http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php en jeremy_girard@yahoo.com Copyright 2010 2010-07-26T13:58:12+00:00 http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/action-features/ http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/action-features/#When:13:58:12Z I love toys. I’ve been collecting action figures for many years now and my current collection is a room-filling display of transforming robots, Jedi knights, superheroes and villians, monsters and more. My 6-year old son loves toys too. Not surprisingly, we share pretty similar tastes when it comes to the toys that we like. My son likes Transformers, I like Transformers. My son likes Star Wars, I like Star Wars. My son likes Batman…well, I’m sure you get the point. While my son and I may agree on the brands of toys we like, we tend to have very different opinions on the specifics of what exactly makes a toy ‘cool.’ Accuracy vs. Action Features Like many adult toy collectors, I prefer toys that are as accurate to the source material as possible. Whether the property in question is from a movie, comic book, cartoon or video game, a toy that is well sculpted and true to its source material is what I look for when I add a piece to my collection. My son, on the other hand, cares very little about the visual accuracy of the figure. Kids his age want the toy to ‘do something.’ It doesn’t matter that Batman is dressed in a day-glo, bright orange outfit (something I am pretty sure the Dark Knight of Gotham City would never wear). As long the toy has some oversized, missile launching accessory, or something that moves, lights up or makes noise, then my son loves it. I like my toys to look cool, my son likes his to do cool things - to have some ‘wow’ to them. Come to think about it, his opinion of what makes for a cool toy isn’t all that different than some clients’ opinion of what makes for a cool Web site. Designing for Your Clients’ Clients One truth in Web design that is often overlooked is that, with the possible exception of a Web application meant to be used as part of internal workflow, we are really not designing for our clients - we are designing for their clients. When we create a public facing Web site, we need to keep in mind who our primary audience is and we sometimes need to remind our clients that they are not that primary audience. This isn’t to say that a client shouldn’t love their Web site, they absolutely should, but part of our job as designers is to find ways to make our clients say, “Hey, that’s pretty cool!” about their site, while bolstering the user experience and forwarding the business goals of the site itself. Yeah, no small task. Handling Requests for More ‘Cool’ The first thing I do when a client comes to me and says, “I saw this cool thing on another Web site,” is to hear them out to see if their idea has merit. That may seem obvious, but we are often quick to negatively judge client suggestions, likely because so many ideas that start with the lead-in of ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if…’ are just horribly inappropriate. Still, I can personally point to a number of ‘cool’ ideas that clients brought to a project that helped improve it, so for as many bad ideas as you may have to consider, the first step in handling client requests is to really listen to them. If the idea presented is, indeed, inappropriate or contrary to the overall goals of the site, I simply respond to the suggestion with a question: “Let me ask you this - how does that addition help your site visitors do X?” - with ‘X’ being whatever user goals or conversion metric has been identified for the site. In the end, this is really all that matters. If an addition will help further the goals of a site in some way, then it is something that should certainly be considered. If, however, this addition will do nothing to further user goals or, even worse, may actually hinder them, then you need to explain why the idea may not be in the best interest of the site. Look! My Web Site Talks! One suggestion I seem to get quite often is to add those little talking people to a site. You know the ones I mean – they casually walk onto a page and start talking to you about the site and the company. They also seem to feature people who really like to use their hands when they talk. Over the years, I have had a dozen or so clients either suggest we add this to their site or at least ask my opinion about it, yet I have never once found a user who found this feature useful.  In fact, most people that I ask about this, including some of the clients who have brought it up in the first place, find those video people annoying at best. So why do clients suggest adding these little talking heads to a site if no one seems to like them?  I’ve asked clients this question and the general answer has been that they saw it on a site, said “Hey look, this site does something!” and figured they should do it on their site too.  I then ask if, in addition to ‘doing something’, they found the video person helpful or if it more easily allowed them to complete the task they had gone to the site for in the first place.  Without fail, the answer has always been a resounding “no.” In fact, I’ve had people admit that the little talking person distracted them from their real purpose on the site and they ended up just leaving after listening to a small part of the video presentation. That’s not very ‘cool’, is it? What Clients Really Want When a client asks for a little talking video person on their site, or some other ‘cool’ feature, what are they really asking for? In most cases, they simply want their site to ‘do something.’ Granted, a site that looks great, effectively communicates a company’s message and drives visitors towards a goal destination and desired conversion is definitely doing something pretty spectacular, but the sad truth is that there is more ‘wow’ factor to a talking head than there is to an effective design and communication strategy. Clients want to be able to proudly show off their site and a flashy feature makes it easy to do so. Unfortunately, while an over-the-top site addition may serve a client well as they are trying to show off some Web site bling-bling, it often gets in the way of site users who are trying to accomplish some task on the site. Remember those animated site intros that, thankfully, have gone out of vogue? They offered clients something exciting and flashy to show off, but they got in the way of users who didn’t need an awesomely animated presentation every single time they visited the site. Clients want their site to ‘do something’, but we have to guard against adding extraneous features to the site that will prevent your client’s clients from ‘doing something’ – like actually using the site! Making a Cool Action Figure So what makes for a cool action figure? It depends on who it is intended for. I have some pieces in my collection that are incredibly source accurate with a fine-art level of sculpting and paint applications, but they are statue-like in their playability and, in some cases, fairly expensive collector items.  