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Some Thoughts on the Design Process

By on November 18, 2011 | Category: Article

In the last week or so, there has been a lot of talk in the tech industry about the upcoming theatrical release of a lost interview with Steve Jobs from 1996. The interview was part of a series by Robert X. Cringely, called “Triumph of the Nerds.” An excerpt of the interview has been circulating lately, including at Fortune. This particular excerpt includes some of Steve Jobs’ thoughts on the design process.

And the problem with that is that there’s just a tremendous amount of craftsmanship in between a great idea and a great product. And as you evolve that great idea, it changes and grows. It never comes out like it starts because you learn a lot more as you get into the subtleties of it. And you also find there are tremendous tradeoffs that you have to make. There are just certain things you can’t make electrons do. There are certain things you can’t make plastic do. Or glass do. Or factories do. Or robots do.

Designing a product is keeping five thousand things in your brain and fitting them all together in new and different ways to get what you want. And every day you discover something new that is a new problem or a new opportunity to fit these things together a little differently.

And it’s that process that is the magic.

Design is a challenging process for me. I don’t see myself as the world’s greatest designer. To me, good design is functional – in that the design of something is integral to the overall strategy of that thing. This to me, is a major factor in the design of a website, for example.

Well designed websites are highly functional. The design serves as a vehicle for delivering a message to the visitor/reader. The overall strategic goals for a website should thus inform the design – not the other way around.

Redesigning AECforensics.com

I have been publishing content to AECforensics.com for just about two years now. The site started as a reflection of my passion for pursuing quality in the built environment, following more than a decade of work as a construction consultant. I realized that there was a large void in our industry in terms of reliable news and content pertaining to the A/E/C (architecture, engineering and construction) forensics field.

From very early on, I had a vision of how the design of the site would play a part in the overall strategy. The problem is, I just haven’t been able to implement or execute that design intent. Until the other day…

The amazing designers at WooThemes recently released a new theme for WordPress that caught my eye. I could see the potential for how the building blocks of that design would serve to meet my goal. After a nearly sleepless night of modifying the code of the new theme (that’s where the “keeping five thousand things in your brain” comes in), I finally found what I had been looking for all along:

AECforensics.com Screen Shot

AECforensics.com Screen Shot

Above is a screenshot of the new design. One of the things I am most excited about is that this theme is based on the concept of responsive design. This is a fancy buzzword that folks are using these days to describe web design that dynamically adapts to whatever device the site is being displayed on. If you are using a computer screen to view the site, it looks similar to the screenshot. But if you adjust the size of your browser window to a narrow width, the layout of the site adapts to that smaller display size. The site also looks great on an iPad or other tablet device.

So there it is. I could have spent 100+ hours trying to develop a design from scratch. Instead, with the right starting point, I have been able to achieve the design intent that I have envisioned all along. Is it the world’s greatest website? No. But that isn’t what I’m going after. Is it the right design for communicating the information that I am trying to share with the A/E/C industry? Yes.

At least until I decide to shift strategies…


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On Design for the Web: Re-Visiting Onswipe

By on September 13, 2011 | Category: Article

A while back, I wrote about using Onswipe, a service that automagically enables iPad friendly versions of WordPress websites. In that post I described how I had configured Onswipe to run on all of my sites. A couple days after writing that post, and without much fanfare, I disabled Onswipe.

A couple weeks ago, Carol Hagen mentioned something on Twitter about Onswipe. She enabled the service for her site, Carol’s Construction Technology Blog, which I consider to be an invaluable resource due to her deep insight. Her blog serves as an outlet for promoting her business, Hagen Business Systems, “an industry leader in providing project management, estimating and document imaging software designed specifically for the construction industry.” In other words, Ms. Hagen’s blog isn’t a hobby, but is part of a professional marketing strategy.

To Onswipe Or Not To Onswipe

Using my phone’s camera, I snapped some shots of Carol’s blog to show what the Onswipe display looks like (click on any of the images to view larger):

Carol Hagen's Blog with Onswipe - 1

Carol Hagen's Blog with Onswipe - 1

Here is what you see when viewing an individual post via Onswipe:

Carol Hagen's Blog with Onswipe - 2

Carol Hagen's Blog with Onswipe - 2

There is no denying that viewing the Onswipe-enabled version on the iPad is beautiful (when you’re actually viewing on an iPad, not looking at a mobile phone picture of it). The functionality is awesome, as well – swipe to move between posts, a cool page-turning animation – it is really cool. Even better, you can add the site as an icon to your iPad’s home screen. The result is a cool app icon with Carol’s smiling face, providing a one-touch access to her blog any time.

