‘Feed the designer’ blog post series is an attempt to share with you what inspires me each week.

Walking along the cool sunny wintry streets of Christchurch I saw a poster with some names I knew all about, this poster was for an upcoming conference for designers up in Auckland – Semi Permanent. One of those names had me going straight to the website and buying myself a ticket.

Jessica Hische is a lovely, motivated and super talented designer/illustrator/typographer. Ever since she showed up on the interweb I have been admiring from afar for her attention to detail and gorgeous colour palettes. Here is a video! Make sure you head to her shop if you like her style and would like something for your walls.

SP 2010 Speaker – Jessica Hische from Semi Permanent on Vimeo.

Whats inspiring without a little music? I’m gonna show my age here, I listened alot to Lamb on those all night stints working on that assignment due the next day, way back in the uni days. I now have no idea how I managed those all nighters. I remember large amounts of spicy chips, chocolate and coffee being involved. Lamb still helps me focus on work. If I need to get some stuff done quick (usually some HTML and CSS!), this is my sound track. Play the vid for a sample:

Memories and nostalgia! The last design conference I went to was Semi Permanent in Sydney, just after graduating from uni. Add in listening Lamb and no time has passed. I’m that poor silly student all over again. So fun.

I am like any self respecting plant. To produce the goods I need feeding. Not just the standard ordinary feeding of hot chocolates, bike rides, food and water – I need specialist food. To make websites and logos day in, day out, something has to happen on occasion to instill some passion and enthusiasm once again. I thought I might share with you my inspirations in the coming weeks on how I keep myself ticking and inspired on the days where everything but lying in the sun with a gin and tonic – seems so boring.

It all starts with paper and ink. A good read – on ‘handcrafting’ websites. (for non-webbers – i have a music video at the bottom!)

Handcrafted CSS

by Dan Cedarholme with Ethan Marcotte

This book started going over about a bunch of stuff I knew in ‘bits’. For myself the value came from overall CSS concepts being  explained with some pretty sexy examples.  An added bonus, just like Dan’s Bulletproof web design book, you can build a website if you follow through copying the examples (The finished website is also available for download.)

I learnt a fair amount in the end and found myself getting excited about CODE. I know.. weird. My favorite chapter is the one on fluid grids. I have already started using grid based layout (after reading about it online) besides keeping the design tight, i didn’t really know why it had taken the web design world by storm. Now its explained in a funny way and I have more (and better) examples to play with. If you’re a web designer this book is perfect for linking all the new practices together to get your foundation CSS and HTML knowledge back into shape.

For each post on “what feeds me”  I plan on giving you a wee sample of my music collection. This week is the awesome guitarist/musician Kaki King. The album I own is “Dreaming of Revenge”  brought on itunes… i love itunes for music downloading ease!

What inspires you to stay on top and happy most days? Is there any special albums, places, websites or books? Perhaps daily rituals that help you roll out of bed… I love hearing about new music, art, books – feel free to share…

Another project review for you with the before and after!

Ben Kepes editor for US based technology blog CloudAve needed a new theme for his WordPress blog that represented his growing analysis business. His boutique analysis firm conducts research and publishes whitepapers of a ‘technical nature’ namely, cloud computing and related themes for businesses such as Rackspace, Box.net and MYOB.

So here’s the homepage before the re-design:

Here is the ‘after’ (homepage)

I wanted to explain my thought process behind this re-design,  I got to start from scratch on this job which meant designing page layouts and even structure adjustment. As I have mentioned before… favorite part!

Home page:
I wanted a homepage that immediately conveyed what Diversity Analysis has to offer and it also needed to be clear that the analysts were not just writers, but writers that specialized in technical topics.

So the top content area had to have a written description of what they did with some visual cues…

The logos are to add credibility and be recognizable helping the potential client see that other companies had trusted these guys and they had done a good job.

It was also important that the context was correct. The preview of ‘who they are’ is essential for giving not only that ‘face’ that marketers go on about, but also to let people know they are not dealing with a big corporation, just two guys who know what they do that they can talk to directly. An added bonus would be recognition. Ben is regularly writing up articles on the big conferences so no doubt some of these people would have seen him around.