As much as I like these pieces, they aren’t very cool to my son because they aren’t meant for him. On the flip side, my son has a number of garishly costumed superheroes who I would never display in my collection, but they are perfect for him. They have giant, spring-loaded accessories, ridiculous clip-on costumes and other over-the-top action features and they offer my son hours of imagination-fueled playtime. So which of these is a cool action figure? They both are, because each of them are appropriate for their intended audience. Universally Cool = Transforming Robots While ‘cool’ is relative to the audience meant to enjoy an item, be it an action figure or a Web site, there are those rare instances where something is universally cool – able to be enjoyed by multiple audiences equally. Like Transformers. While my son and I may have different aspects of the ‘robots in disguise’ which we appreciate, the end result is that both of us love them. I appreciate the engineering and design that goes into making a toy that looks equally cool as a robot as it does a Mack truck, while my son just loves the fact that he can have a robot-battle-royal that transforms into a high-speed car chase while playing with the same toys. 1 design – 2 audiences enjoying it differently and yet equally. Now that’s cool. Universally Cool Web Sites So what makes for a ‘cool’ Web site?  One that can be used, and enjoyed, by multiple audiences, each with different agendas and goals. A site that has ‘wow’ factor, but finds a way to utilize that wow factor as a way to further the business goals of the site and the needs of users visiting that site. This is one of my main design and development goals right now. To find ways to add features to sites that do more than just wow a client or even effectively communicate a message. I want to take it to the next level and use that wow factor to actually help users complete the primary purpose that the site was built for – be it to make a purchase, become a member, or some other conversion factor. I want to use ‘cool’ to help users use a site and drive business for my clients, because when it comes right down to it, I can’t think of anything cooler than that.   Comics, Design, Personal, Process, Toys, Web 2010-07-26T13:58:12+00:00 http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/pay-attention/ http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/pay-attention/#When:02:37:20Z I recently spent a week vacationing in Jamaica, returning home with a bit of a tan, a taste for coconut rum and pineapple juice, and an idea for a new blog article. Surprisingly, this idea was not based on my time on the island, but was thanks to an incident that happened before my vacation had even really begun. I Love Airports The start of a vacation is always so exciting and full of possibility. As my wife and I walked through the airport towards our departure gate, we happily discussed how we intended to spend the next 6 days of our time away. As we talked about eating good food and relaxing with a book on a sun-soaked beach, I mentioned that I needed to use the restroom before we boarded our plane. Completely engrossed in our conversation, and paying too little attention to what I was doing, I proceeded to head straight for the ‘Ladies’ room. Thankfully, my wife stopped me from making an embarrassing mistake and I made my way into the ‘Mens’ room instead. Crisis averted – this time. Déjà vu As pathetic as this is to admit, this is not the first time this has happened to me in an airport. In fact, on the last trip I took with my wife, this exact same situation occurred. The only difference was that last time, my wife was not around when I made my embarrassing gaffe. On this previous trip, my wife was sitting by our departure gate reading when I got up to stretch my legs and use the restroom. Apparently I have some airport restroom malfunction in my brain, because once again I marched straight into the ‘Ladies’ room. Once inside the ‘Ladies’ room, I quickly realized my mistake and exited before anyone saw me – or so I had hoped. My head down, eyes to the floor, I sprinted towards the ‘Mens’ room, only to see an older couple pointing at me and laughing as I raced past. Awesome - they had witnessed the whole embarrassing display. Distractions Are All Around Us Ok, I’ll admit that this mistake never would have happened (either time) had I simply been paying attention to what I was doing, but that’s the point here – distractions are all around us! Whether we are walking towards an airport bathroom or working on building out a Web site design – we are often distracted when we should be focused. If we’re not careful, these distractions can cause us to embarrass ourselves in front of our fellow airport travelers or in front of our clients. So how do we combat the potential pitfalls of being distracted?  We use the buddy system. A Lone Wolf or Part of a Pack? A few weeks ago, at An Event Apart in Boston, I had a discussion with some fellow attendees about the difference between working independently on a freelance-style basis to working as part of a team in an agency setting. One of the main points that we discussed was the benefit of team critique and contributions to a project when in a team setting. In my role as Creative Director for Envision Technology Advisors, I am able to direct the visual design and the overall user experience for all the work that the company produces.  I love this aspect of my job, but the communication and feedback at Envision is a two-way street. I certainly give my input on the work of my fellow designers, but I also welcome their feedback on my own creative output – whether it’s to offer a view or idea I may not have considered, or whether it’s to catch something that I have missed due to a distraction. In the end, being part of a team makes my work better. Envision a Team Approach This team approach is something that permeates everything we do at Envision. In addition to using team feedback as part of our design process, every project, prior to launch, requires the lead designer to complete a ‘quality assurance’ checklist for the site.  Once completed, another team member must also complete the checklist – a second set of eyes to ensure that nothing was overlooked. This buddy system approach is not unique to our Web department either. In fact, we adopted this method after seeing our Networking team’s success doing something similar with their Virtualization deployments. Each of the company’s Virtualization projects has a lead engineer who is responsible for the overall effort, but when that project is completed, another Envision engineer – one who has had no meaningful contact with the project before this time – must complete a peer review and sign off on the project before it can be considered complete and ready to release to our clients. Everybody Needs a Buddy While working in an agency setting certainly lends itself to this buddy system approach, the benefits of peer review and feedback is something that freelance designers should be able to enjoy as well - even if you don’t have a trusted colleague sitting in the cubicle next to your own!  The first step? - identifying ways that you can expand your circle of valued associates: Conferences Web design conferences are a great place to meet other designers and developers.  