HolidayChecklist2009.pdf application/pdf Object.
One of my email vendors, iContact, includes useful tips on crafting effective email marketing campaigns. They just sent out this checklist with advice for holiday email campaigns that I found useful, so I am sharing it with you.
I have found iContact to be very cost effective for larger lists and easy to use.
Extreme Makeover: Craigslist Edition
When the internet was down today (my hubby the hero replaced the router — hooray!) I read this great article in the print version of Wired magazine about craigslist. It included some redesigns of the site done by selected guest star designers with a goal of increased usability.
Check out these potential new looks for craigslist.
They each have a unique approach to defining the issues and creating solutions. My favorite is the Make It Simple approach by information architect Anh Dang.
I’m so used to craigslist minimal page styling and arbitrary lists and would almost hate to see it change, but do I really need a link to Barcelona and Paris on the home page? And yes, uppercase letters do help readability, even though they are a hassle.
Apart from the messiness that always occurs when freedom of the press is given to all, and the resulting political and personal issues, I’ve always found craigslist a great resource. It is on my personal list of Websites I Couldn’t Do Without.
And I honor Craig Newmark for his lack of greed and independence.
What is your big idea for improving craigslist? Which design option is your favorite? Inquring minds want to know.
Scratching the Surface: Your Brain on the Internet
Great article about how internet use is changing our brain’s neural network in addition to behavior and thinking patterns.
It has come to my attention that the City of Portland’s web redesign of its 140,000 page website is going to be done by contest. The winner will receive a web link, notice in a press release and no monetary payment.
On review of the city’s documentation, it appears that the next phase will involve hiring accessibility and usability consultants to make the free design work well. Those contracts will be awarded through competitive bids for handsome sums.
The obvious disconnect at the project management level between design and function shows such a lack of understanding of what design is and how you get there that it boggles the mind.
To me this is wrong in so many ways.
I am sick and tired of people thinking designers just have fun all day messing around with paints and Photoshop and don’t need to be paid. I have years of skill, experience you can depend on, in addition to tons of talent and I have learned every bit of it the hard way. I don’t give it out for free, unless you do.
What is Spec? And Why is it Wrong?
Spec work, as contests without payment are, is a practice that has long been considered unethical by the graphic design community. Although it is common for architectural and public art projects to use contests, the end result is payment and or promotion in a city-published print marketing piece.
Please see these websites for more information about spec work.
The American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) has this to say about spec work:
AIGA believes that doing speculative work seriously compromises the quality of work that clients are entitled to and also violates a tacit, long-standing ethical standard in the communication design profession worldwide. AIGA strongly discourages the practice of requesting that design work be produced and submitted on a speculative basis in order to be considered for acceptance on a project.
Read the AIGA’s position on spec work
How do you feel about it?
[polldaddy poll=1783484]
Lately I’ve been keeping an eye out for usability koans. You know — those small electronic interfaces that are puzzling at best, confoundedly frustrating at the worst.
What are the items that make you scratch your head in befuddlement? Mine are the multi-buttoned remote control that requires three separate buttons to turn on our TV.
By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.