I think I’m all documented out.

Last week and the week before I was mainly working on a Functional Specification (how each page/section works, as well as how it all fits together) for a website, which has come in at almost 7 thousand words, as well as a Component Specification (explains how each component should be set out, as well as text/background colours etc.) which is only sitting at 756, altohugh, I’m still working on that as I do the design.

Documentation is important so we can keep a log of how everything should work, but I’m starting to wonder if we are approaching it in the right way. It’s difficult for people to grasp how something works from dry text, and I’ve spent quite a bit of time explaining things as well, but then maybe that’s just because I need to work on the way I write. Initially I’d used a lot of bullet points to try and make it clearer, but I think this is actually more confusing because it’s more difficult to understand the context. I added simple wireframes, which definitely helps, but this should also perhaps been taken to further detail. Yes! More diagrams! That will be fun…um…

Anyway, keeping documentation up to date can also be troublesome, it’s easy to get distracted with other things. However, as the project goes on it’s best to keep an accurate document on the website, that way we always have something to fall back on, and to check, especially if the client wants to make further changes.

Well, I’m reaching the end of the documentation stage for me (hopefully), so it’s back to the pretty pictures. Excellent.

Well, it’s coming to the end of the year so I thought I’d do a quick run down of some of the sites I’ve really liked this year. It’s mainly about the overall look and feel rather than any kind of functionality, but they all have something that I find inspiring in some way.

Carsonified Events

Big fonts, sketchy graphics and muted colours.

Ma.tt

Feels like it’s a worn away painting on a wall. And, what a great domain name.

The Statement

The white on black makes the old newspaper style feel like something a bit more special.

The things we make

Perhaps the mix of colours, wooden floorboard background and zig-zaggy lines. Just feels nice.

Satsu

Pencil sketches. Love it. Love it. Love it.

Meomi

It’s just so gosh darn cute.

Carbonica

Nice and sketchy.

Kyan

Clean, simple and lovely

Studio MIK MIK

So pretty. I really like the pale blue and brown.

Ah well, I’m sure there are tonnes more than that, but I’m getting tired now.

Well, I started working on this…hmm…around May, maybe June, so now 6 months or so later I have finally finished it. My main concerns are how it is going to do in the washing machine. I’m sure the knitting and the wool will be fine as long as the temperature is under 30°, it’s the stitching together that concerns me. Oh, anyway. I’m rather happy with it.

Baby jumpsuit

This week has involved the first Christmas work I’ve done this year. Not too bad starting in mid November, starting to get me in the Christmas mood. And it’s been fun – I’ve just been doing little illustrations of snow, holly and stuff like that.

Hmm, maybe it’s time to start thinking about my Christmas shopping….nah, I have plenty of time!

Trying to be creative when you are tired out can be really difficult.  It’s really easy to just keep distracting yourself from what you are doing, by checking email, Facebook, Bebo or whatever. So on the days that you struggle, how can you stay productive?

I’m sure there are different ways for everybody, but for me, it comes down to being organised. I write out the things I want to achieve, and keep make lots of sketches and notes to keep me on track, but really, you’ve just got to keep going and do your best. Hopefully at some point the inspiration will come back. Or maybe just, write it off as ‘one of those days’ and check your email again. Yeah.

When I’m designing a website I normally stick to Arial in most cases, and quite often Georgia if it’s something a bit less businessey (yes, I know that’s not a real word), but I have now discovered my new favourite web safe font.

Look, here it is, Trebuchet MS. I’m finding it very pretty, and rather less formal, so excellent for less corporate sites.

My main problem now is going to be not using it for everything.

It is always really important when starting a project to get under the skin of the product or brand that the design is going to be for. Mostly, this involves getting a lot of information from the client about their brand and product, as well as researching them, and their competitors online, but sometimes you get to do great stuff, like go shopping.

So, on Thursday, for the new project I’m working on, myself and another couple of girls took a trip around the high street stores in Glasgow researching our client’s product and their competitors. Phew, what hard work! But, anyway, apart from a nice day walking around Glasgow, we managed to get really valuable insights about the product, customers and the perception of the brand. It’s now going to be so much easier to create a design that will make the client happy, as well as their current and potential customers.

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