The first step? – being willing to introduce yourself to someone new. Many conferences serve breakfast or lunch (or both!) - grab a seat at a table with a group of people you’ve never met, introduce yourself and exchange business cards. I have met some excellent people at the various conferences I have attended and even though I work in an agency setting alongside other designers and developers, I routinely bounce ideas off some of these contacts to get a fresh perspective on my work. Online Social networking sites, especially a site like dribbble.com, are often great vehicles for getting some feedback from the community as a whole. While this type of community feedback can be a bit too congratulatory instead of constructive (something dribbble is often criticized for) or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, unnecessarily harsh, there are still plenty of users who will offer really excellent feedback on your work. The first step? – becoming part of the community by being willing to offer your own feedback and suggestions on others’ work. In time, if you’re a contributing member of the community, you’ll see that others will start viewing, and giving quality feedback on, your work as well. Offline There are always going to be projects that aren’t a fit for you – projects that you may ultimately refer to someone else in your local marketspace. These business relationships you forge can be about more than simply referring work to, or getting business from, each other, they can also be about helping each other produce the best work possible! The first step? – realizing that your ‘competition’ can also be your colleague.  Hang out after work sometime and exchange stories about more than just nightmare clients – talk about what creative challenges you may be experiencing – odds are that your situation in not unique and your ‘competition’ may have the exact solution you’ve been searching for. In Closing There are many ways, in addition to these few examples, to make meaningful and valuable contacts. Whether you are running your work by the person in the cubicle next door or someone you met at a conference who lives and works across the country (or across the globe), the point is that we all get distracted and we all make mistakes because of those distractions. While we should certainly strive for better focus in our work, we must also accept that distractions are inevitable.  Getting a second set of eyes on our work will help us ensure that we are proud of the end products we create. After all, no one wants to get caught walking into the wrong restroom – trust me. Design, Personal, Process, Travel, Web 2010-07-01T02:37:20+00:00 http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/a-slice-of-common-sense/ http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/a-slice-of-common-sense/#When:12:29:33Z Friday nights are family night at the Girard household -  a chance for the entire family to enjoy some down time together, putting the busy week behind us before we jump feet-first into the weekend. To give us more time to enjoy each other’s company, family nights usually include a supper that is quick and easy with little to no cleanup necessary. For this, there is no better choice than ordering pizza. The Promise of a Deal A few weeks ago, I was preparing to place a pizza order when I came across an advertised special from a local pizzeria – 2 large, 1-topping pizzas for only $15.99.  This sounded like a pretty good deal, the only problem was that the kids don’t like any toppings on their pizza. No problem, I’d just get one of the pizzas with only cheese and have them put that unused topping on the second pizza. I placed my order and explained what I wanted, only to be promptly told that the special would not apply to this purchase. I was confused – wasn’t I getting the exact same amount of toppings, but added to one pizza instead of distributed between two? When 1 + 1 Does Not Equal 2 The mathematical rules of addition apparently do not apply to pizza toppings, because if I wanted two large pizzas, with one topping on each (for a total of two toppings spread across two pizzas), my price would be $15.99. If, however, I choose to apply those exact same two toppings to one pizza and keep my other pizza topping-free (for a grand total of…that’s right, two toppings spread across two pizzas), well than that would cost me $22.98 ($8.99 for the large cheese and $13.99 for the two-topping pizza).  This made no sense to me at all. I tried to reason with the man behind the counter. I explained that either way, I was ordering the same amount of pizza and the same amount of toppings, so the price should be exactly the same, right? Nope, the price was $22.98. To satisfy my curiosity, I then asked what the cost would be if I ordered the two pizzas, but only had a topping applied to one – in essence losing out on one of the toppings advertised in the special. Well, in that case, then the special would be fine - $15.99. Yeah, that’s what I figured. Not An Ideal Ending I’d love to tell you that the absurdity of the restaurant’s pizza-topping-tyranny caused me to take my business elsewhere, but it was getting late and I had a family at home to feed, so I ordered my large one-topping and large cheese and made my way home. What bothered me the most about this situation wasn’t the fact that I ended up paying for a topping that I did not get. What really got to me was how rigidly the pizzeria stuck to their rule at the expense of customer service and, more importantly, common sense. Building Relationships As the Creative Director for Envision Technology Advisors, a big part of my job is dealing with client requests, project timelines and budgets. In a perfect world, all three of these project components would align perfectly every single time. As I’m sure you know, we do not live in a perfect world. To help keep Web design projects on time and on budget, a well defined process is essential.  The process we use at Envision keeps the client in the loop throughout the entire project lifecycle and requires their review and approval at key milestones (discovery documents, design mockups, beta site, etc.). We routinely are praised for this process, being told from many clients that they appreciated the fact that they always knew where the project stood, what was coming next and what was expected of them at each stage. Unfortunately, our process is not always met with such praise. Process vs. Project I was recently working on a project that was proving to be very challenging to manage. A large team of decision makers, content responsibilities spread across multiple contributors and decisions that had been previously approved suddenly being revisited and reopened for discussion were all at play here. Trying to provide some stability and structure to the project, I choose to lean heavily on our process. This was an approach that had worked for me in similar situations in the past, but this time it backfired. As frustration grew on both sides of the project, a comment was made that it seemed as if we "cared more about our process that the project." I quickly realized the mistake that I had made by not better responding to the unique needs this particular client had. The team at Envision and I stepped back from our process for a bit and worked with our client to find an approach that everyone involved was comfortable with. Did we end up steering very far away from our normal process?  No, we did not.  