Web Design Blog

What the heck is Information architecture?

Information architecture is the art of organizing information on a website in a way in which it is easily found. That’s the one sentence version, anyhow.

Information architecture (IA) is the art of organizing content into a logical structure. In websites we need to organize all the information logically and put it in together for it to make sense to our users.

Websites are supposed to answer questions that the a user has and help users complete tasks. If a website makes it easy for you to complete your task, then you know the information architects were effective. If a website has clumsy navigation and you have a hard time finding the information then we know whoever did the architecture on the website was not successful.

How do I recognize Information Architecture?

Before asking how I visualize IA, you may want to know why you need to visualize it. The main reason is if you have to explain what IA is to others. IA is not a tangible thing and the field is new and not many people out there understand exactly what it is. That’s why in this article, I am going to give you the whole picture of IA in layman’s terms, so you have a complete understanding are able to communicate that to other people.

You can recognize IA, by noticing the search systems and classifications/categorizations of a website’s architecture. But, it’s just not the navigation links that is IA, it’s the way information architects, categorize the structure of the information on the site.

Here is an example, let’s say we are looking at a clothing store’s online shopping cart. The types of clothing could be broken down like this: t-shirts, other shirts, jeans, casual pants, shorts and accessories. This is information architecture, it’s just not the words or the links, its how it is categorized.

Another example perhaps is the way content (words) are grouped on the homepage. If you look at any website – well most websites - for example the content is usually grouped into paragraphs or chunks of information, this is also information architecture.

IA is much deeper in the links on a website and how they are placed. IA refers to the content and the way in which we find it. It might be that we search for it, we could use a quick links side bar, either way it’s how we find the information.

Why information architects?

By now, we all know that IA exists without architects. If we want to create useable websites with easy to find information in complex environments, then we need architects. Without the proper professional knowledge and skills we would have a web of mess, much like it was with the crazy flashing buttons before we had web designers.

Imagine mortgages without mortgages specialists or schools without teachers. Information architecture without architects isn’t going to work either.

Something like 75% of businesses bust in the first year of operation. Who knows why? It could be a myriad of things: bad timing, no business plan, improper marketing (or worse–none at all), or maybe what they thought was a good idea really wasn’t. All of these could end a freelancer’s career, too.

But more likely, none of these things will. In my career as a freelancer I’ve watched numerous other freelancers rise and fall, step out and immediately lose their footing, or get off to a bumpy start. I must admit, I’ve made the same mistake a time or two: misconception.

I’m not talking the kind of misconception that happens when a client expects a $2000 website for $200 or that they figure their new e-commerce site will be as successful as Ebay overnight. The misconception that I’m speaking of has been widespread ever since the dot-com bubble burst and every 5th grader and their dog became a “webmaster”.

It lies in our communication: Bob decides to start a beef business. He gets a loan from the bank, a building to house the business in and even takes out an ad in the paper and the phone book. What’s missing? Bobs-beef-business-dot-com, of course!

Opening the phone book again, he flips through it, pausing and grinning at his wonderful 1/8th page ad. He continues flipping until he reaches the W’s. Let’s see… aha! “Web Design”. He picks up the phone and begins to call.

An hour later, he calls the “webmaster” that was fifth on his list, because they can do it for the least amount of money. He doesn’t need to check his website or his portfolio. The bottom line is all that matters.

The misconception happened between the lines. Bob called and said, “I need a website for my new business. How much?” The designer said, “We have starter packages that include 5-10 page web design for $500″. Bob says, “Great! You’re hired. When can you have it ready?”

How many of you have made this mistake? I know I have. A few of the new freelancers may not even catch it. As freelancers, we very often have to wear different hats to survive. If we can’t cut it in sales, accounting, customer service AND design, we won’t eat. We’ve perused the internet for many hours and we know what looks good, what gets a good rank in Google and what keeps people coming back. So why do we continue to convey ourselves as just another name in the phone book? The solution here is we need to position ourselves as industry experts rather than hired help. We’re not just good at making websites, we’re darn good at it. Any Joe Blow can create a website with Dreamweaver and a GoDaddy account. Why should they hire you if they don’t understand the importance of getting a specialist involved?

First a little background:

Northern Voice is a web type conference- two days in total. It’s in it’s fourth year and it is held in Vancouver. The two days consist of Friday including the “unconference” and Internet Bootcamp. I think I called it Internet 101 in another post at AliciaHarper.com - oops my mistake!

