For centuries, the cornerstones of good visual design have been focused on its ability to draw attention, provide a pleasing appearance and lead the eye to the metaphorical water from which we want the viewer to drink in our information.

And during these ancient times, the interaction between the design and the audience could hardly be described as an “interaction,” as the audience played only as passive observers whose most active duties in the exchange were giving attention, reading copy and processing the information fed to them.

The Interactive Age has forever changed the relationship between a design and its audience. No longer simply observers of design, the audience is now referred to as “users”— they use the design.

They call the shots as to whether they defer their interest elsewhere or implore the design for more information.

This newly established democracy of information has justly forced visual design to cater completely to the audience, and rightfully so. The accountability created by this movement has forced us as designers to go beyond how we want our content presented and strive to deliver our information as the user would have it. Visual has gone virtual. And to become viral, you must view all things from the other side.

In a recent article on Smashing Magazine’s website by Jeff Gothelf entitled Interaction Design Tactics for Visual Designers, Gothelf provides us with a useful outline of five key tactics for understanding how to effectively design visually for interactive media.

The first point is hardly a surprise: know thy audience. It’s the first step of any successful design, but Gothelf encourages designers to go further and actually talk to the target. Find out who they are and how they think and relate this information directly back to your design.

“The most important thing to understand when designing an online experience is your audience. Understanding who they are, what they do for a living, how old they are, how they work, what they know about the Web, how they use it, on what devices, where and so on provides invaluable insight into their pain points that you are out to solve.”

The next step is to “orient the user.” Make sure the user knows where he is on your site, knows how he got there and understands the options available to go further or find the information he would want to look for. This practice can provide insight to edits that may need to be made to the layout of the page, the placement of links, the organization of the navigation or the general usability of a site. There could be a big issue that can be solved with just one little button, and it’s better to find out this information sooner rather than later.

“Simple is better,” Gothelf says next. And an increasing amount of designers are adopting his same point of view. This belief can be supported in the success of the near-naked Google homepage that has trumped Yahoo! with its infamous clutter or by considering how Facebook has dominated the social networking world that MySpace once owned but lost when users grew tired and irritated with the overbearing customization, flash and audio.

Make sure that every element of a page serves a purpose in facilitating the interactive experience. While providing aesthetics will continue to be important in the design process, Gothelf wisely advises that “ensuring that the experience is usable first is critical.”

Next, “design for a dialogue.” This is a relatively new thing for visual designers to have to consider, but has become an unavoidable consideration nevertheless. The Interactive Age has given birth to the ability for media to facilitate two-way communication, and the democracy created by the Internet’s widespread availability has users practically demanding it.

Provide a convenient way for users to communicate when they have a comment, question or issue, but do not stop there; ensure that they is a way to respond to their feedback and communicate answers back to them. Sites that do not take the time to focus on improving this process only irritate users and can have them perceive the site (and possibly its affiliated company) as closed-off, uncaring or simply not as dynamic and therefore not as modern as others.

The fifth and final tactic Gothelf suggests is “understanding the before and after.” He states, “Visual design is beautiful. It’s also static. Interaction design builds a workflow from page to page and from state to state. As you design each page, consider what the user can do on this page and how the next step in the process fits into the workflow.”

So deliberate the way your design will react to users imputing information, selecting options or even just moving around the site. Make it first usable, but do not hesitate to incorporate classic design principles to make it look interesting and appealing as well.

The Internet has proven to skeptics that it is much more than a passing trend. And with new online products constantly being introduced into the market and with smartphones well on their way to becoming a universal accessory, the Interactive Age seems to be only in its early stages.

Embrace the opportunities created by this revolution in communications and design accordingly. Or even better, discover the next wave of change that will rock the boat and further advance the connection our designs can have with our users.

Centuries ago, who’d have thought it possible?

Photo courtesy of Virtual Staging Solutions blog.

At the core, QR codes help convert a moment of consumer discovery into one of action. But, are people using them?

According to comScore, Inc in a recent study they performed, 14 million mobile users in the U.S., representing 6.2 percent of the total mobile audience, scanned a QR code on their mobile device. The study also analyzed the source and location of QR code scanning, finding that users are most likely to scan codes found in newspapers/magazines and on product packaging and do so while at home or in a store. 