In the end, all that was required was a little flexibility on our part to get everyone on the same page, working towards the same goal. Good Service is Common Sense While it is true that a well defined process is essential for success, this project reminded me that you should never let the process itself become your primary focus. Your rules are not more important that your relationships. There will be times when your project will follow your process to the letter, but other engagements will require you to adapt and be flexible. Exactly how flexible you allow your process to be is something you must decide on a case by case basis, for just as there will be times when you must adapt your process a bit to accommodate your client’s needs, there will also be times when you must stick to your guns and decline a client request because it takes you too far away from your guidelines for a successful deployment. Knowing when a client request will hurt the overall project and when they are really just asking for the same amount of pizza toppings spread across the same amount of pizzas, and reacting accordingly to those requests, is more than just good customer service - it’s common sense. Personal, Process, Web 2010-05-17T12:29:33+00:00 http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/when-it-rains/ http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/when-it-rains/#When:12:52:01Z Last week was a wet one. As you have likely heard, the month of March 2010 brought unprecedented rainfall to the state of Rhode Island, culminating in last week’s historic flooding throughout this small state. Rivers overflowed their banks, streets were submerged (including RI’s major highway, Rt. 95, parts of which were closed for 3 days due to the flooding) and homes across the state saw their basements slowly fill with water as rain fell relentlessly from the sky. My basement was one of those that suffered this fate.. Before the Storm My basement troubles really began a few weeks ago, during the first of the three storms that hit our state this month. We had been experiencing some minor water seepage in one area of my basement since the summer and we had begun to repair this leak, as well as the damage done to my finished basement, when the first of these storms hit. The water, which until now had been a small puddle near the far wall of the basement, began to grow worse. We originally thought the cause of the water to be a rotted window frame and improperly draining downspout, but this storm made us look deeper and as we tore more of our basement apart, we found some small cracks in the area where our foundation floor meets the walls. Water was seeping in from those cracks. Bad to Worse As the second storm of the month approached, we patched the cracks in the wall with hydraulic cement and hoped that it would stop the flow of water into the basement. The good news was that no more water came in from those, now sealed, cracks. The bad news was that the water found other ways in. In the span of a week, we went from a wonderfully finished basement with a minor water problem to a completely torn apart, unfinished dungeon that was leaking water from multiple locations – and the worst of the three storms was still on the way. The Deluge By the time the final storm of the month came through, my basement was already submerged in five inches of water, and it was getting worse. The rain poured down and the already soaked ground had nowhere to store it. As the water table rose and the pressure on our foundation grew, we counted no less than 20 cracks and holes where water was now entering our home. One of the most terrifying aspects of this ordeal was the sense of powerlessness we felt as the water level rose. The finished flooring and walls were long gone by this time, but we began to wonder what was next? How much worse would it get and who could help us? Crisis Management As anyone who regularly visits my site knows, I tend to take the events in my life and find lessons in them that I then apply to my Web design work and blog about. As I stood in a pair of rubber boots in my basement, I looked around and thought about how the rising waters under my home were similar to some of the crisis management issues we face as Web developers. Oftentimes, we are called in at a client’s panic stage to diagnose, and hopefully remedy, a major issue on their site. These issues may be due to some legacy code (oftentimes left over from a previous Web developer’s work on the site) or poorly thought out decisions that should’ve been resolved long ago, but suddenly something has broken and we are asked to fix it. Not only are we asked to fix it, we are asked how long it will take and how much will it cost to do so. In situations like this, we often have no idea what to tell our client. We can’t give them a definitive answer on what is wrong or a guarantee on how long or how expensive it will be to resolve the issue because we don’t yet know the full extent of the problem. This is how it was with my basement. We wanted someone to tell us exactly what was wrong and how they could fix it for us, but it wasn’t that easy. Lessons Learned This experience has reminded me of a few key points to keep in mind when I am dealing with client issues and they are the ones in crisis mode. Lend a Sympathetic Ear The contractor who finally helped bail us out (Troy Hall of Halls Masonry) was great at not only looking into our foundation leaks and doing what he could to stop the flow of water, but also at trying to help calm us. He listened to us as we vented and let our emotions out and he lent a sympathetic ear. Sometimes, when a client is going through a particularly difficult situation, one of the best things you can do it to take a few minutes to let them talk and assure them that you sympathize with their problem and will do what you can to make it right. Be Responsive and Keep Clients in the Loop Every minute you spend lending a sympathetic ear to your client or explaining to them what you are doing is time that you are not working on fixing their actual problem, so you must balance the actual repair work with client communications, but remember that the situation is more than just the leaky basement or broken Web site.  Calming your client by responding to their questions or concerns and keeping them appraised as to what is happening at relevant intervals in the project will help them combat the sense of powerlessness that they may be feeling. Our contractor let us know what was happening and what he was doing regularly, which helped us feel like we were in control in some small way, rather than simply along for the ride. When Possible, Be Definitive Often, in situations like this, we avoid giving definitive answers because we do not know the full scope of the problem and do not want to make promises we cannot keep. Our clients, however, are looking to us to lead them out of this situation - to take charge and be in control. Do not give your clients false hope or make claims you cannot live up to, but when you can be definitive, do so! Take charge and be the leader who helps fix your client’s problems – they will appreciate not only the solution you provided, but the guidance and stability you gave them along the way. Know When to Ask For Help There is no shame in asking for help or for a second opinion. You may have a plan in mind, but bringing in a colleague to review your plan or offer another opinion can only help your client in the end – and they’ll appreciate the fact that you left your ego at the door in order to find the best solution to solve their problem. Sometimes, It’s Alright to Leave Some Money on the Table When the contractor first came to my home, he recommended we have a sump pump installed immediately to start pumping the water out from under the house and to relieve the pressure on the foundation. We agreed on a price for this work, but while he was at my home installing the pump (over the course of three days), he also patched numerous holes and leaks, cleaned up hundreds of gallons of water, and much more. When it came time to write him a check for the work, we asked how much extra we owed him for the additional services. He said we didn’t owe him anything else at all. He could easily have tacked on a few hundred bucks for the extra work he did, but he left some money on the table. As this ordeal got more and more expensive for me, that simple gesture spoke volumes about his dedication to customer service and to