I did find out exactly what an “unconference” was. An unconference is- simply put - anarchy! Total chaos and I loved every minute of it.

The day included 8 - 30 minutes sessions. While running in between sessions was very hectic, I really enjoyed the discussion the unconference offered. It was a nice break from the usual type of conference.

My schedule included, talks with David Orchard on Enterprise Social. This talk focused mainly wikis and how to engage people internally on using wikis . One comment was maybe not to call them wikis to the corporate “suits” as they don’t understand what a wiki really is.

From there my colleagie and I were off to: Podcasting 101 with John Bollwitt a very interesting session and really was about how to create a podcast yourself at home. The equipment needed and how make yours interesting.

After that was Videoblogging 101 with Roland Tanglao, Jordan Behan and Warren Frey. I actually found this very interesting as it’s not something I am that really familiar with. I sometimes use other media on some of my other blogs but, not video. The guys that held Video blogging gave us some really good advice about video - including what sites do what with video. I will definitely be trying this out. I just need a new video camera now!

After lunch was by far the most interesting part of the conference….

First up was Government and Social or Government and Wikis ( I can’t exactly remember the name) by Micheal Klassen of Thinking Cap . Now I really walked into this one thinking, “This will be awesome maybe I’ll get some tips on how to convince the CEO to let us have a wiki” Well was I wrong! The talk got hijacked by someone turning it in a talk about the left winged politics here in Vancouver. I have to admit. I was incredibly lost.

It only got worse from there. Next up was TransitCamp and Open Source Government with Dustin Quasar Sacks which was more like him getting up on his soapbox and speaking loudly like he was protesting something. The funny thing is I am all for open source and open government and playing an active role. But, I actually felt like a protester in this room… Very awkward. One lady even spoke up and said something like, “Ok we get it, can we move on?”. It was definitely comical and to be honest if I was close to the door, I would have left. I seriously felt like I was doing something illegal by being there. It would have been nice, if instead of dwelling on the problem of not having open government, we could think about what we can actually do to improve it. For most of us we know the problems - getting people to open up - transparency, etc - I want to hear your solutions or your ideas for solutions.

For a little background for those of you in the U.S., in Canada our government is not as open with the information it has. The U.S. has adopted or has always had it’s government information more readily available. (it’s in the constitution)

After that I totally needed a break from the “Unconference”… off for coffee.

Then back again for Social Media Mecca with Megan Cole, this was one I was very into. It was all about how social media shouldn’t be a one man show. There were some great ideas about how social media consultants should get together and share the work as there many many experts who specialize in just one area. Some ides, were to set up a non profit association or create an invite only directory for social media marketers. Overall very interesting topic.

Last was What’s next. Which was really about where bloggers go and what they do after they have been blogging for a few years. This one had great discussion.

I’m off to the real Northern Voice 2008 Conference tomorrow!

You know looks matter. Sometimes it doesn’t seem fair, but they do. If they didn’t, super models would be waiting tables. While it may be that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, I don’t think it applies to good design. Anyone who has been in this field for a few years can begin to tell the difference in a good design and a bad one. Even the good ones, you might judge with a critical eye and look for things that you would change, given the opportunity.  Great design is what your success depends on a lot of the time and if your design is lacking then your income would probably be directly affected.

Kent Shaffer of Bombay Creative hits the nail on the head:

“That is why it is vital to have great design because those who know nothing about you will judge you by your appearance. Aesthetics are a powerful thing. Whether graphic design or product design, your appearance shapes how others perceive you.”

Are you where you want to be in your career as a freelancer? If not, I encourage you: get better. Get good at what you do. You might be pretty decent at it now, but getting better will never hurt.  This article comes out of my personal desire to become a better designer. I think I’m already pretty good at it, but heaven forbid that I stop learning how to improve. Mark my words: the moment you stop learning to hone your craft is the moment you stop advancing.

No, this is not another post about some online time-tracking app. Although they are good to have, and plenty of them to go around, they are not as important as time management. This isn’t a GTD post, either. There are far better qualified folks than me to write about that; I’m talking about the real, down-to-earth disciplining yourself kind of time management.

