in any photograph.  Is his photographic representation of these colors correct?

Which piece is your favorite?

As a project manager, I deal quite a bit with scheduling here at Tortus: when to schedule meetings, when projects and elements of projects are due, taking into account vacations, client schedules, and many other variables. I was discussing this element of my job with a friend of mine who is a programmer for websites and a variety of other projects like light boards, software and security programs. He pointed me in the direction of a very interesting article about how programmers and designers (the “Makers”) break up and use their time as compared to someone like me (the “Managers”). I found it very enlightening and thought I’d share the article here so you can get a taste of just what goes into scheduling a project such as developing a website.

A Maker's Schedule by Paul Graham

Enjoy!

Is writing a difficult thing for you? If you find yourself struggling every time you open up a Word doc, or staring into space when you are confronted with a blank piece of paper, you should download the 10 Writing Tips to Make Your Mother Proud pdf from tiny gigantic.

Tips include:
First be clear. Then be pretty.
Do unto others.
Talk it out.
Truth is overrated.
Save the best for last.
And many more...

You just have to read the witty commentary to go along with the tips. They'll put anyone in a writing mood!

While researching what to write about this month I came across this great piece from the Telegraph UK in London. Think of it as a web version of a high school yearbook.

How 20 popular websites looked when they launched

Enjoy!

If you've ever longed to duplicate the color of your favorite Crayola crayon on your website, then I have the link for you. Not only does ColorSchemer give you the hex and RGB values for 120 Crayola colors, they also have some free color applications to help you consider color schemes.

It is a common thought in the new media industry that many of the tasks done by professionals can also be done by amateurs. While this is somewhat true (in the information age, anyone can learn how to do pretty much anything), the difference is that professionals will take the time to fully understand what they are trying to accomplish, looking at the goal from many different angles to see all the possibiliities. Cue: the design interview.

The design interview is an imperative part in the process of creating a website. The visual appeal of the website is still a factor in whether you can attract a prospective client or user. Appeal also helps establish credibility for your organization as well as further your traditional branding position, set the tone for the content of the site, and attract new users.

As a designer, I like to start out my interview with questions about the current website (if there's one available). My goal with these questions is to begin the process of getting the clients to think about their website through the eyes of their users.

The current site questions are (usually) as follows:

• Why do you feel you need a new site?
• What aspects of your current site work well and why do you think they are successful for your users?
• What aspects of your current site do not work well and why do you think they are unsuccessful for your users?

Then, I mix things up and throw in some questions about who the users actually are. This is a big hint if clients don't understand who their users are (or how they perceive them to be) as to how difficult writing content will be for them.

The audience / user questions are (usually) as follows:

• Who is your core audience?
• What does your core audience come to your site for?
• Does your core audience come back to the site for repeat visits? Why or why not?
• What is the primary message you wish to convey to your audience?
• What key elements do you wish to have displayed on every page and why do you think they are helpful to your users?
• What is the main action you'd like your users to take from the homepage? (i.e. follow a specific path, call, email, order, explore)
• What are the most important factors in a customer's decision to do business with you?

Now that last question some people might feel should go under the business section, but I disagree. It gives designers an idea for how the site should look to attract potential customers and to make sure your branding matches with what the customers are looking for.

After I obtain that information, I start asking questions about the client's business. This helps me as a designer get a feel for the product(s) they are selling, plus helps me ascertain how much a client understands their own business. This is important because it helps us help the client set realistic expectations.

The business questions are (usually) as follows:

• Who are your main competitors?
• What key benefits does your business offer that other do not?
• What are the business objectives for the site? (i.e. improve sales, increase customer satisfaction, reduce time spent looking for information)
• What are your short-term marketing goals and how will the website help you meet those goals?
• Do you have a planned or existing marketing strategy to promote the site after launch?

Since quite a bit of information comes out during our project initiation meetings, most times these questions get answered in common conversation. The next set of questions about likes, dislikes and any particular feel that should come across delves more into the "nitty-gritty" of the website.

The likes, dislikes and feel questions are (usually) as follows:

• Are there particular logos, colors, or graphics that you'd like us to use and can you provide them to us in a digital format?
• Are there any sites you particularly like or visit on a regular basis? If yes, why do you like them or why do you visit them?

As you'd seen me repeat a few times, I say "usually" for the questions because I'm constantly on the lookout for new questions that provide insight into the minds of clients as they communicate their ideas, desires and needs about their new site.

Finally, to make sure we're all on the same page and we have a specified goal, I ask some more "technical" questions about the process and what the client's expectations are most likely to be. This helps us stay in line with the expectations and provide a quality design to all our clients.

The technical questions are as follows:

• Who is the primary contact for the duration of the project?
• What is your target launch date? Do you have a specific reason for this date?
• How will you measure if your site is a success? (i.e. surveys for customer satisfaction, Grampa Joe can use it.)
• What would constitute a successful project for you? What are your expectations?

Overall, you may notice that some of these questions are similar. Notice that they are almost always related to the goal of the new design. This is to help us communicate clearly what the goals are, so we can excite every client over their new design.