“QR codes demonstrate just one of the ways in which mobile marketing can effectively be integrated into existing media and marketing campaigns to help reach desired consumer segments,” said Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of mobile. “For marketers, understanding which consumer segments scan QR codes, the source and location of these scans, and the resulting information delivered, is crucial in developing and deploying campaigns that successfully utilize QR codes to further brand engagement.”

So ideally, QR codes are just another great tool to add to your marketing mix if appropriate for your target audience to bring an offline experience online.

Recently Mashable had a great blog post from Matthias Galica, CEO of ShareSquare and he outlined mistakes that can be avoided as you develop marketing strategies that include QR code elements. I agreed with his ideas and have provided a summary of his great information in our blog below:

“Consumer-facing QR codes are hitting mainstream America hard this summer. Despite the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats, many well-intentioned marketers are crippling their campaigns with simple mistakes.

This is a big reason why QR codes still get a bad rap from some folks. QR codes by themselves are fundamentally neither good nor bad, they’re just a means to an end: an offline-to-online delivery mechanism. It’s what’s beyond the code that usually determines whether the experience will delight or disappoint.Unfortunately, many early adopter marketers aren’t yet fully versed in the best practices or optimal use cases. It’s the adventurous consumer that suffers from the growing pains.

Mistake 1: Not Testing the Code

Common sense right? Until you’re able to read a QR code just by looking at it, you should always test the proofs with a variety of smartphones and scanning apps before you release a campaign.

Mistake 2: Getting Too Fancy With Text

If your goal is to get people to a mobile web experience, you should only ever encode a short URL. Don’t include any plain text, since many barcode scanners (even gold standards like ShopSavvy) won’t tease out the link. If you’re hoping a user will copy/paste on a mobile device, don’t bet on it.

Think of the QR code as a physical hyperlink that every barcode scanner should be able to immediately “click.” If your QR code requires the user to do much more than point and scan to arrive at the intended content, you’re probably doing it wrong.

Mistake 3: Serving up Non-Mobile Pages

Your QR code scans successfully but you’ve pointed the user to a standard desktop website, when 99.9% of QR codes are scanned by a mobile device. Fail.

Mistake 4: Putting QR Codes Where There’s No Data Signal

Where your ad will run is just as important as how you implement it.

Tesco’s recent QR code “grocery store” in a Korean subway worked great because those platforms have Wi-Fi. This is not the case in the U.S. Placing QR codes in locations without Internet access is a sure way to make your audience upset. Make sure you know where the ads will be, and if possible, run tests to make sure they are visible and will still work.

Mistake 5: Not Offering Enough Value

This point is highly subjective but also probably the most important. The proper mindset is to reward the user for scanning your QR code. This “reward,” however, will change depending on what you’re trying to promote.When coupled with a clearly articulated call-to-action near the QR code, we’ve found the most compelling campaigns tend to offer one or more of the following:

•  Exclusive rich media, videos and photos
• Exclusive or time-sensitive access
•  Free downloads or swag
• “Instant Win” contests
• Special offers, coupons or gifts
• “Secret” information
• Deep integration with social media to activate viral loops”

QR Codes are rapidly showing up everywhere, almost as a trend. I recently saw one embedded in a 15- second broadcast TV Spot…now let’s face it…it would take a savvy DVR user to stop the TV, get close enough with your mobile phone, capture the image and then click through to the page…FAIL.

As always, know your audience, know your medium and then use this as yet another great digital marketing tool, when and where appropriate. We look at it as another fun way to provide moments of delight for your end users.

And for the record…Our QR code in this blog goes to our Facebook page – we are shameless and we want you to “like” our page.

I recently read a great blog post by Tony Foggett on The DRUM about the value of understanding your audience and the importance of mobile as part of your marketing strategy. He walks through several important elements, including the need to look at the user experience differently when designing for mobile vs. PC. User patterns and behaviors are different by medium so the usability should fall in line as well. But the discussion also asks a broader question about marketing strategy, and challenges our thinking about new technology channels as integral pieces of marketing strategy, not individual silos.

“…So, it seems mobile has arrived; and it is changing the rules of engagement again, just as marketers are getting to grips with the disruption digital and social has brought to its marketing approach. The speed of this change, the requirement for more investment and sheer diversity of the technology relating to mobile can seem pretty daunting.