helping us out. Similarly, I remember when I first started with Envision being told by Todd Knapp (the company’s owner/CEO) that Envision didn’t have higher rates for emergency service on nights or weekends. This surprised me, simply because it was so different than what I was used to. His explanation was that when clients have an emergency during the night or over the weekend is when they need us the most. Why should we hike their rate simply because they are desperate and we can get more money out of them? When our client’s need is the greatest is when we want to be there for them doing whatever we can to help them out. Follow Up After the Problem is Solved A few days after the rain had stopped and our pump was in place, Troy called us to see how we were doing. He didn’t ask if there was any more work he could do for us, he simply asked how we were holding up. That was nice. After we resolve a client’s issues, we are often so busy moving onto the next job that we fail to take 5-minutes to reach out to see how our client is doing now that the situation is behind them. Being responsive and definitive during the worst of the crisis is critical, but taking the time to follow up once it is over is something that your clients will appreciate long after this ordeal is a distant memory. The True Measure of Great Customer Service We want to give our customers great service at all times, but the truest measure of our dedication to our clients is how we respond and react when they need us most. As the flood waters rise in their basement or their sales plummet due to their site being offline, that is when we have the opportunity to provide not only excellent service and solutions, but to be good people doing whatever we can to help someone out of a bad situation – to be a ray of light in otherwise stormy weather. Personal, Process, Web 2010-04-08T12:52:01+00:00 http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/knowing-your-strengths/ http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/knowing-your-strengths/#When:13:51:09Z A short time ago, a friend of mine wrote a blog post about his experience as a “large in stature”, long-haired, 13-year-old who was trying to play Little League baseball for the first time in his life. Being less experienced, and admittedly less athletic, than the other players, he recalls how he found a way to make himself valuable to his team by finding something he was good at doing – getting hit by the ball. Taking One for the Team “In the second or third game, I got hit by a pitch and thought to myself, ‘that didn’t really hurt very bad!’,” he says as he remembers how his discovery that taking one for the team was a reasonable price to pay to allow his on-base percentage to go “through the roof.” Here’s to finding a way to contribute! My friend’s Little League career was not the stuff of which legends or underdog-triumphs-over-adversity sports movies are made of - it began and ended that year. Still, this story of how he was determined to find one thing in the game that he was good at doing, and then doing that to the best of his ability, made me think about the Web design industry’s tendency to do the exact opposite. Jack of All Trades… The skillsets used in Web design and development are incredibly diverse. From traditional design skills, to front-end development using HTML and CSS, to Javascript and the DOM, to more robust programming languages like .NET – there’s no shortage of things you can learn, and that’s not even touching upon the numerous other specialties of the Web world like content strategy and development, usability and accessibility testing or search engine optimization and online traffic generation. Those of us in the Web industry tend to be eager learners. The always-changing nature of the Web forces us to grow and evolve or risk being outdated quickly. While we certainly must grow and adapt the knowledge we already possess, Web professionals are also extremely willing to add new skills to their bag of tricks. Sometimes this can be a wonderful idea, adding tools that we can bring to bear on client projects. Other times, this approach can spread us a bit thin. ...Master of None I was recently reading Dan Cederholm and Ethan Marcotte’s new book, ‘Handcrafted CSS.’ In it, they talk about the concept of the ‘80-percenter.’ This refers to the practice of really throwing yourself into learning something new until you reach about 80-percent proficiency. At that level, you have a very solid working knowledge of the skill. The remaining 20-percent is such specific, specialized knowledge that you risk becoming obsessive about the little aspects of that one skill at the expense of the bigger picture. This approach makes sense to me, but I unfortunately see far too many Web professionals who take on new skillsets and only become a ‘40 or 50-percenter’ before they move on to something new. This is dangerous. As an 80-percenter, you have the ability to use this tool effectively, knowing that only in edge cases is your understanding going to fall short (and in those rare cases, you are well positioned to resolve whatever issues arise using the knowledge you do have). As for the 40-percenter, they have just enough knowledge to be dangerous. Trying to do Too Much The desire to want to learn everything is something that I can definitely relate to. Just a few months ago, I found myself looking at jQuery books and tutorials in an attempt to add this skill to my repertoire. Everyone in the Web design community seemed to be working with jQuery and I wanted to join the party. It didn’t take long for me to realize that learning jQuery wasn’t for me. First off, I seem to have a mental block when it comes to anything Javascript-like. In years past, I had attempted to brush up on Flash Actionscripting. I have a fair working knowledge of it now, but the amount of knowledge I have is disproportionate to how much work it took for me to get it. I can use Actionscripting, but would the substantial amount of time I spent learning the little bit that I learned have been better spent elsewhere? Strength in Numbers Going back to my desire to learn jQuery, I quickly realized that my time would indeed be better spent in other ways, in large part because there was no real need for me to learn this skillset since I had others around me who already knew it. Whether you work in an agency setting where you can surround yourself with co-workers whose skills complement your own, or in a freelance environment where working relationships or partnerships with others can ensure you can offer your clients more services and solutions that you personally possess, there is no need to know how to do everything yourself. You can be more valuable to your ‘team’ by being great at a handful of skills rather than simply adequate at a larger batch of them. My decision to ask for help with any jQuery needs, rather than try to handle them myself, has allowed me to focus on my own strengths – Web site design, front-end development with HTML and CSS, project management and creative direction. I am more valuable to my company and my clients doing what I do best rather than trying to do everything on my own. Learning is Great, Understanding is Better Acquiring new knowledge and skills is to be commended. There will be times when no one in your organization or circle of associates possesses a certain skill and you may end up being the one who is best positioned to learn it. Embrace those chances and do not be afraid to add to your bank of knowledge, but be mindful of how thin you spread yourself and make sure that any new skills you acquire are not done so at the expense of your existing strengths.  