The rest of the items on the homepage are to draw people into the other parts of the site by providing previews of everything they need before they get in contact to get their own whitepaper written.

Rest of site:
I wanted to keep the site uncomplicated and simple to get around in ways that suited whoever was reading. To do this for Diversity I focused on the following:

1. A good search function
2. Obvious navigation
3. Links within the content
4. Additional content added within the page that relates to that pages topic.

The last one is so other questions like “How do I contact this person?” are answered straight away.

For Diversity whose main clientèle are already very technically literate I also used the footer. Because so many technical sites now frequently use this area they will be used to seeing something in there of interest, although I did limit the amount of things appearing so not to overload with information.

Here is another favorite bit; getting the feedback from MY client Ben Kepes on how it all went.

Are there any parts of the website that you feel (and perhaps seen evidence of) work really well in representing what you do?

The site was formerly blog-centric with add on pages articulating the other services. With this redesign we’ve managed to combine the blogging aspects, along with showcasing the high value work we do and gaining the credibility from showing some of our corporate clients.

Is there anything you would perhaps add or change now looking back?

Not really – we’re happy with the site as it stands, while it’s always an iterative process – this is a great starting point.

What methods of marketing have you found have worked well for you in promoting yourself as a writer?

I’m lucky in that I live in paradise but regularly travel to the US and Australia. I use social media (Twitter, LinkedIn etc) heavily and this has enabled me to build a brand that is well respected for its independence and thought leadership. There’s no replacement for “beating the streets” and I spend a lot of time talking to all the players in my industry.

Thanks Ben!

Kate the owner of Floozy.co.nz, a shop full of gorgeous handbags and essential fashion treats, came to me with a problem. The logo, that had served the start-up, no longer serves the fully grown shop. It was time for the logo to be given an overhaul, but the Floozy philosophy still held true: “Online retail therapy fashion shopping thats high class but fun.”

So I chose a new main typeface that is clean and slightly rounded (a lot like Chanel’s). Took away the green and the pink and went straight to black and white. Below we have the before and after.

Before:

After:

The new lady was penned by the super awesome illustrator Lauren Parr. Here is the full bodied floozy (go to the blog page on the website to see the fun illustration she designed.)

Since the most essential part of the website outfit was changed, the rest had to match! So out with old pinks and greens and in with some cool greys and blacks with a ‘hint’ of red.

From this:

To this:

I even got to change a few old layouts that just didn’t work to well, which had to be the most satisfying part of the whole thing for this little designer.

Thats not all!  Kate has decided to run a wee advertising campaign for six months with Next Magazine. Guess who gets to design some ads for them?

I took my inspiration from some botanical illustrations and the famous DK books. The displaying of the organiser contents is influenced by a trend I have seen online lately, of people taking photos of whats in their handbag. So to have some fun with this craze Kate is running a competition on her Floozy facebook page for people to take photos of their handbag contents and go in the draw to win the original Tintimar handbag organiser. If your not so game for that then you can head into the shop and buy anything in between 17th May and the 13th of June 2010 and go in the draw to win as well…

You have heard an awful lot from me on the topic. I thought it would be interesting to see what Kate has to say about the whole process, so I asked Kate a few questions:

What part of the refresh did you like the most?

I love everything about it, it’s clean and fresh and stylish, but most of all I LOVE the new Floozy lady! She is so perfect and totally captures the fun element of Floozy, one of Floozy’s facebook fans said she thought she looked like me!! I wish I had a waist that small!

(Almost don’t want to ask this question) What did you like least?

There’s nothing I don’t like about it! I was anxious on the day we pushed the changes onto the live site, it’s always a little nail biting that something will go wrong and the site will collapse, but I needn’t have worried all went smoothly!

Whats the most important thing you think people should know about owning an online shop?

Online shopping is still relatively new in New Zealand, good imagery and a great returns policy are important, but so is letting your customer’s know that there is someone behind what to them is possibly a faceless online store, I use social media to put a name and face to my business and earn my customer’s trust.