You may not even know you need better time management. If you work in the creative industry, you probably do. Here are some things to ponder:

1. Do you always seem rushed when nearing a deadline?
2. In an effort to keep the client happy, are you stretching yourself thin and doing plenty of “little things” that you’re not getting paid for?
3. Do you find yourself getting sidetracked, either by other people or other tasks you’ve suddenly remembered?
4. Are you lacking in goals for business and financial success? Are you just rolling with the punches and taking what comes?
5. How often do you find yourself forgetting things and breaking your word because you’d forgotten to do something you said you’d do?

First off, you need to understand something: Time is a non-renewable asset. That is, these minutes that I’m spending typing out this article-I’m not getting them back. The time you spend dealing with that belligerent client or working those “pro-bono” cases-you aren’t getting that back either. “Wasting time” takes on a whole new meaning when you understand this.

Secondly, we freelancers need to realize that our time is our time. Why did we become freelancers in the first place? Tired of working for the man and wanted to be your own boss? Realized you could make more money working for yourself? You just like meeting new people? Great! It amazes me how many freelancers still work like they’re working on someone else’s time. Understanding that your time is your time is both liberating and horrifying. If things bust, you can’t blame your manager. If you can learn to say “no” when you really don’t have time, you’ll get things accomplished and let other people know that your time is valuable. Keep this in mind, though-If you have to say “no”, suggest a later time; time management isn’t about blowing people off and being selfish.

Jim Wideman, one of my mentors on time management, has this to say:

If you can’t manage your time, you’re always stuck reacting to people and situations. You’ll never be effective. You’ll never be a strong leader. But with time management, you’ll amaze even yourself.

He also points out that managing your time isn’t just about getting lots of stuff done. It’s about getting the right things done. If you’re like me, then you might remember things best when you write them down. In this case, I’d highly recommend Remember The Milk, or RTM for short. It’s a fantastic application that integrates well with Gmail, too! Actually looking at your tasks and seeing what you have to do can not only give you a better picture what to say “no” to, but it can increase your productivity by prioritizing as well.

Lastly, I believe every successful freelancer is only as good as their name. I believe that a good name is worth more than money in the bank. If you are constantly saying things and then forgetting to do them or having to do them later than you said, you are indirectly being dishonest. Too many people chalk their tasks up to “I’ll get to it when I get to it” and never take a good hard look at what they’re doing and whether or not it’s effective. I think this is one of the primary causes of burnout-people do so many menial tasks that they lose their sense of self-worth and lose sight of what’s important.

I could go on and on about all the great tools that I use for time management, but I’d like to hear from you: what are you using to get stuff done effectively? Let’s hear it in the comments.

This is the biggest question when you start working for yourself. How do you find web design clients? Where do you find clients? And that is the question of the day….

First Impressions
Let’s start with you. It’s important when you’re just starting out to put your best foot forward. To get clients you need to be professional. You should look and act like a professional. Professional dress depends on your niche market. If you’re looking for clients in the legal field (lawyers), you’ll need to appear in business dress suitable for a courtroom. If you walk into a lawyer’s office expecting work dressed in jeans, tennis shoes and a rock band shirt, you’re probably going to be disappointed. A lawyer isn’t going to take you seriously. That being said, if you walk onto a cutting horse trainer’s ranch in the clothing you’d wear to visit a lawyer you’ll look like a “city slicker” and not get the kind of respect you’d need to land the work.

Start With a Network
One of the biggest ways that web designers get new clients is through word of mouth referrals. This is normally done through happy clients who refer new clients to you. If you don’t have any clients then you’ve got to come out of the dark and be seen. People won’t know you’re doing web design until you tell them. And no one will refer clients to you if they don’t know what you do or if they haven’t heard of you. Since web design is a service that requires trust on the client’s behalf, word of mouth is the norm.

If you don’t have an extensive network of clients to refer you to new clients then you need to expand the number of people you actually know. You can start with family and friends. This depends on how well they understand what you do. I still have my mother’s words ringing in my ears “It’s just a little ole website.” Um yeah Mom…. Right. It’s not to say that family and friends can’t help you out but be sure they actually understand something about what you do for a living.

After family you’ll need other resources for meeting people. Some good places to network are your local Chamber of Commerce, various clubs and associations in your region. You can also join organizations like Business Network International where networking and lead generation are the primary pursuits. The Toastmasters organization is a good place to develop your speaking capabilities which can parlay into speaking at your local Chamber of Commerce. You’ll need to have a nice business card when you go to these events so that you can pass it out to everyone you meet. There are excellent business card companies online that will allow you to inexpensively create a business card. The real key is to get some visibility.