A web designer may be a graphic designer, but not all graphic designers are web designers. It is not uncommon for people to compare web designs to designs seen in printing. It’s natural to do so because websites are intangible and people like the comfort of being able to hold something (like a print advertisement) in their hands. But the truth of the matter is websites are not the same as print – the way people interact with websites and the variables from user to user make web design a completely different animal. There are some sacrifices that must be made to make your web design work, but when you accept them, your site will be easier for everyone to use. This article was written to point out the differences between print design and web design and show why it is important to consider these differences.

Interactive Functionality

Web designs and print designs are both interactive in some form or another, but web designs are created for a different type of interaction than its printed counterpart. Websites are interactive in a user-controlled way. On a website you can navigate by clicking, contacting people, shopping, writing and more. The possibilities for websites are broad and varied. Interacting with a website involves more than the passive act of viewing a printed poster or turning a page in a magazine or book. As said by Colin Leiberman from cactusflower.org, “Designing for web means designing for web behaviors”. A web site is an interactive experience that requires the design accommodate all types of users, user platforms (various browsers, computers, hand-held devices, etc), and user behaviors.

Variability and Accessibility

Variables are a key difference in web design compared to print design. With print, there is the satisfaction that it will always look the same, no matter where or how you look at it. Once it’s printed, that’s the way it is. With web design however, there are too many factors that override the ability to make designs look exactly the same on every computer or device. However, if you learn to work with the fact that there are variables, you can have a design that looks great and can be viewed by everyone on every platform.

Here are some items that vary on web sites:

Color Variation

Color on computers can be deceiving. You never know exactly how a color is going to look on each person’s computer monitor. Often people will say that a color looks off to them, but it’s usually because they are looking on a different monitor than they were the last time. Because of the slightly different display of light and color on each monitor, colors cannot be made to look exactly the same for everyone. Keeping this in mind when viewing your site can save a lot of frustration over trying to get exact colors.

Continue to read the rest of this article on Tortus.com...

Flickr is a popular website that allows users to share and utilize photos, as well as interact with other photo enthusiasts. Launched in February 2004, Flickr has become the destination on the web for photo sharing, beating in popularity such sites such as Photobucket and Shutterfly. In 2008, Flickr expanded into video sharing, even allowing those who are signed up for a “pro” account ($25 per year) the ability to upload high-definition (HD) videos. Other Flickr features include Flickr Map, a tool that enables users to find photos based on location and Picnik, Flickr’s very own photo editing tool.

One of the mainstream uses of Flickr is the ability for users to search the site for images to incorporate into their own marketing pieces or personal collections. Since images are tagged with relevant keywords, it's easy to find images with specific subject matter. Depending on the photo-sharing settings that the photographer has selected, you might be able to use the image without worrying about copyright infringement, as long as you give credit to the photographer. Flickr’s Creative Commons License details the terms of agreement for sharing or adapting another user's photos. According to the Flickr website, “You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).”

One of our very own Torti has experienced firsthand the joys of Flickr. Alison West, a Tortus web designer, has watched her treasured photos take many unexpected journeys across the web. Since creating a Flickr account to showcase her photography portfolio, Alison has witnessed the following:

Hercules the Liger Photo Courtesy of Alison West

• A digitally enhanced spooky Halloween photo she created was picked up and featured as an e-greeting card.
• A series of photographs of Hercules, the world's largest Liger, has been used in many articles, including one on geneticsevolution.com (Check out her credit when you click on the image!)
• Alison recently received a request to allow one of her photos to be featured in an upcoming book. Her photo of a pair of kittens will be included in the next "LOL Cats" book, published by Ulysses Press of Berkley, CA.
• Alison has been contacted numerous times by people who are planning a trip to an area that she has photographed and would like the inside scoop or instructions on how to find the setting they saw in the photo.

Check out Flickr for yourself – you never know where one of your favorite photos might end up!

A little while ago, I wrote an article for the Tortus.com news section. It has some great information about writing content for the web and takes some of the mystery out of the task.

Content Made Easy

Several of our clients often relay the same message:

"Writing content is hard!"

We know writing content for a website can be a herculean task. Rewriting older content and removing trivial, outdated, and redundant paragraphs can reduce the effort required. If you are starting from scratch, planning your goals, writing simply, and answering some directional questions can provide you with a guideline to help make writing content easier.

Rewrite old content

Rewriting old content can be easier than starting from scratch. Asking yourself if the content is still relevant requires thinking about your goals. What do you want your users to do on your site? What do your users want from your site?

Take a look at your entrance. Your homepage should answer the basic questions in 4 seconds or less. Who are you? What can you offer me? These are the two most important questions to answer when reworking your homepage. Once those two questions are answered, then you can delve into the details. Your entire homepage should answer the who, what, where, when, and why (if relevant) questions. The rest of your site should answer how.

Probably the easiest page to edit will be the about us page, or company history page. Check for relevant information; staff members who have left their positions, locations that are no longer valid.

The trick to using older content is getting it current. Believe it or not, even language and grammar change over time. The best way to figure out if your text is current enough is to read it aloud. Does it sound like something you would say? Can you read it easily? If not, go back and rework it until it is easy to say aloud.

Images are a little trickier than text, but they can still look dated. Check for obvious signs, out-of-date machinery, clothing, hair styles. The good news is that photography is a lot cheaper now than it was back then, and anyone can take a decent photo with a digital camera.

Read the full article at tortus.com.