So, what’s not to like? Here is a screenshot from Ms. Hagen’s non-Onswipe-optimized site:

Carol Hagen's Blog without Onswipe

Carol Hagen's Blog without Onswipe

What’s different? Context. As I have written before, and will likely continue to rant about until I die, context matters. If you look at the regular version of Carol’s Construction Technology Blog, you will see the careful (yet subtle) attention she has given to the design of her site. The header, the top navigation bar, the search box, and the sidebar all add context. When visiting a site for the first time, perhaps from a link shared via social media, I want to know who is offering this insight. What is their perspective, when was this written, why is this relevant, and how will this (article, site, person, company) benefit me?

In the standard version of Carol’s blog, the answers to these questions are immediately visible, by design. In the Onswipe-optimized version of her site, to find out more about the context of an article, I would have to click on the small button in the upper-right corner labeled “Menu,” then click on “Pages” before clicking on “About.”

What’s The Point?

Onswipe is a really neat idea. A lot of websites are so crammed full of stuff, that mobile-optimized and iPad-optimized versions are necessary for usability. However, a properly designed website (designed for maximum usability) such as Carol’s works just fine on the iPad without the Onswipe overlay. Here’s a screenshot (at the bottom of Onswipe-optimized pages is a link to switch to “the desktop version”):

Carol Hagen's Blog without Onswipe 2

Carol Hagen's Blog without Onswipe 2

It looks just fine. And all of the context is there. Notice the little blurb in the about box right above Carol’s picture and contact info:

I have been speaking to and educating the construction industry on the impact computer technology has on accuracy, productivity and workflow since 1986. Moving construction firms and related industries toward the paperless office and identifying and implementing LEAN practices to achieve a competitive advantage is my passion.

Carol Hagen writes about technology for the construction industry, and to be perfectly honest, I value her insight over many of the industry heavyweights like ENR, Constructech, etc. She isn’t writing about this stuff as a staff writer at some big company – she is a business woman writing about her experience. And no matter what format Ms. Hagen publishes her content in, you can bet that I’ll be there reading it. And so should you.

Context matters.


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Onswipe Plugin for WordPress Enables iPad App-Like Functionality

By on June 1, 2011 | Category: Article

Over the weekend, I decided to resolve an issue that has been bugging me. I love the Woo Themes I’ve installed across my sites, but some features and functions don’t translate well to the iPad.

I fixed that by installing a simple plugin for WordPress made by Onswipe. This cool little plugin transforms any WordPress blog into an iPad-like app. There are options to create Cover pages, add your logo, and plenty of font and color choices. While there aren’t fine-grained controls for tweaking things too much, I think the end result is quite nice.

If you get a chance, check out all my blogs on an iPad and let me know what you think:


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Multiple Profiles Coming Soon to Chrome

By on May 3, 2011 | Category: Link

The Chrome browser by Google has become my browser of choice. But I have been frustrated by the inability to easily switch between my Google accounts. In a development version of the browser, multiple user profile support has finally come, which means the functionality should make its way into the official version soon.

What does multiple profile support mean for you? It means that if you have multiple Google accounts, say one for work and one for your personal interactions, it will be much easier to switch between them. It could also be good for that shared family computer sitting in the living room.

According to the Chromium documentation, the feature will also allow users to bring in personalized browser settings associated with their Google profile:

“The multiple profiles feature will allow the user to associate a profile with a specific set of browser windows, rather than with an entire running instance of Chrome. Allowing different windows to run as different Chrome identities means that a user can have different open windows associated with different Google accounts, and correspondingly different sets of preferences, apps, bookmarks, and so on — all those elements which are bound to a specific user’s identity. Having multiple profiles in the Chrome browser also makes it easy to browse with separate identities without having to log in as separate users at the operating system level.”


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Why Do I.T. Consultants Have Such Crappy Websites?