There appears to be some confusion among marketers about what they should be doing. Should they be building “apps”, a mobile website or both?This isn’t the way to approach it. Mobile is only one part of a marketing strategy. Brands need an integrated cross-platform view of digital and to rethink their whole approach – from back end platforms that deliver better integration and user experience across not only mobile and desktop but to all other consumer touch points.” - Foggett

It’s yet another fundamental example of the value of new marketing channels and how they can be used to reach the right audience at the right time.  Too often organizations try and separate the strategies for mobile, social, digital, traditional, etc. when they should be aligning all of these critical elements into an integrated multichannel marketing strategy.

Online and offline worlds are colliding as consumers become more comfortable with networks, apps and mobile devices. Our marketing toolboxes are now filled with things we couldn’t have imagined just 5 years ago. Things like, social media, Apps, QR codes, etc. are just the beginning of new and powerful tools that can be used as part of an integrated marketing effort. 

As Tony Foggett says so eloquently in the closing of his post…

”We need to be aware that the current mobile trend is just the beginning. Consumers will be interacting with brands via a greater diversity of web enabled devices and platforms. IPTV is an immediate opportunity and announcements like Google’s ‘Android@Home’ framework, which allows household appliances to communicate with Android devices demonstrates Google’s intentions of finding new ways to use their information in everyday life beyond the mobile phone. His advice? Get a digital partner, that is user centric in its thinking – offering consumer understanding and planning capability, who can identify the opportunities (and look beyond the app), advise on devices and platforms to embrace, what technology you need to implement it and how it all joins up to deliver cross platform capability.”

We are ready for the challenge.                         Photo courtesy of Multichannel Marketing Blog Post

Books have existed for ages with the ability to teach trades, stimulate thought, influence behavior and provide an escape from our reality. This week, we asked everyone here at Lifeblue about the books that have stuck with them most and have helped to perfect their practice by changing perspective and thought.

  Phillip and Savannah recommend The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.

Phillip claims that this book “is one of the single reasons I entered the agency world and eventually started this company. It intrigued me in the understanding of how people and things influence change in the world.  It made me want to see how I could help influence or change consumers’ behavior.”

Savannah likes this book because “it takes the phenomenon of the epidemic and analyzes the key components that facilitate in the spread of thought and behavior in a way I had never before considered. Gladwell’s conversational writing style and gripping content make for a quick read, and Gladwell is one of those authors who succeeds in altering the perspective of any reader.”

  Russel recommends Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh.

“It’s probably more because I just read it, but it is a light-hearted, easy read. Its practical application of focusing on building and providing for everyone around you from your customers, vendors, and team members that you can create an amazing culture. In a nutshell, everyone wants to be a good person and provide for others, so facilitate that in every way possible.” 

   Shyam recommends Getting Real by 37Signals. 

“Seth Godin said it best: ‘Every once in a while, a book comes out of left field that changes just about everything. This is one of those books. Ignore it at your peril.’” 

  Cindy recommends The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. 

“I haven’t read the entire book recently, but I refer to it frequently and it has stayed as a foundation in my mind for many years. I remember taking a leadership class while at SBC in the early nineties based on this philosophy and book. I got my golden egg and it was a pivotal moment in my career and has stayed with me as fundamentals for the past 20 years.  While the book is now 20 years old, the paradigms and principals are extremely relevant. I often have to remind myself of the habits and revive the lessons it teaches in balancing personal, professional and the best ways to navigate your life. The foundation is an important lesson in paradigms and how we can choose to view our world.”

  Cristal recommends Visual Meetings: How Graphics, Sticky Notes & Idea Mapping Can Transform Group Productivity by David Sibbet. 

“I was attracted to this book for its many illustrations of flow charts, mind maps and thought sketching. This is not a book I chose to read cover-to-cover, but rather I keep it handy for quick reference when in need of quick inspiration when preparing a presentation, collaborating a meeting or mapping ideas for a project.” 

  Justin recommends Designing with Type, 5th Edition: The Essential Guide to Typography by James Craig.

“This book really changed my perspective on typography. It’s a great book for any designer, whether they are a beginner looking to understand typography or a pro seeking self-improvement.”

  Jonathan recommends Hardboiled Web Design by Andy Clarke.

“Andy Clarke’s book doesn’t go over a terrible amount of HTML5 and CSS3 material that you can’t find elsewhere, but that’s not the point.  He seeks to empower developers and designers, encouraging them to ditch the old, passive way of approaching web design in favor of a bold and uncompromising style of thinking.  We have some wonderful tools now at our disposal, so let’s allow ourselves to use them.” 