Niche Market Networking
All of the above works fairly well. If you think about marketing itself, like commercials, you’ll have an understanding of what I’m talking about. Take for instance a commercial for a toy. Where would you find that commercial? Typically on a TV channel that shows cartoons and children’s shows. The target market is children. In marketing you’re trying to put your product in front of your target market. If you’ve defined toy-makers as your target market then you need to go to the events they attend and advertise in the magazines they read. It’s about being where your target market will see you.

Online Networking
Local networking is a great place to start but you should be doing a variety of networking. Participating in online forums like Xemion’s forum is a great way to network with other web designers and developers. The more you help your fellow web designer/developer, the more authority you gain. I know most think in terms of the signature links seen at the bottom of the posts for search engine optimization purposes but we’re not talking about SEO right now.

The key is to become an authority. Blogs will help lend that air of “authority” to your overall impression. You might think that helping other web designers/developers is counterproductive. The fact is that helping others can lead to virtual teams of designers and developers who develop symbiotic relationships doing subcontracts for each other. In this day and age, no one is an expert at everything. It’s important to realize that concentrating on specialized skills will make you more money over time. As you write about your particular specialty more work comes your way.

James just posted a nice article on LinkedIn. It’s one of the places you can network with online individuals. Some of my best clients and partnerships have been gained through online connections. Facebook, MySpace and others like it can contribute to your finding online connections for more work. The key is to participate and interact in these networks.

Show Them What You Have
I don’t think I can emphasize this enough. You need a portfolio. If you don’t have one, start making one. Build websites for nonprofits and/or dummy sample sites. Make up a city and build a site for each typical business in a city. People won’t know what you can do until they see it.

Advertise
People won’t come unless they know you’re in business. Networks and referrals are generally where most clients will come from but don’t leave out advertising. Lots of businesses don’t know anyone who knows someone doing web design and development. It’s hard for them to find a web designer. A few suggestions are things like putting out fliers at local businesses, running newspaper ads and setting up a yellow pages advertisement. The one thing you will want to do with any kind of advertisement is track where your new clients are coming from and pour money into those advertisements that are producing while cutting out the ones that aren’t producing clients.

Getting Their Names
Building a list of potential and previous clients is one of the most important ways to build a business. These are people who have prequalified themselves by buying from you or supplying their contact information to you. Obviously you need to keep in touch with past clients. This keeps you fresh on their minds when someone asks them for a referral. The other side are new people for whom you haven’t yet done any work. How do you get new contacts on your list? One way is to create a survey. You can survey them about what they know about web design, how they found a web designer if they have one or even if they think they need a website. Normally you’ll have to sweeten the pot with something to entice them to fill out the survey otherwise they may not supply their contact information. A simple one page site from a template with their content pasted into the site is a good way to get the ball rolling. You could also end up with a much bigger client. The key is to get their contact information.

Once you build your list, it’s important to develop a habit of contacting them. Contact them when you have a new website in your portfolio or a new service to offer. You should also contact them about topics in web development that might interest a business. Things like SEO and website marketing. Think about what concerns your current clients might have that you’ve answered. Use that information to create interesting articles to send to your list. Once the people on the list know how much you care, the more likely they are to hire you. It’s part of building trust.

Offer Something Enticing
When I offer services or develop a proposal, I always hold something back. This gives me something that I can offer to a client as a “freebie”. We all know how good we feel when we get a “gift”. It makes us feel special. Making your clients feel special is probably one of the top things you can do for your business.

Clients like good service. If you aren’t responding to their needs daily, you’re not doing your job as a consultant. Over delivery and quick response is part of what will separate you from the competition. It’s also what clients will spread by word of mouth. It’s that fast customer service that can make a difference. You don’t want your client thinking you’re too busy for more work do you?

Job Boards
I’ve played around with the job boards in the past. I’ve actually gotten a few clients off Craigslist. I want to caution you about these places, the clients are generally cheap. They are looking for a bargain. Micah stated before that you can get away with discounts and kickbacks to clients so that you can get your name out there but at some point you do have to stop. The bidding system that works on the job boards like elance can really degrade your morale. Use these sites with caution. You’ll have to be cheaper than the other guys to start out and risk being known as the cheap guy.

