Mosaic Team » Design http://blog.mosaicteam.com Web Marketing for Business Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:16:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Does the iPad have Competition with the WeTab http://blog.mosaicteam.com/does-the-ipad-have-competition-with-the-wetab http://blog.mosaicteam.com/does-the-ipad-have-competition-with-the-wetab#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:54:03 +0000 admin http://blog.mosaicteam.com/?p=576

WeTab: iPad Alternative


A new tablet out in the market that is creating some buzz is the new WeTab. WeTab was formaly WePad, but they had to make a name change to the close resemblance to the iPad. The WeTab supports all the features of the iPad plus a few more. One of the most notable is that it supports Flash. It will allow you to browse the internet, watch movies, write e-mails, or chat on Facebook. It also supports most audio formats and file formats, so you won’t be restricted to what you watch, hear, or read. At this time the price of the WeTab is about $720 in the United States (569 EUR). Check out the WeTab tablet and pre-order now.

]]> http://blog.mosaicteam.com/does-the-ipad-have-competition-with-the-wetab/feed 0 Is Your Client the Center of the Design Process? http://blog.mosaicteam.com/is-your-client-the-center-of-the-design-process http://blog.mosaicteam.com/is-your-client-the-center-of-the-design-process#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:29:11 +0000 admin http://blog.mosaicteam.com/?p=455

image provided by: http://www.smartisans.com/articles/

I recently read an article on Six Revisions, which is a design blog that has writes articles focused on web designers and web developers. They have some greay stuff over there with practical and useful articles for designers and web developers. The article focused on client relationships, specifically when it comes to web design. But, the principles in the article can really be applied to any client based relationship.

User Centered Designs

In marketing, both web and print, a professional designer creates material that is “user focused”; meaning that the person that will be holding the magazine or viewing the website; is the end user that the designer focuses on. This approach is meant to navigate the end user (consumer) to a certain action, whether it is to “buy now”, “sign up”, or head to the local clothing store and pick up that $80 pair of jeans. The end users experiences, needs, wants, limitations and emotions are taken into consideration by the designer and the end product is meant to speak to the consumer and evoke those emotions to have them ultimately make a decision.

A true designer is only satisfied with their work once the intended audience’s needs are met.Whitney Hess

…designing the site around their own needs and preferences, and assume their users will like it just fine, thank you.Six Revisions

Client Centered Design

Wait a minute, your telling me there are people that hire graphic designers and web designers and then tell them how to design without the end user in mind! Yes, we see this happen all the time in marketing. See, here is where the problem lies. Design is part art and part science. Most people forget about the science part and only reflect on the art portion of it. And, well, art is subjective. It is nothing more than “green really isn’t my color”, or “I am much more of a VanGough gal/guy then a Dali type”. Ok, that might be a little bit to simplistic, but hopefully you get the idea. In design, designers use certain colors to get certain responses from the end user. Spacing is done to be pleasing to the eye and create flow. Typography can give a site weight or lightness. All of these things are done with the end user in mind and the type of response the designer is looking to receive. With Client Centered Design, the client is basing the design more on there own personal feelings (think art) instead of on the end user. Maybe you have heard this from your clients (“I think we need a little more pizazz right in the top”, or “can we make the logo really, really big”, or “I don’t think we should use blue here, how about a bright pink instead…it’s my favorite color”.

What’s the solution?

The solution I think is educating clients. Letting them know why you chose to go with blue as compared to pink. It can be really hard to let clients know that the product design isn’t about them, but it is about the people buying their services or products. And in today’s society of “all about me”, a simple and delicate approach will work the best. Maybe even a subtle diversion can take place. After explaining the science behind the design, find a spot in the design that can call for a little more “art” and get the clients opinion. This way the science and actions you want the end user to take are still being addressed while the client-centered-design individual’s needs of having input are also being address. What do you think? Any ideas how to handle this?

P.S. Check out the full article over at Six Revisions.

]]> http://blog.mosaicteam.com/is-your-client-the-center-of-the-design-process/feed 2 How to Update an Aging Website http://blog.mosaicteam.com/how-to-update-an-aging-website http://blog.mosaicteam.com/how-to-update-an-aging-website#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:40:02 +0000 admin http://blog.mosaicteam.com/?p=446

Provided by Ioan Sameli on flickr.com

Boagworld recently did an article on business and their websites entitled 5 options when website budgets get slashed . More to the point, what to do about your old and tired website when the budget for a redesign is low. Boagworld is the blog of web strategist Paul Boag and has some great stuff on it.

The article deals with some very simple things that can be done regarding how to tackle your website with such topics as “should I redesign or realign my website” (an article we wrote about back in Nov 09) or “prioritize and phase development”. The article is great and right on target with steps any business owner can take when it comes to tight budgets without compromising quality. If your business has questions about an aging site and need a new look, contact MosaicTeam.

]]> http://blog.mosaicteam.com/how-to-update-an-aging-website/feed 0 Business Owners Burning the Midnight Oil http://blog.mosaicteam.com/business-owners-burning-the-midnight-oil http://blog.mosaicteam.com/business-owners-burning-the-midnight-oil#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 23:06:34 +0000 admin http://blog.mosaicteam.com/?p=442

Or What Caffeine Actually Does to Your Brain

Caffeine Boost

As a business owner or employee there are times when we have had to pull a late night to get that budget report done, make the final touches on a proposal, or the project completed that was just handed to you. All to often, as Americans work longer hours as it is, we are exhausted. Most of us turn to a trusted and warm favorite…coffee or another form of liquid caffeine.

Recently in LifeHacker, they looked at the well known stimulant that we know very little about. The general consensus on caffeine studies shows that it can enhance work output, but mainly in certain types of work. But, don’t expect it to replace a week long work-a-holic binge. Read this interesting article on caffeine and what it does to productivity and the human brain focusing on an excerpt from the book “Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine”, by Stephen R. Braun.

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