By on April 13, 2011 | Category: Article

I just don’t get it. I have yet to see a truly great website for an I.T. consultant, except for major providers. And it doesn’t help the already weak marketing position that most tech consultants have.

The barrier of entry fo most small businesses when it comes to putting together a website is the technical limitations of in-house staff. Setting up web hosting service, installing software on the server, configuring components – that is daunting for most people. But for a “technology consultant” this is what they do, or at least that is the perception that most prospective clients would have.

I have researched, sent out Requests for Proposals, interviewed, recommended and collaborated with numerous consultants in the technical support field. Except for big agencies employing numerous “independent contractors,” most marketing materials leave a lot to be desired. Their websites look like something from 1995. Very few IT consultants have blogs or are active in social media.

What’s the problem? When a business seeks a tech consultant’s services, they are looking for assurance. The business wants a consultant that will meet their needs – typically that means troubleshooting some problem. The business therefore is looking for a solutions provider that is confident, but not cocky. Someone that is approachable. Perhaps most importantly, the business wants someone who can explain highly technical issues in easy-to-understand terms.

In my opinion, the goals of any I.T. consultant’s website should be as follows:

  1. Set the visitor at ease. If someone is seeking out your services, they are most likely already overwhelmed by their own technical issues.
  2. Inform and educate. Too often I.T. consultants, if they have any content on their site, establish authority by listing all their credentials. That is telling prospective clients who you are. Providing informative and empowering information on your site shows visitors that you know what you are doing.
  3. Be relevant. There aren’t a lot of tech consultants that can truly handle every aspect of information technology. Everyone has specializations – emphasize your specialization. If your expertise is helping small businesses eliminate the need for in-house I.T. staff, make that clear. If you are an experienced database administrator, provide case studies that demonstrate your solutions. Don’t try to be all things to all people. It isn’t accurate and it isn’t going to be effective.
  4. Acknowledge misconceptions. Let’s face it, a lot of people think that I.T. consultants are basement-dwelling, World of Warcraft-playing, Mountain Dew-swilling, pirated movie-watching, single nerds. If you’re not, make that clear. But it is also OK to embrace that persona, if it is who you truly are. Just be aware of the preconceived ideas most of your prospective clients are bringing to the table.

What’s The Point?

I myself am a geek. I also am in a position where I recommend technology consulting services to businesses. However, I don’t get any of my information about technology from technology consultants. The sources for my tech information are primarily tech journalists. If there were some really knowledgable I.T. consultants writing insightful blogs or participating actively in social media in my area (San Diego), I would be recommending them over anyone else. I want a tech consultant that can inspire and inform. I don’t want a stupid landing page or a rarely updated website featuring a bland and dated design.

Note: I’m not saying that every I.T. consultant has a crappy website. In fact, I would like to point out a major exception to the rule – Marni Melrose and her company, MacAngel. I remember when Marni used to work at the Apple Store. She was one of the first consultants I sent an RFP to years ago when I was looking for someone to help us with a server configuration. What’s different about MacAngel? Let’s start with the homepage. Marni’s expertise is clearly spelled out in a blurb that sits right next to a video of her explaining her firm’s area of focus:

We help fuel productivity & performance in Mac based businesses. We specialize in business infrastructure, business process design & staff training on Daylite, Billings and Billings Pro software from Marketcircle. Daylite is the leading business productivity manager on the Mac platform.

What else is different? Marni has an active blog and newsletter. Even though I have never used her services, I get her newsletter regularly, and unlike many newsletters, I actually read it. I don’t use Daylite, but I learn a lot from her. Also important, Marni’s site design and tone eliminate any stereotypes about I.T. geeks. She is approachable, articulate, knowledgable and helpful.

If you’re in technology consulting, no doubt your business has slowed with the economy. Instead of sitting back waiting for calls to come in, now’s the time to reinvent your brand. Start a blog. Get involved in social media. Network (not the Cisco-kind of networking, the cocktail-party hand-shaking type). And if you are advertising web design, web development, search engine optimization or any other type of online marketing services, your own site better be a good indication of that. And finally, you most likely got into this line of work because you are passionate about technology and helping others. Your website needs to reflect that.

Want some help from a fellow geek? Drop me a line.


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