I’ve gone over most of the methods I’ve ever used or learned. If you’ve got some other methods that might help other web designers please leave a comment.

Web Out
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First I would like to say thank you to the Web Directions Team for mentioning my post here on xemion.com yesterday about the speakers at the conference, it was a very nice gesture. Hopefully no one was able to read it and see all the spelling and grammar errors.

Secondly, I would like to tell you about the speakers today.

First speaker this morning was Indi Young of Adaptive Path speaking about Innovation and how it is overrated.  Young made three points at first. One is that currently we have hit a wall with innovation. Saying that currently we now are innovating current products when it fact we should be working on completely new products that can be innovative.

She then went on to say some of the most important things you need to remember when you come up with an idea, is that you have to think about the fact you still need to be able to manufacture, deliver and convince people to buy you innovative idea. Which of course can make innovation very expensive.

The one thing that stuck out in her talk was that if you focus on people rather than the product you will succeed with time. This I thought was excellent advice and wished she hadn’t just told everyone!

Next me and all my bags (purse, laptop and the prize I had received for having my blog post mentioned - you visualize this not being easy  right?) over to “The Future of Web Interfaces” with Cameron Adams. First I must say Cameron was a very well spoken individual, very easy to understand and he made sense!

Cameron chatted about the fact that currently users have a multitude of platforms, screen resolutions and ways of viewing our content. And that is what makes our job difficult. He stated, “each different person has a different view and they all want to do something different”.

He then went on to talk about dynamic interfaces. Stated that there are really two types. Developer driven interfaces and user driven interfaces. We discussed the pros and cons of each. The developer driven interface needs a deep understanding of what your users want. The user driven interface is something that is coming soon and is already in beta at BBC. View the site here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/home/beta/.

Cameron stated users are like information omnivores and they are getting more demanding. Someone in the audience brought up an excellent question, with user driven interfaces, how do we approach the customer service  aspect which these new interfaces.

Now off to, Information Visualization as a Medium with Erin Rodenbeck of Stamen Design. Stamen talked mainly about maps in which you think would be boring. But surprise, surprise it wasn’t.

He showed different examples of where his company has used live data and compiled it and displayed it as a usable easy to read map. One of his projects were cabspotting.org which traces San Francisco’s taxi cabs as they travel throughout the Bay Area. And Oakland Crime Spotting which is a map of crime in the Oakland Area.

On to Anil Dash with Putting Social Media to Work. Anil Dash is the Vice President of Six Apart. His talk was of particular interest as he talked about business cases and how to show the CEOs and CFOs of your company why they should be using social media.

Social Media is changing the way people communicate and larger business’ are having a hard time adapting to this change. He stated the main real why an IT manager would automatically say no to a new project is budget, real estate, time and resources. He also mentioned that when presenting the business case the technology we propose we need to make sure it is safe, reliable, scalable, measurable and manageable.

An easy way to over come this is point to current success with the technology and tie it to where others are failing.

The How and Why: UI Case Studies  with Daniel Burka was my next stop. Daniel Burka is a partner at silverorange and is one of the Digg team. And Daniel is from Prince Edward Island - a fellow Maritimer….

Daniel talked about three different UI Cases. The digg story, digg comments and pownce -original design. He walked us thru each of the steps and talked about why and what the reactions were. In the end we were given some useful insight on how to deal with these types of projects. Overall it was a very interesting, speech.

This morning I was off to the Web Directions North conference held at the Hyatt here in downtown Vancouver. The Web Directions conference was started back in 2004 in Sydney, Australia. In the four years since the conference has begun much has changed. Some of the topics covered in the past were web standards,  valid HTML, CSS.

Jeffery Zeldman was the opening keynote today and his topic was titled: Return of the Web Standards King. Jeffery’s speech was one of the speech’s I most enjoyed. He is an very animated speaker and made it interesting and easy to listen. Jeffery Zeldman is the brains behind A List Apart. He also is an author.

Jeffery talked about web standards - what a surprise. He told us that originally when he began the Web Standards Project, the designers and developers were not creating better sites they were actually creating more versions of sites. Simply because no of the browsers were standards were complainant. So designers were creating sites using browser detection and once the browser was detected it would send the user to a website designed specifically for that browser. His speech was full of some of the history of the web. Which I found very interesting.