The difference between being an 80-percenter, armed with skills you can use proficiently, and being a 40-percenter who just scrapes by, may be the difference between getting hit by the ball and taking your base and cracking one over the fences for a home run.   Personal, Process, Web 2010-03-10T13:51:09+00:00 http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/bad-habits/ http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/bad-habits/#When:14:20:28Z A Cautionary Tale of Non-Semantic Markup and Donuts I work with really great people. On their way into the office, my co-workers routinely stop and pick up a box of donuts to share. While their hearts are certainly in the right place, their donut-wielding generosity is absolute murder on my diet. Just One Won’t Hurt, Will It? I know I shouldn’t eat a donut.  I don’t need the calories and eating it won’t really satisfy me. In all likelihood, eating one donut will probably just make me want another. It’s really so simple. I just shouldn’t eat a donut. That’s what I try to tell myself as I sit at my desk, staring blankly at my monitor, while a chocolate glazed calls my name. Over and over that sugary ring of deliciousness calls to me until I inevitably give in to temptation and eat a donut - and then the guilt begins. The Bad Habits of Web Site Design Building Web sites is like always being tempted by the delicious, yet unhealthy, lure of donuts. We know the benefits and advantages of semantic markup and keeping presentational elements out of our HTML, but just like it’s easy to say ‘yes’ to that donut, it is similarly easy to give into temptation and insert a <br /> tag into our markup to provide some visual separation. Just like it’s unwise for us to put the belly-bursting calories of donuts into our bodies, it is equally unhealthy for us to fill our markup with visuals and presentational elements that are rightfully the domain of CSS. Why is it so easy to say ‘yes’ to things that we know are bad for us! Our Own Worst Enemies In the case of donuts, the answer is easy. They taste good. Really good. It’s always hard to say ‘no’ to something when it provides us with some kind of happiness, however fleeting that happiness may be. In terms of Web design, our excuse is often that presentational markup is quick and easy. With deadlines and budgets always nipping at our heels, the temptation to cut corners and add a presentational element is often great. Maybe it is the aforementioned <br /> tag, or perhaps it is an inline image that is a design element rather than a piece of content, or it could even be an overuse of classes or divs, the effects are the same – bloated, unhealthy Web pages. A Healthy <body> We often make decisions in the here and now, rather than thinking of the ultimate consequences of our actions. This is particularly true when the decisions in question are small ones.  Choices like whether to eat or not eat a donut or whether or not we should insert an inline image are minor when compared to many of the important life or project-alerting decisions we routinely need to make. That being the case, it is easy for us to ignore the long term, negative effects of a decision because we can’t see past the immediate gratification that a tasty treat or easy presentational markup will provide. Keeping our markup lean and fit takes the same kind of determination and effort that keeping our bodies healthy requires. We have to be committed to keeping ourselves on the right track by saying ‘no’ to things that are bad for us, no matter how delicious they may taste or easy they may be to add to our HTML. We know what the right choice is, we just need to make it. A Routine of Good Habits It is often said that bad habits are hard to break, but the truth is that any habit is hard to break – good ones included. The more often we make good decisions, the quicker they become part of our routine. This can often allow us to completely ignore bad choices because we don’t even consider them anymore. Such is the power of a positive routine consisting of good habits. So while I know that the donuts will be delicious, I will thank my co-workers for their generosity, but graciously pass on their sugary offerings. I will keep the unhealthy calories out of my body the same way I work to keep the unnecessary markup out of my Web pages, and they will both be healthier and happier for the good habits I will be establishing. Personal, Process, Web 2010-02-17T14:20:28+00:00 http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/in-praise-of-sushi/ http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/in-praise-of-sushi/#When:02:51:55Z As anyone who subscribes to my Twitter feed already knows, I love sushi. My tweets routinely center on trips to my favorite sushi restaurant and my infatuation with raw fish. What you may not know is that this unabashed love of sushi is a recent development - I tried it for the first time just a few months ago. Here’s to trying new things. Trying Something New Eating sushi had never appealed to me. In fact, the thought of consuming raw fish struck me as a bit disgusting. Thankfully, however, my co-workers are quite fond of sushi and encouraged me to accompany them to their favorite restaurant one afternoon. I ordered myself a plate of Chinese food (the restaurant serves other dishes in addition to sushi), but tried a few pieces of sushi to satisfy my curiosity and appease my co-workers. I ate three small pieces of raw fish that day.  It wasn’t bad and I was impressed with myself for trying something new. Although I was happy to have this new experience, I expected that this would be my last time eating sushi - then something strange happened. I couldn’t stop thinking about raw fish. Trying Something New…Again I returned to the restaurant a week later and decided to give sushi another try, but this time I wouldn’t order a plate of food to accompany a few sample pieces of sushi. This time, I planned to go all out and eat only raw fish for lunch. I ordered the lunch special – any three rolls for $10.99. My plate of spicy tuna, spicy yellowtail, and eel came and I began my first real sushi lunch. I was hooked. Trying Something New…Web Edition When it comes to the Web, trying new things is critical to success. I am routinely approached by clients and asked how they can use sites like Twitter or Facebook or Linkedin to help meet their online goals. They want to know how they can begin blogging or using video to drive traffic to their sites. They come to me, and the team at Envision, looking to try something new in order to help their business grow. A big part of what we do at Envision is working to identify what solutions make the most sense for each client since not every approach is appropriate for every project. One thing that is universal in all cases and for all clients, however, is that the first step is being willing to experiment. Try It…You Just May Like It I didn’t know I would love sushi until I tried it. Similarly, clients won’t know if a blog works for their business or if they will take to the format until they give it a shot. I’ve had a number of clients who were somewhat reluctant to start blogging, oftentimes fearing that they didn’t have enough time to commit to creating new content, who eventually discovered that they loved the medium once they had begun using it.  