Uncategorized – Page 2 – Todd Chambers

August 19, 2015 — No Comments

Keeping Tabs on the 2016 Contenters

It's August 2015 and (with the exception of Joe Biden) all the major candidates have officially thrown their hats in the ring. We're starting to hear the early drafts of their stump speeches, debates are scheduled and the candidates' logos and websites are being developed and fine tuned. So in the same spirit of launching, this post will act as the kickoff to my following of the unfolding story of our presidential hopefuls and their digital efforts in the race to win the hearts and minds of America. I'll check back in every month or so and comment on the stuff that really matters; logos, brand positions, tone of voice, website design and their use of advertising.

Let's start with the logos
A logo is often the first impression the public has with a candidate's messaging and you can typically tell a lot about a brand (and candidate) by the logo. Font choice, color pallets, inclusion of iconography, formatting and the use of metaphor and historical references all play a critical role in the impression left with the viewer. So far it looks like Bernie Sanders and Jeb Bush get the nod for the friendliest logos. Both are using neighborly fonts and have decided to play it safe and steered clear of tag lines. Bernie's lighter blue does have a particular youthful feel. I'm a bit puzzled by Hillary Clinton's logo. It certainly take the top spot for simplicity and I can appreciate that, but I'm sure I'm not the only one whose noticed that the arrow is pointing right [>].

Donald Trump and Ben Carson both have strong logos. They are anchored by block style fonts and leverage the familiar all-capital lettering that demands attention. No doubt these will stand out from a distance. I question the flag/A mark in the middle of the Carson logo though as it seems to add more visual confusion to the mark than is necessary.

And finally, Ted Cruz. I believe Cruz has one of the best logos of the current candidate pool. It's sophisticated, reads quickly, is strong without being stuffy and the flag/flame icon is both exciting and winsome.

How about you? Any of the candidates' logos standing out as a sure winner? If you had to pick a leader by their brand mark who would you choose?

My guess is we'll see some further refinements made to these logos in the coming months. We're still several months away from the heart of the campaign season and the tide will undoubtedly turn for some of the frontrunners. Other names will likely rise to the top and brilliant campaign managers will begin tinkering around the edges of both the personas and the marketing collateral of their candidates. It'll be fun to watch.

Next ...
As we continue to narrow the field I'll begin looking at each of the players' website designs. Particularly, I'll treat them like a new business prospect and audit the sites for usability and accessibility best practices. I'll comment on design, copy, information architecture and even make recommendations on conversion optimization opportunities. Stay tuned.

Published by Todd Chambers in Uncategorized

August 7, 2015 — No Comments

Mirror Mirror (new images for bios, resumes and social networking)

Much of the energy around the offices this month has centered around our long anticipated photo shoot. Scheduled earlier in the year for the sole purpose of capturing new images of the company's leadership and key players, this has been one of those real roller coaster projects. You know, the kind with more ups and downs than expected and the occasional bout of fear and nausea.

We knew we needed new head shots for inclusion in RFPs, new business pitches, speaking engagements, etc, but we were also well aware of the challenges that come with procuring really nice images. Conjuring a good likeness, one that truly represents you, highlights your personality, one you're proud to display on the company website for all to see is no small task. Being able to repeat that feat across a team of 15 opinionated individuals would seem to be impossible.

We did our fair share of shopping around. We looked at a great deal of portfolios and did plenty of snooping around other agency's site to get an idea of just how many ways there are to skin the proverbial cat. In the end we were surprised to find that the professional photographer we wanted and the style we hoped to achieve we much easier to locate that we'd feared. We reached out to a local shutterbug named Tim Harman. Already known for his wedding photography he proved he can easily tackle the boardroom as well. Professional, talented and a knack for capturing the real subject, I'd readily recommend his services.

So, if you're in the Atlanta area and in the market for some cracker-jack images, drop Tim a note. I'm sure he'll hook you up.

Oh, and check back soon to see our new bio images proudly showcased on the freshly updated BKV.com website.

Published by Todd Chambers in Uncategorized

June 25, 2015 — No Comments

Content Strategy is Tedious. Let Me Count the Ways.

A Content Strategy Project Update

The design team and I just finished a two day workshop that found us digging out the scissors and tape. Yep, we went old school. If you've happened to read some of the past posts documenting our ongoing content strategy project, you may have noticed we've been employing some high tech solutions to our tasks. We've explored software for completing site inventories and cataloging content. We've employed spreadsheets, word docs, open source online collaboration tools (much to the chagrin of our IT team) and even new cloud based site mapping tools like slickplan.

But in the end, we've found ourselves returning again and again to the old ways. If we were to look at the process thus far through the lens of the Pareto principle (80/20 rule), my guess is that the 20% of our efforts that have driven the most insight, or provided the greatest thrust toward client deliverables will have come from tried and true analogue methods. Whiteboard sessions, standup meetings, and of course the cutting/pasting and red-pen markup of printed pages.

I'm encouraged by the myriad tools that are coming online to help us UX folk hone our skills. And while it feels a bit odd to dig so deeply into the old bag of tricks, I'm quite relieved to know that so much our craft can be accomplished via bootstrap tactics. As a leader of a small UX team housed within a small digital agency it's reassuring that high budgets and fancy office infrastructure aren't required to produce quality products. What's really needed? Good people, genuine concern for the client and the product evolution. And of course a sharp pair of scissors.