I also had the opportunity to here  Josh Williams give his speech on Bedroom to Boardroom. Josh is the founder and CEO of Firewheel Design, Blinksale, and Icon Buffet.

Josh spoke about the process he went thru going frm having a boss, to being a freelancer, to assembling a team and starting a company. Josh also chatted about how he ended up moving from a top notch design firm in Texas to product development.

Right before lunch there was one more session with, Tara Hunt titled, Government  2.0: Architecting  for Collaboration. This was another great speech in which I thoroughly enjoyed. Tara spoke from the perspective of the user, not the Government. She spoke abou the difficulties in budget and resources that many of the government agencies have.

One project she mentioned which sparked my interest was the CalTrain project. In short the Caltrain project is where developers took note of the horrible schedule that CalTrain website had. The developers then took the schedule and create an easy to navigate map. Which explains where the trains run, what services each stop has and when the next trains are coming. You can view the iamcaltrain.com website yourself.

She then went on to speak about how regular people are getting together and helping the government understand the technologies and what they can do with the data they so secretly guard now. I was surprised to find out something like this was in my back yard titled Transit Camp Vancouver - visit the website to learn all about the great collaboration that is happening to help the web.

After lunch, I was able to hear “Plays well with others” with Brian Oberkirch. Who is a marketing consultant focused on social media.

Brian spoke about all the different social media sites  and having different logins and how we should be using or working on new services in which we can combine all our profile data and friend lists’. To make life easier for ourselves. He states, “The social network fatigue users feel the  and inefficiencies of multiple social apps. He showed on some examples of projects which are currently developing way to begin to do it.

Warren at Techvibes.com put it perfectly when he blogged,”Brian  said the technology, in applications like OpenID, oAuth already widely available now, while the Creative Commonsmovement helps to propagate ideas of openness and sharing.”

From there it was on to Jared Spool, whom I must say was one of the most animated speakers. Which was great for me as I was starting to tire. He kept me engaged and listening. Jared spoke about what makes a design seem intuitive.

He started by explain that in technically a design can’t be intuitive. But that’s his short cut to explaining it. He talked about what not being intuitive meant and he stated, “Not intuitive is when users don’t know what to do” this usually leads them to become frustrated.

He also spoke about the “Knowledge Gap” which is the point between what users know before ( from their past experiences ) and what users need to know to either use the website or application. He explains that this is where we start designing and that the is where design helps the user by educating them - without them knowing  and they reach the point where the user knows how to use the application. An unititative application would not each this point. Where an initiative design would make this easy.

And last was Gina Trapani creator of A better Gmail and create or Lifehacker.com. She explained what a better Gmail was - as I was unfamiliar and some of the difficulties she encountered and how she overcame them.

All in first day was a good one!

Networking –

This is an obvious one. As a freelance designer you need connections. Now don’t think just because the conference you are going to will be filled with you competition, you can’t network.

For example I am heading this week the Web Directions North conference, here in Vancouver, BC and I am going to run into a lot of my competition. This doesn’t mean I shouldn’t network. I am going to network and I am going to make sure to come out of this conference with many business cards and some new friendships.

You are probably asking, why? Well those people I connect with probably won’t all be designers. They could be internet marketers, PHP developers or Flash gurus. Having all these additional resources in my network can only benefit me. As my friendships grow I may learn from them, I may meet new contacts thru them who turn into clients or I may team up with one of these new connections. Either way it’s a win-win situation.

Learning –

Chances are even if you learn just one new thing, it’ll be worth it. Conferences don’t have to be long or even technical. Usually if your butt is in the seat, you will learn a few new things.

As professionals in a rapidly changing industry we need to be on our toes! We need to know about new technologies, ideas and stuff going on around us. A conference may do just the trick. Like this conference I am attending this week, I plan on sitting in on all the topics I can. Some of the topics are not directly related to what I do but I want to learn all about them none the less. Bottom line… conferences are a great way to continue your professional development.

Revamp of what you know –

Possibly the conferences available to you aren’t conferences in which have high profile speakers and experts from around the world coming but, you can still benefit. Even attending some smaller conferences can help your brain start moving. Maybe the speaker(s) have a different perspective on something. This enables you to think outside your normal thought process.