Thanks Kate!

There has been alot of thought and research going into my business and where it is going lately. How I want it to grow and change, and what other things I may want to throw into the mix. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I am excited by the possibilities I am stewing over.

I discovered an author in my research called Seth Godin. He is hugely popular (does “purple cow” sound familiar?) but I hadn’t really read any of his books until now. My favorite by a long shot is Meatball Sunday.  The main message I got from him is this stuff here:

• -Be authentic and tell your story,
• -Be passionate about what you do,
• -Take advantage of the changing world of technology and create new products and services inspired by those changes.

So what does this mean? Well I have managed to add my much missed and preferred wire framing step into my design process. Which has been fun and not to mention it works. I forget less of what should be in the design and problems we might face usually pops up in the drawing stage and gets sorted in the drawing stage rather than once the site is all made up. Loving it! I am also hard out learning about the new moves in google analytics, online marketing and best practice Wordpress template construction. The SEO world is also fast morphing, keeping up with that too.

Check out my slightly neglected but now slowly getting refreshed Amazon bookshop for the Seth Godin books I have read and highly recommend. I am chewing through the rest in our local library and will add them if I think them the biz!

What I loved about Trader Joes, not only could you feel and look at the products, but they also offered extra info to help you care for your product.

Today I have a ‘bee in my bonnet’. After browsing a shop with some awesome designs in it. I would maybe buy, but I’m not sure. Its a fashion accessory item and I just can’t tell by the beautiful photo what size it is. Is it big and bold? Light and delicate? Perhaps a Medium? I can happily wear medium or light but I know my fingers look odd with a huge ring. I like them on others though, just not me.

Inspired by this I have decided to write down the list usually given to clients if they are struggling with writing content for their online shops.

What you absolutely must have in your shops content:

1. Individual  Product Content: Make sure your product descriptions have the facts; whats its made out of, how big it is, what it smells like, what it can be combo’d with… whatever suits. Answer every question you think they may have about it (think about yr own online shopping experience, what questions have you had in the past?). This is your sales pitch baby. But don’t over do it! You don’t want people to feel they have to read an epic to get the info they want. When formatting bullet pointing the never goes a-miss, information like:
   • -colour
   • -size
   • -materials the product is made out of
     
2. Clear Photos of your product. On a background that is enhancing your product, not detracting from it. If you can give a visual idea of scale this is a good thing.
3. Content tone gives your shop “atmosphere”, if its fun and funky, you can try injecting personality into your content.
4. Country of origin: Being in NZ we may try to not make this quite so obvious due to post delays. However what happens when someone halfway across the world expects their product in the post within the week. A whole world of pain baby. Emails, upset complaints, worries… all of that reflects on your shop and how you run it.
5. Shipping countries and costs where possible. Returns policy, your terms and conditions, no-one may ever read them, but they assure people you are legit by their existence.
6. Payment Information: How people can pay for your product, is it paypal? Credit card? Bank Transfer, all of the above? Have this obvious on the site somewhere thats not just the checkout.
7. Info about you! People love a story, give it to them! Make them love the fact your not a major corporation or multi national brand but a great small biz or independent seller.
8. Language/Lingo: Use your customers language, avoid industry terms and stay clear of ‘jargon’. Unless that is your target customer.
9. Menus and Categorisation: Section your goods out in a nice obvious manner. Look at how successful people do it and if not replicate, let it guide you.

So the facts are over I have a link to give you for further reading. Etsy - Don’t be put off by all the crafting, thinking it does not apply to you (if your not a crafter) there is a wealth of knowledge here.

-An article on writing item descriptions.

-Their sellers handbook

I also have a lot to say on the marketing front – stay tuned!

