Well, I’m now rather impressed with myself as iStockphoto have accepted a few of my illustrations. Something I’m going to hopefully be added to reasonaly regularly.

Check me out

I’m trying to decide if I believe in the concept of ‘Creative people’.

It’s something I hear all the time at work. Creative people are meant to be a different breed, man. Free spirits, livin’ in chaos, expressing theirselves, yeh!

Now, I love being creative. I love a variety of creative pursuits, from designing to drawing to painting to crafts, but is this something you develop in yourself, rather than something you are innately born with? I’m not denying that there are some amazingly talented people out there, creative geniuses, perhaps, but the rest of us? I mean, I’m a very logical person, very practical. Being creative is something I’ve learned to do better. I know what web design layouts work, what colours look right together, but this is from experience rather than instinct.

I believe that all of us have the ability to be creative, there are just some of us who spend more time developing it. So, pick up a pencil, start sketching or something, then you can call yourself a ‘creative person’ too.

It’s been a long time since I’ve designed an email, so before I start here are a few basic things that I should consider.

Designing the email

• Who’s it for: While designing the email you should keep in mind who the target audience is. The email should be relevant and interesting to the reader, otherwise it will often be considered to be spam.
• What do you want them to do: You should also think about what you want the reader to do once they have read the email, basically, what is the call to action. This should be simple for the user to find, so keep irrelevant copy and links to a minimum.
• The layout: It’s very important that the reader immediately recognising who the email is from, so keeping the logo to the top left is a good idea. Also consider that the email will be viewed in different browsers and applications and may also be initially viewed in a preview pane. This means you should try to get the message across to the reader without taking up too much space. Think about how the content is set out. Titles should be short and informative, any images should be relevant to the content and try to be as concise as possible. Also minimise fonts, colours and images as these can make the email confusing and difficult for the reader to scan quickly. And finally, make sure the call to action is prominent in the email, so the reader can easily understand what the email wants them to do next.

Writing the copy

• The subject line: The subject line is the motivation for the reader to actually read the email, so it’s very important to get this right. You should briefly describe the emails’ content, and add something attention grabbing. It’s also a good idea to add a call to action whenever possible
• Personalise: If you have a name associated with the email address it’s a good idea to use this in the email. It will help confirm that the email is not spam, and also make the reader think the email is more relevant to them, hence making it more likely to be read.
• Talk to the reader: Copywriting is a skill all on it’s own, but quite often it will also be one of the designer’s tasks so it’s worth thinking about carefully. Try to think of the email as a conversation, rather than dry information and keep it simple and concise so the reader doesn’t have to read through lots of text to find out what the email is about.

Building the email

• Click, click, click: Make sure any images and relevant text are clickable; you want to give the reader as many opportunities as possible to click on the email.
• Important links: There are a some additional links that should be on every email. Having an unsubscribe link is essential. It will reassure the reader and is also a legal requriement. Another good practice is to add a link to a web version in case the reader has problems viewing the email.
• Compatibility and stuff: Finally, remember all browsers and applications have different rules for displaying backgrounds and images, so your email may not be viewed exactly how you want it to be. This means you should try to build the email as simply as possible, you should never use background images and all styles and colours have to be applied in the HTML rather than with external CSS.

So…

I’m sure there are many more issues to be considered when creating an effective email, so perhaps try a few of these resources too.

20 Tips for Good Web Copy

Email Guidelines

Good HTML Newsletter Design

Well, I had to do my first client presentation yesterday.

I’ve always known it’s not one of my strong points, and although it went fine and the client was happy with the work we’d done, I think I’ve worked out where I went wrong.

My past experience in doing presentations has been at University, so the presentations all tended to be more information based and practical, rather than visual. The setting is also very different from the very formal standing in front of a screen with an audience in front of you to the more relaxed sitting around a table discussing the project.

So, when I went about creating my powerpoint file and planning what I wanted to say, I ended up preparing for it with my past experience in mind, but what you really have to do in a client presentation is connect with the audience. You have to basically tell them a story, show them all the thought and passion that you actually put into the project, and discuss all the little details that make it what it is.

Well, I think next time I’ll be better, and have a better way of going about it.

Well, I’ve had 2 surprising different spam emails in the past couple of days.

One was telling me there has been a nuclear explosion in London, and I should open a zip file containing a list of victims.

The second was telling me there had been illegal activity in my internet usage, so my account was being suspended. A zip file was attached with details.

Excellent. I look forward to the next one.

Well, it’s feeling like winter is creeping in now. I have my fingerless gloves on while I’m working to combat the cold, and the dark grey clouds are filling the streets with rain.

So, along with Summer, my motivation has gone into hiding, although hopefully it will come back before next year (I’m kind of hoping Summer will come back for a bit too, but that’s looking less likely).

Time for a cup of tea!

My features spec is just about there. I’m sure there will be more to add to it at a later date, but I think it covers everything for now.

So, I’ve actually started on designing the initial look and feel of the site. I’m having to combine the latest branding from the print agency, which heavily involves circles (not the easiest to implement in a website) with a functional, reasonably easy to build wireframe.

It’s been enjoyable so far. Lots of gradients, shines and rounded corners, even though a part of me is twitching slightly. Lots more to do!

I have finally changed to my married name on my passport, my bank account, my driving license, my Boots Advantage card, and yes, my website. So, if you are looking for Elaine Simpson, she is no longer here. Goodbye Elaine Simpson, hello Mrs McVicar.