Friday, October 08, 2010

10 Things CEO's Need to Know about Design

Jason Purtoti was lead designer for Mint.com. If you want to know the key design decisions that affect visitors and generate a 'call to action' then this is the place to start. The transformation of the American Airlines site is one of the best User Experience (UX) stories out there.

This presentation doesn't have sound, but take your time to think about what each slide is saying. For the best experience, click through to SlideShare.
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Saturday, October 02, 2010

Web Site Makeovers - Case Studies

How do you get visitors, how do you keep visitors returning and how do you convert visits to sales? If you want real-life practical demonstrations of how to do this, then do I have the video for you!

In this recorded presentation, Andrew Fingerman spoke to the folks at Telluride about Extreme Makeovers of Photography Websites. Using dozens of live examples, Andrew shows photographers how to turn a photography website into a more powerful marketing tool to attract new visitors, turn them into customers, and keep them coming back for more... but it applies to much more than photography websites.

His examples of how blogs are an integral part of the site, and examples of how web site owners have made them relevant are core demonstrations of the 'new' way the web works. This is no 'casual' presentation. It uses real life examples and works through what has changed and why it matters. It's worth putting aside some time. The 'technical difficulties' mean that sound drops occassionally, but persevere.

Andrew isn't a 'big name' outside photography, and this isn't some 'flashy' speaker on a podium. He's a coffee addict whose livelihood depends on doing.



Passion can see Beauty and Share it

Making a promotional video beautiful and captivating. This brilliant (no pun intended) video from laughing Squid shows how it can be done - a pleasure to watch. Set to Alfred Brendel's lyrical Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat major, it shows the process from top to bottom of how ink is made. The vivid and even balletic video captivates us with beauty - the lush yellow ink folding into itself at the beginning is the hook that keeps us watching - the whole video - completely enthralled. Enjoy - and learn.