Published by Todd Chambers in Content, Creative Process, Marketing, Uncategorized, Usability, UX

June 2, 2015 — No Comments

Are Flat Wireframes a Thing of the Past?

Earlier this week I spent the entire morning and the better part of the afternoon (sigh) in a client meeting. I'm sure you're familiar with this kind of gathering. The client drives or flies in from the other side of the state (or country) for the big milestone meeting that's been months in the making. The agency's design and content team has spent the preceding weeks getting all the deliverables ready for the big reveal. The day has finally come. Each client-facing document is printed in color, collated, kept under lock and key and eventually (with some fanfare of course) handed out at the appropriate time during the marathon meeting. The PowerPoint slides are micro-managed and double-vetted. They're routed, proofed, approved. A dry run of the presentation is enacted to ensure proper visibility in the conference room (unexpected light can be a killer when looking at nuanced marketing charts). And then quickly the whole thing is whisked away to be securely placed on a server, two laptops and at least one flash drive just to ensure absolute redundancy. The presentation itself is meticulously timed, using the industry standard 2 minutes per slide rule, and of course bio breaks and the occasional disruptive phone call or technical hiccup are all planned for to ensure that once the meeting starts there are no surprises.

Don't get me wrong, Contrary to the hyperbole I just spewed, I actually like these big shindigs. I think most creatives do, deep down. Agency folk have been having meetings like this since the day of Mad Men and for a host of good reasons. Who doesn't like a bit of dog and pony show? Client's are paying good money to have agencies create the magic, why not make a fuss over the unveiling of the deliverables? Plus, big meetings allow agency & client teams valuable face time. Time set aside to roll up sleeves and dig into the details of a project in a way that weekly status calls and Basecamp updates just can't approximate. Still I can't help but lament a missing element in the afore-mentioned paradigm. Namely, collaboration.

As a UX professional I thrive on the collaborative process. The client is the domain expert. That should go without saying. The client has the most acute awareness of the challenge needing a solution. The agency on the other hand knows how to craft experiences, showcase storytelling, leverage market trends and buy media. It only makes sense then, that the creative process capitalize on the synergy of the client/agency dynamic. Two teams aiming leading with their strengths working together for a shared outcome.

In the meeting I mentioned moments ago this bridge between stakeholders and agency became painfully obvious as the design team began presenting the wireframes we'd created for the meeting. I just couldn't shake the feeling that we were missing a level of buy-in. While everyone in the room we're nodding in agreement and conversation remained generally positive, it wanted something more. If only we could facilitate realtime feedback and incorporate it directly into the deliverables so that everyone in the room became a part of the solution. So that everyone felt a level of ownership over the product we're creating. It didn't take long once the meeting was over for me to begin my search for a collaborative wireframing tool.

I know, I know, I'm not the first to lament over the lack of collaboration in the UX process. And truth be told, I probably should have explored these particular solutions before now. But you know what they say recognition of the problem is the first step toward recovery. So the search for a new mousetrap begins.

Below are a few of the standouts I uncovered in my initial search:

HotGloo
Gliffy
MockFlow
Wireframe.cc
UXPin

Each solution has their own advantages of course and I'm still in the process of sharing these product options with our design team (remember, it's all about collaboration). I'd love to receive your feedback as well. If you or your team have successfully implemented a tool and workflow like this please, by all means, share the details. Nothing beats a recommendation form a fellow pro. I'm a marketer so I know the real value of testimonials. And for what it's worth, once my team and I have made a decision on which product or process to use, I'll pass along the update.

Published by Todd Chambers in Creative Process, Marketing, Resources, Uncategorized, Usability, UX

May 5, 2015 — No Comments

UX Audit Update & Resource Sharing

I'm several weeks into a lengthy project for a new client. We're prepping for a big redesign and so we're taking a big step back and looking at where we are and how we got here prior to charting the next leg of the journey. It's a smart approach to a redesign, but sadly not one taken by many brands due to the cost and effort. Seems lots of companies have bought into the idea that movement equals progress, and therefore stopping, if only to gain perspective, is counter productive. If you've visited my site recently you may have stumbled across other updates like this one. I understand that reading through other practitioners list of resources isn't the sexiest kind of content but hopefully you'll find the links and summaries below useful in one of your upcoming projects.

Storyscaping. I picked up this gem recently while doing research on the art and science of storytelling as a marketing strategy. I've not been disappointed. Focused identifying your customer segments, fully realizing your brands unique purpose and organizing and crafting a compelling story, this book is sure to set some board rooms on fire.

Identify and define your core desired consumer segment.
Unlock or define your brand or organization's Purpose.
Understand the emotional desires of your consumer.

Paul Boag is a designer and UX professional hailing from the UK. I always find his perspective fresh and his writing actionable. Here are two recent articles that helped me as I was digging for inspiration and process clarification on web accessibility and site reviews.

And finally I've been digging into some great resources from Colleen Jones. She the Founder and CEO of Content Science and the author of Clout_TheArtAndScienceOfInfluentialWebContent and Does Your Content Work?
If you're interested in optimizing your content and crafting a strategy that resonates with your customers, you need to make sure both books make it to your shortlist.

So, there you go - what are you waiting for - dig in. I hope these resources prove as helpful to you as they have to me.

Published by Todd Chambers in Content, Creative Process, Marketing, Resources, Uncategorized, Usability, UX

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