I went to the documentary Handmade Nation last night. Organised by Miss Millie and sponsored by Felt. Credits over heres what i thought…

SO lovely to see many wonderful women and a few brave men in the theatre. The theatre seemed quite full. Quite the success! I caught up with a few delightful ladies I have not seen in ages, which was awesome. The doco itself is very inspiring and left me feeling capable of anything! I also really liked and appreciated the honest portrayal of crafters. Some make things to sell because they like it, not because it makes them lots of money. Infact alot of them sounded like they held down familes, jobs and their crafting lives, including making enough to sell their work at craft fairs. Its funny I always got this idea we are all supposed to strive to craft and make money crafting full time. For some, they make a product that works and it becomes a sort of fad and takes over, all of a sudden they are making enough money to live off. But for others it doesn’t, no reflection on the quality or coolness of the product, almost luck. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is friends and creative outlets and sometimes funding your craft. One resounded clang I got was a guilt lifted, the guilt I felt for not making it ‘big’ in my hobbies or having my hobbies make me enough money to live off. So what right? I like my hobbies, just because i dont make money off them doesn’t mean I stop doing them. I get to share it with a few, my photos get used on walls and in designs, thats enough right?

OK so about the money thing. My actual JOB is web design. Life in freelance has been slooow. Since Christmas I have been only just making ends meet and thats thanks to the support of my amazing loyal customers and fabulous partner. Due to slowness I have been REALLY looking into what I am doing and how I can re-think it, re-market them and get this show on the road again. I have made no secret of it though, the talking it out really helps me get perspective and removes the stress of it all somewhat. I also have had many great ideas come my way thanks to my business-y techy friends, esp Ben from Diversity.

The changes are inspired by the new ways of communicating to customers via the internet, things I can do to really help business’s in their online marketing strategies. The need to start pushing my passion for usability and logical layout has also become apparent. I really don’t make a big enough deal of that side of my web design experience. I am still working on the best way to explain these new services and how best to reflect it on my online presence and then follow that up with real life stuff. So many ways to do this these days, its so easy to get bogged down by them all! Along with it, will be a new website design AGAIN. Yeah what can i say, its what i do… So watch out soon to be a new website, new marketing approach and new bunch of services. Any colour requests?

Found here via swissmiss

The creatives will love this, quite wise I think. Any excuse to investigate the theory and motivation behind design. Love to know what you think….

I also liked the point on hiring people who are better than you and leaving them to it. So many owners of business’s let their ego dictate their decisions. Seen many a business with amazing people and never really succeed because they wouldn’t give the right freedom to their staff.

Texture Plants

We all know I like my gardening right? I had the honor of redesigning one of my old sites I designed from scratch, around two years ago.

The Texture Plants site has been re-organised to allow people to browse by plant purpose aswell as alphabetically. Some helpful gardening know-how advise has been added, the gallery was tweaked to make browsing the images a little easier, Virtuemart was upgraded and the catalogue given a new layout to help the user gather more info without having to click all the way through to the product description. To add to all of that I gave their template a spruce up, they were after some bolder and darker colours to make the site easier to read and scan. They were happy to stay with their old joomla system, so all was familiar on that front. There was a final push to get it live ready for Christmas, which we achieved! Wooo hoo!

Working with the guys who own Texture always keeps me on my toes and reminds me there is more to gardening than growing vegetables. Now I am imagining my deck full of lovely interesting looking succulents with a nicely setup table and chairs to sit and drink tea in the sun on. Have a look around the Texture site for some inspiration and oodles of gardening advise. Even better, if you love visiting garden nurseries and are in town go and have a look around, its not your normal nursery, inspiration for the succulent lovers and more is abound…

This time last year I put together a website for a local charity auction a friend of mine was running, to raise money for the champion center in Christchurch. The Champion Center is a fantastic early intervention service for families with children who have developmental delays. I know people who use the Champion Center and they all rave about how supportive they are. Last years auction was such a success the ladies and gentleman are doing it again, I have just uploaded the latest images for auction in 2009. Take a look at the site, there are some divine images. If you’re in Christchurch and are in need of some images for your walls, or just feel like a fun night out, perhaps its time to get yourself a ticket? Not only do you get a beautiful image, framed and ready to go, but your money has gone to a fantastic cause.