I’ve also had clients who decided to try something new and found that it wasn’t right for them. Not every story ends in success, but every success begins by taking a leap. A client of Envision’s, a retirement community, recently came to us and asked about using Twitter to promote their business. I had no idea what a retirement community could possibly have to say on Twitter, but I applauded them for being willing to give it a shot and we are now working with that client to find ways to use Twitter, in addition to other traffic generation solutions, to meet the goals of their Web site. Another client example would be an accounting firm who recently starting using Facebook. Accounting is not what I think of when I think of Facebook, but the placement made sense.  The firm works hard to reach out to and attract new, young talent - so being where that young talent already is, on Facebook, is a logical step. The Process of Trying Something New If being willing to try something new is the first step, what are the remaining steps in the process?  I’m glad you asked.  Here is our process: Be willing to try something new Try something new Measure the results of the new thing you have tried Revisit and Repeat While this is somewhat of an oversimplification, the general premise is pretty basic, isn’t it?  Of course, working with a team that can help you identify exactly which avenues make the most sense for your business and can assist you in implementing those solutions will go a long way to doing things right the first time. Still, with our without the aid of experts, the first step is in your hands.  It begins when you say, ‘Hey, why don’t we give this a shot.’ Some Shout Outs Thanks to Todd, Britte, Josh, Sean, Mike and the rest of the gang at Envision for introducing me to the awesome that is sushi.  Thanks also go out to all the clients who come to Envision and are willing to take the leap with us and try something new to help grow their business online. For anyone looking for some excellent sushi, the restaurant referred to in this article is Asian Palace, located at 1184 North Main Street in Providence, Rhode Island – just a few blocks from the Envision office.  I highly recommend the ‘any 3-rolls’ lunch special.  If you are looking to go all out, I suggest you try the ‘Fantastic Roll’, which is aptly named since it is, indeed, quite fantastic. Personal, Process, Web 2010-01-19T02:51:55+00:00 http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/letting-go/ http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/letting-go/#When:22:53:45Z The holidays are over. The presents have all been unwrapped, the eggnog has been drunk. We have pulled the lights down from the house and packed away the ornaments until next year. The Christmas tree lies along the side of the road, waiting for the garbage truck to come and take it away. It’s a sad end to such a happy time of the year. The Sad Transition Like the holiday season, I find that Web design engagements often end in a similarly sad way. I spend a substantial amount of time on a project, working hard to create a design that is visually appealing and supportive of the content. I ensure that my pages are marked up semantically and my CSS styles are well organized. I go to great lengths to make sure the new Web site looks great and works well…and then I turn it over to the client to maintain and manage and my sadness begins. All the work that goes into making good choices for a site is so easily undone when a client takes over control and makes a few bad decisions during routine updates. The Sad Reality The reality of the situation is that clients have to take control of their Web sites at some point. It is not realistic or financially viable for them to depend upon me to make every update and change that their site will need. They need to be empowered to make those changes for themselves. Unfortunately, while it makes sense that clients would need to manage their own sites, the truth is that in most cases they are not Web professionals or designers and they often make poor choices as they update their sites - choices that may ultimately impact their site’s overall design and effectiveness in a negative way. This needs to change. Helping Clients Make Better Choices In the new year, one of my goals is to better manage project handoffs with the goal of helping my clients make better overall choices. I plan to accomplish this in a few ways. Create style guides for new sites and actually review them with the client By providing a guide to the styles and standards for the site I hope to, first and foremost, make the client aware that such standards exist while also giving them a reference to use as they make changes in the future.  But just presenting them the guide is not enough. I also plan to review the document with them so the guide becomes more than just a forgotten user manual for the Web site. I have found that actually having a conversation with clients about ongoing graphic standards goes a long way to helping them consider the impact of their decisions when they make site updates in the future. Train clients on more than the nuts and bolts of updating their sites Whether clients are using a CMS or managing their site using an editor like Dreamweaver or Contribute, training them on more than just the mechanics of the update process is something that can help make them aware of the impact of their choices. This will help clients to understand the ‘why’ as much as the ‘how’ of maintaining their site. Identify which sections of the site will require frequent updating and make them easy to manage On most sites, there are a handful of pages or sections that require frequent updates. Ensuring these areas include markup that is easy to manage will help the client maintain their site effectively. An example of this is definition lists. While I absolutely love using definition lists, I have found that clients using Adobe Contribute to maintain their site have trouble with them. Contribute, amazingly, does not recognize this piece of markup, so if I know a client will be using Contribute, I avoid using definition lists on areas of the site that will require frequent updating. Planning the impact of your development decisions upon the eventual upkeep of the site helps set your clients up for a successful transition. Touch base more often My involvement with clients does not end once the site is launched. I view client engagements as ongoing relationships, but busy schedules often get in the way of touching base with a client to check in and see how they are doing. I hope to remedy this and reach out to clients more often, if for no other reason than to say ‘hello.’ In my experience, being in front a client more often helps them keep the Web site, and the standards we established for that site, in the front of their mind. Setting Off Into the World Turning a site’s upkeep over to a client is like sending your children off into the world. You know they will make mistakes, unfortunate decisions and poor choices. There is no way around that, but the instruction and guidance we give them early on will help shape the decisions they make in the future, both good and bad. Hopefully, if the guidance and direction we give our clients is solid, they will make more good decisions than bad ones and their Web sites will be the better for it. Design, Personal, Process, Web 2010-01-08T22:53:45+00:00 http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/the-timelessness-of-nostalgia/ http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/the-timelessness-of-nostalgia/#When:14:40:15Z The Christmas season is a nostalgic time for me.  I can’t imagine the holidays without the beloved television specials I have been watching since I was a child.  