For example just last week I was at a Mangers’ Toolbox event with Michael Linehan of Marketing Alchemy. Now maybe it was because it was 730 in the morning, but some of the first few things he talked about were pretty - roll eyes. Oh guess I should tell you what he was talking about. His topic was How to build a powerful, inspiring and effective website. Basically the first 30 minutes were a little dry. After that things started to perk up though. I was able to listen to and learn so different ways of explaining things to my clients.

I also disagreed with a few things that he had said but, with questions in hand I headed up to him after the speech – introduced myself and handed him my business card. From there I started asking my questions or explaining that I didn’t agree. He graciously answered why he had said some of the things (we had a different view on page rank). It was very refreshing to have this type of conversation with another expert. As a freelance designer working possibly from home I know a few of you could use an invigorating experience with someone at your level and in your industry.

That’s it – Three reasons why you should attend a conference. See you at the next conference!

I recently had a request that got me thinking about professionalism from clients. As business people, web designers make the best effort to treat our clients with respect but as we know very well we don’t always get that professional treatment in return. Here are a few stories from the trenches of web design.

Requests from potential clients
These types of requests are my top deal breakers.

I’ll tell all my friends. You’ll get lots of work.
This is probably the first thing any beginning web designer will hear and its usually a friend that says it. Beginners tend to get picked on a lot. Funny thing is that this particular thought process never seems to go away. Even after 10 years in the industry I still get this offer. I guess they think because I don’t have loads of sites in my portfolio that I’m starving. Imagine their shock when I tell them that I teach web development, design and windows programming.

While this request might sound enticing, it usually doesn’t work. What kind of friends does someone who can’t or won’t pay have? Probably other friends who can’t or won’t pay. How many plumbers out there would fix your plumbing just because you might refer them so new clients? Micah had a post on how to give a client a break without looking like the “cheap guy” in web design. Go back and read it.

It shouldn’t take long for an experienced web designer
This one really fries me. I really don’t understand how someone who doesn’t know a thing apparently knows how long it will take a web designer/developer to build anything. My favorites are always when they ask for a clone of MySpace, Facebook, Ebay or something of that nature. Usually these requests come with impossible schedules. These requestss are usually accompanied by ridiculously low budgets. Educating some of these clients will sometimes work but not always.

Add my site to your portfolio to make you look good.
We all know that a strong portfolio of previous work helps you get new clients. They all want to see what you’ve done. However, (And this one really steams me off) this statement normally comes from the bottom feeders. They really can’t afford your services. I normally counter requests like this with “Well why don’t you give me your service/product for free. I’ll wear a tshirt that shows I used your product/service or drive the car or …” It’s essentially the same. I’ve even had a request that “allowed” me to have a link on their website. Well sorry, it’s normally in my contracts that all my work comes with a link back to my website. This can be negotiated out of the contract.

If you really need to build up your portfolio I recommend that you build a fake town with fake web businesses. I’ve seen this done before and had done it myself. Domains are inexpensive, pick one and do the work for yourself. Potential clients will see your examples and use them to judge if you’re a good fit for them.

I have this great idea for a website
I’ve been through this request and even once looked at base code for the idea. I really love as a programmer when they want you to build all the functionality then only take 10-20% of the profit when they start “selling it”. This type of request is really more of a venture capitalist request. You need to ask the person to send you a business plan since they are asking you to invest whatever you would charge to build this website into their business. If they believe in the project so much, they’d be willing to pay for it out of their own pocket or find a real venture capitalist or angel investor to pay for the site to be built.

What really irks me about these types of potential clients is that they try to get you caught up in their dream. This is really only an attempt on their part to entice you to build their website in the hopes that one day you’ll actually get paid if they are effective in marketing the website. So before you sign onto a project like this go through the same due diligence as a venture capitalist.

Current Unprofessional Clients
And despite being able to pay there are still clients who will almost always be a tad over the top.

The Crier
While I didn’t personally have a client like this, I did so some subwork for another developer who had a client that actually cried on the phone because we couldn’t drop everything and respond to their requests at their whim. While I’m sure crying over emotional trauma is appropriate in some professions, this situation was just unreal. I was never so glad as to know that I never had to talk to this client on the phone or via email. It was all handled by the other developer.

I did get certified as a Help Desk Analyst and Help Desk Manager to teach these classes and I can see where some of the techniques would help in this situation. The best technique is to use their first name. You have to get their attention. The next step would be to establish that you understand their emotions but NOT that you agree with them. You should say something like “I understand that you’re upset about….. ” You want to acknowledge that they’re upset but not agree with why. At that point you can adjust your conversation to help them with their problem.