  Chad recommends Pro PHP: Patterns, Frameworks, Testing and More by Kevin McArthur. 

“A well-written book on (mostly) advanced PHP concepts that doesn’t waste much time on the basics. For me it was a nice overview for things like the Zend Framework, PHPUnit and Phing that I hadn’t really dug into yet. The author Kevin McArthur presents the subject matter very clearly and the ‘just the facts’ section at the end of every chapter is great.” 

Have any books you recommend for us? Let us know!

“The customer comes first.”

Business 101, right? So why is it that some web designers and marketers often forget that clients’ needs and desires are just as important to consider as those of the audience the content is serving?

Matt Donovan explored this topic in his presentation “Defending Creative Design” at this year’s Big (D)esign Conference and cited one reason for this disconnect to be the tendency to just say “no” to any request from a client that we might not agree with or believe is worth doing.

This slighting approach must stop or client relations will surely continue to suffer. Designers can be notorious for their defensiveness when it comes to client critique and therefore are often branded as difficult to work with. And while some designers will say that they’d rather die than change a single thing about their work, their business will most definitely die as well when clients grow tired of having their best interest always put on the backburner.

It’s time for a relationship revolution.

So how do agencies avoid the prima donna persona and present themselves as “people” people?

The power of listening is constantly underrated— listening not only to what a client says, but what their brand says about itself and what the client wants to be said through your work.

Get to know the client brand as if it were your own and treat it as such.

Breathe it in and live its personality and purpose as an organization.

Understand their audience and how it serves them and create your content and design strategy accordingly.

Clients hire agencies because they are good at what they do. Offer your expert opinion and ideas that will assist in accomplishing the brand’s goals. But always keep in mind that it is critical to make sure that you first understand what the client is attempting to achieve through your work and then make those goals your own.

Be one with the brand.

Many agencies make the mistake of showcasing too much of their work all at once.  “Avoid the big reveal,” Donovan cautions. Share your work with the client often and get feedback to ensure that you are going in the desired direction. Making little changes along the way is far easier than creating a complete design that requires multiple mass alterations in order to meet clients’ needs. It is an iterative process that should always allow for feedback and input throughout the lifecycle of the project.

Mind the Golden Rule: Treat the client with respect and openness and you will be treated likewise. Your amicable work style will surely earn you a highly regarded reputation and lead to referrals.  

Business is built on relationships, not projects.

In a world full of seemingly stubborn designers, it is important to step out of the box and ensure positive client interactions.

At LB, we don’t just create experiences for the client’s consumers, we also believe in creating unique experiences for our own consumers: the clients.

We are leading the charge on this relationship revolution.

Let’s all put the customer back where they belong.

By Savannah Harper

My name is Savannah Harper, and I play the role of Marketing Intern here at LifeBlue. Upon joining the LB team six weeks ago, I started what I consider to be my first “real” job. At that moment, I was no longer just a student being prepped and trained for the conceptual real world, nor a waitress working only to pay the bills— I was a young woman beginning her career. I had finally been given the opportunity to practice my passion professionally.

But now that I am officially a part of the “real world” workplace, I am finding that there are some things that they just don’t teach you in college. But perhaps these things require experience in order to be effectively learned. Let me explain.

This past weekend, the LB team attended the Big (D)esign Conference in Addison, TX, and this was of course my first appearance at such an event. Surrounded by hundreds of professionals in my field, I knew that this would be a great opportunity to network. I stocked my shiny new cardholder with as many of my business cards that would fit and remained hopeful that by the end of the weekend, it would be empty.  

However, contrary to my expectations, I did not exchange a single one. Not only that, but I didn’t even meet anyone. What happened? My confidence borders on overconfidence, and I am not one to be lost on words.

How did I miss my chance to make connections with people with whom I obviously share an interest? And more importantly, how do I ensure that I do not make this mistake again?

I spoke to Russel, LB’s own “Backboard,” for some insight on this issue. I told him that I was self-aware enough to admit that I did feel a bit intimidated being faced with seasoned professionals that all appeared to know one another (even though I know that’s not necessarily true). What could a budding intern with no real connections offer such people? Russel responded with some good advice that I had not before considered.

His first point was to never view networking as an accumulation of cards. A business card from someone you don’t know or remember is meaningless to the possessor. What someone like me— or anyone for that matter— can offer is conversation.