Even though the animation or stop-motion is outdated by today’s standards, I am blind to any shortcomings they may have due to my love of those holiday classics.  If only Web sites were so nostalgically forgiving. A Rankin/Bass Christmas When I think of Christmas, I think of Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass.  The company these two started, known as Rankin/Bass Productions, is responsible for cherished Christmas specials such as ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’, ‘The Year Without a Santa Claus’ and ‘Frosty the Snowman’ (plus many, many others). Other non-Rankin/Bass-specials also form a big part of the fabric of my childhood holiday memories, including the classic Seussian tale ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ and my personal favorite, ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas.’ I am certainly not alone in my nostalgic love of these holiday mainstays.  Generations of children have grown up watching these classics and, years later, have introduced their own kids to them as well. 34 years after ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ first aired, that holiday treasure and all these others still air each year without fail, to be enjoyed by old and new viewers alike – outdated animation and all. I called these specials nostalgic, but a more appropriate word for them may be ‘timeless.’ Bellbottomed Web Site Designs Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of ‘timelessness’ as it applies to the Web.  Unlike the aforementioned holiday specials, which still hold up wonderfully despite their dated production techniques and effects, Web sites do not tend to age so gracefully. Web design trends are not unlike fashion trends in this way.  Something that is the height of cool one day is an embarrassing 1970’s bell-bottomed disco outfit or an overbearing Flash Web site the next.  You can look at many older Web designs and place them almost unfailingly to a very specific time because of the once-popular design trends they so willingly embrace.  To be cutting-edge now often means to be outdated once the next trend hits.  Such is the burden of being one of the ‘cool kids.’ Timeless Design for the Web As someone who designs for the Web, this lack of longevity bothers me. I want to create things that age gracefully. I want to be able to look back on the sites I’ve designed 5 or 10 years from now and find that they stand up despite their age.  I want to create things that are timeless. I believe this is a lofty but achievable goal and I believe it starts with a solid foundation. I believe that a project needs to have a foundation that includes well defined goals, quality content and a design that beautifully supports those two elements without attempting to be cool for the simple sake of being cool.  I believe that timeless designs start with quality craftsmanship. The latest trends and tricks may get you a ‘wow’ today, but will they stand up tomorrow?  Quality craftsmanship, an attention to detail, and solid (or in some cases, innovative) design choices that allow you to create something that is as useful as it is beautiful will always be ‘cool.’ Nostalgia is a Wondrous Thing Nostalgia allows us to hear Linus explain the true meaning of Christmas to Charlie Brown without ever thinking how outdated the animation looks.  It allows us to watch as Rudolph, Yukonn Cornelius and Hermey the elf dentist escape from Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster and never once do we remark how spotty the stop-motion puppetry appears.  Nostalgia combats criticism with fond memories, giving us something we look forward to each year, something that is timeless. By their very nature, Web sites will likely never enjoy the sense of nostalgia-inducing love that these holiday specials enjoy, but by focusing on the craftsmanship and details of our work today, I believe we can create something that will also be appreciated tomorrow, something that, if we are lucky, may one day be considered timeless.  That, I believe, is about as cool as it gets. Books, Design, Movies, Personal, Process, Toys, Web 2009-12-19T14:40:15+00:00 http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/deck-the-halls/ http://207.45.186.130/~pumpkin/index.php/blog/deck-the-halls/#When:02:51:25Z I love decorating for the holidays.  Every year, as soon as Thanksgiving is over, I break out the boxes of ornaments and decorations, hang the lights and deck the halls.  By Friday evening, my house is alight with the jolly glow of the Christmas season. I can’t stand to miss even one day of holiday décor availability. Given my love of the trimmings and trappings of this festive season, I find it strange that I have allowed my Web site to remain undecorated all these years.  Rest assured, I am not alone in my online Grinchery. Jingle All the Way With the exception of retail Web sites, who ‘decorate’ because of their financial interests in the holiday, most sites do not change their visuals to reflect the season.  In this day where style sheets allow us to quickly and easily change the visual presentation of our sites, it surprises me that more companies and organizations don’t do some kind of online decorating.  You may see the occasional ‘Happy Holidays to our Valued Clients” message, but a full-on holiday overhaul?  Rarely. I wonder why this is.  Is it due to political correctness and everyone worrying that any message even close to ‘Merry Christmas’ will only incite unwanted drama?  Is it because of time or budgetary constraints?  Or is it simply because companies don’t even think about decorating their site? While I am sure the exact reasons vary, I believe that many companies don’t ever consider the possibilities of decorating their Web presence.  Additionally, I don’t think that we Web designers ever make them aware of this possibility.  It’s a lost opportunity for everyone involved. ‘Tis the Season to be Jolly Why would we want to decorate our Web sites?  For the same reason we decorate our homes, our offices, or in some cases even our cars - because it’s fun.  I believe that alone is reason enough to do it. Whenever I visit a non-retail site that has been decorated, rare as they may be, it brings a smile to my face.  It shows me that the site owners have a personality and that they care enough about their online presence to do something special with it.  That’s nice and it makes me want to visit that site again and tell others about it as well. Wow, look at that – potential to have users link to your site all because you had some fun and decked some halls.  I wonder how many SEO/SEM specialists are recommending holiday cheer as part of their traffic generation campaigns this year? Welcome to my Ho, Ho, Homepage Recently, for Halloween and Thanksgiving, I contributed a few blog post designs reminiscent of those respective holidays. In a way, I was decorating my site, but for Christmas, I wanted to do something a little extra.  While I do have a few Christmas-esque blog entries planned for this month (this one included), I also decided to give the main sections of the site a holiday refresh. Admittedly, I went a bit extreme with my decorating because my site lends itself well to that approach, but I can’t think of any site that couldn’t benefit in some way from a little festive touch of the holidays. So Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or whatever seasonal greeting you’d prefer.  I hope you too will consider taking the time to deck the halls of your own site and spread a little holiday cheer and seasonal fun online. Design, Personal, Process, Web 2009-12-08T02:51:25+00:00