The Screamer
I’ve never personally had a person scream at me on the phone for anything related to web design. Unfortunately I’ve heard others having this issue. These types of clients aren’t really great clients. They are trying to bully you. Of course you would never hear a client screaming at you on the phone or in person if you were a lawyer. That wouldn’t be productive to maintaining a good relationship with your lawyer. Guess what, it’s not productive in any business.

The key again is to use their name. Talk calmly and don’t get caught up in the anger. It’s not conducive to reaching an agreement. In the end it may be best to “fire” this kind of client. It all depends on how much abuse you’re willing to take.

The Sad State of Affairs
Unfortunately as web designers and developers we’re all going to face these at some point in our careers. It’s a given. They key to success is how you handle it.

Beginners will always get the bottom end of the barrel. That’s a given but what isn’t is how you should handle it. As a beginner, look for ways to hone your craft without giving it away too hastily. My best advice is to stay away from businesses that aren’t willing to pay you for your services. Build websites for yourself to build a portfolio or build them for worthy causes like the local dog shelter or the homeless shelter. You’ll probably get better attention from doing a site for a worthy cause than for a fly by night operation without any real plan for success.

As for unprofessional clients that use their emotions to batter you into the ground, this is where you as a business person can really shine. Handling them smoothly without losing your cool can really turn you into a hero or give you the incentive to drop the client in favor of a better prospect.

If you’ve got another unprofessional client story, please post it.

Web Out
Des

There’s a story of a company that makes lawn mowers. Good, sturdy, reliable lawn mowers at affordable prices. They became so popular that the nation’s largest retailer noticed them and offered to carry them - effectively extending the company’s potential audience to unprecedented numbers. The retailer then became convinced that it could sell the mowers even cheaper if the company would buy cheaper parts. The lawn mower company chose to remove their mowers from the retailer and drop the retailer altogether. Their large potential customer base was now gone, and doom seemed inevitable.

Sadly enough, I don’t know how that story ends. I didn’t tell it to leave you dangling with suspense either, but instead to tell you how much I believe in that story and how much I respect what those guys did. Why? They lost their customer base. They may have lost millions. But they gained the respect of me and others, I’m sure. How? Because they chose to have a commitment to excellence. Executing with excellence should be one of your biggest priorities, no matter what you do. Here’s how:

If you screw up, handle it gracefully. You know how the back of your car insurance card tells you never to admit fault in an automobile accident? Doesn’t work in the business world, buddy. If you know you goofed, so do they. Handle it in a humble way and you may be able to salvage it, all because you were willing to admit you were wrong and did what you could to fix it.

Evaluate and revise broken processes. I know an airline that saved hundreds of thousands of dollars a year by simply removing a single olive from their salads. Who noticed? The one who made the decision, that’s who. They saw an area that could help the company that wouldn’t hurt the customers. Evaluate every process you have and make sure it’s the most efficient and effective way of doing it. Never, ever do things just because “that’s the way we’ve always done things”. If you think that way, you’ll never grow. Remember: If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always had.

Reward loyalty and faithfulness. You might be providing a service, but the customers, clients and staff that stick with you are the ones you’re indebted to. Be sure to let them know how invaluable they are to you. One of the best ways? A simple hand-written note.

If you’re a web designer, having a well-designed resume is extremely important. It’s important for all job-seekers to have great resumes, but for you, as a designer - this is your chance to strut your stuff and make a big impression. It’s also important because all the other designers competing against you should have great resumes, so yours is just average, you’re in trouble. I’ve hired designers before, it makes an impact. When I’m hiring, I want an employee who loves all facets of design and has an eye for detail.

I recently noticed Kevin Fox was leaving Google for an undisclosed startup. For those of you who don’t know, Kevin Fox was the Senior User Experience Design Lead at Google. He worked on Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Reader. His resume is published on his site so I thought I’d take a peak. It’s one of the best resumes I’ve ever seen (and I’m not even talking about his impressive work experience).

Below are five things I gleaned from Kevin’s resume that will lead you to creating your own perfect resume. For comparison, here’s my resume (it’s a little dated). They’re pretty similar, but Kevin’s is better.

(Read more…)