“Ask questions,” he said— everyone enjoys talking about what he or she knows. If conversation leads to a business connection, then great. But if not, engaging conversation can be just as valuable; you now have the potential to be recognized and acknowledged in the future as a result of the interaction. And besides, building relationships is one of the main goals of good business.

Russel warned me, though, that initiating an interaction would not always be easy. It seems as if it should be as simple as walking up to a person or group and introducing yourself, but we all can relate to that fear that often prevents us from following through on such a bold move. The truth is that everyone, no matter how outgoing he or she may seem, is at least a little nervous about meeting new people. Besides, those that are considered “outgoing” are most likely just more experienced in taking the initiative to break the barrier.

For something a little less terrifying, Russel pointed out that someone sitting near you or standing next to you in line can be a perfect candidate for conversation— but that still doesn’t mean it won’t feel awkward. But hey, that’s something we all have to get over if we want to connect with people, and Russel promised me that this would become more natural over time.

So what about my box full with almost a thousand business cards? How will I ever get these off of my desk and into another’s wallet?

As Russel said before, this should not be the end goal of an interaction, but rather something that will present itself if the opportunity is right. Ask for the other person’s card if you want it; he will do the same. If he offers up his, feel free to offer up yours, but don’t force the exchange and turn what should be a friendly conversation into a selfish business situation.

So now what? Many sites that offer advice on networking emphasize the importance of follow up. With social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, it’s easy for anyone to digitally connect with others. It shows an interest in that person and a desire to continue developing the established relationship. Also, email is always a classic means of contact.

But with any further interaction, Russel reminded me that the main focus should remain on the relationship and not on the “what can you do for me” mindset. People like to do business with people they know. Become a friend, not a business acquaintance, and in doing so, you will become a much more valuable contact.

This all seems so simple that I feel a bit foolish for not considering all these points before, but at least now I can say that my next opportunity to network has increased potential for success.

Wish me luck.

Also, I’m open to additional advice anyone might have to offer, so I’d appreciate any helpful feedback on this topic.

Recently we came across a documentary being developed and showcased on www.kickstarter.com called “Design & Thinking” and it poses several questions to the Design Thinking approach and the incredible value that design plays in everything we do.

Shyam Patel, our LB Creatologist spoke last week at Ignite Dallas during the Big Design Conference on his approach to Saving the World from Bad Design and the value of design thinking and our current complacency with status quo. 

“Design is not about just making things look better, it’s about making people’s lives better.” 

We need to be conscience that every decision we make impacts the design of our own lives and the world around us.

In the movie trailer it spoke about the idea that “design is not a luxury, it’s a discipline”. We believe that to be true in all that we deliver. Maybe we could even elevate it to Design “doing” because we believe it is an absolute necessity in all our efforts at LB.

If we view the challenges of our society through the lenses of a design problem, the problems become infinitely more approachable and solvable. The industrial age taught us to be system thinkers, but the information age requires us to become design thinkers.  We must stop being passive consumers and creators.  We are not passive witnesses to these problems, we participate in them by the way we choose to design our lives and the work we do.

The industrial age encouraged us to gain a depth of knowledge in one area of expertise; the digital age requires that we supplement that depth of knowledge with a breadth of knowledge. Understanding all dimensions is critical and requires that we think through usability and aesthetics, form and function.

So what is design thinking? Well as I mentioned, design is about making people’s lives better – thinking and doing are about the process we use to ensure that we achieve that goal in whatever we are trying to create. 

Let’s use form design as a great example. It’s amazing how applying design thinking to a form can change the world. Think about default options of a form.  This country suffers from an abysmal savings rate due to over consumption.  By changing the default option on 401(k) plans to be opt out saving rates have been shown to increase to 11% compared to negative savings rates nationally.

That’s design thinking and design doing at its best. We must pledge to be design doers. Saving the World from Bad Design means no more status quo, it means challenging ourselves to ask questions, absorb information and ultimately deliver better end results.

Our LB mantra…

We believe that design is a craft at the intersection of art and science, form and function. It is about more than being creative; inspiration and innovation are its fundamental principles. Design is about having the courage and the audacity to pursue our vision through our work to make the world what it can and should be and not settle for what it is now.

To see Shyam’s presentation for Ignite Dallas, check it out here: http://slidesha.re/oMul4V  

Photo/illustration courtesy of: Emerson College blog post by Nitjyot Saroan