Link round-up (2/16/07)

• ‘Automated’ Advertising Systems Another Threat to Agency Infrastructure
• Early and often: How to avoid the design revision death spiral
• Web Misunderstandards
• Don’t be the weakest link (hat tip: Jason Macemore)
• The Village Stew
• Free Newsletter Templates
• Cool 2.0 Ideas Executed With 1.0 Mindset
• Sheepwalking
• Good Headings help, bad Headings hurt (hat tip: Jason Macemore)
• Why Spec Creative Doesn’t Pay

• ‘Automated’ Advertising Systems Another Threat to Agency Infrastructure
  

  “More and more, the advertising business is becoming commoditized with services that make it ever easier for advertisers to circumvent the infrastructure that the industry has built over the last 100 years. Every year, another do-it-yourself service crops up offering companies tools to create their own advertising without the need for an agency. Certainly, these services will not replace ad agencies but they may take a dent out of their revenue stream.”

• Early and often: How to avoid the design revision death spiral
  

  “…it is important to differentiate what I am referring to as a “requirement” from a feature of the product. We often use “need” and “requirement” interchangeably as an abstract description of a product capability. We try not to conflate the need and the solution because doing this can stand in the way of truly creative breakthrough solution.
  ”

• Web Misunderstandards
  

  “If traditional graphic design is 2–dimensional, Web design is 4 or 5–dimensional. Such is the context designers must appreciate in order to understand the benefits and relevance of Web standards and design’s place is in the online environment. Yes, it’s complex. But this is no barrier to accomplishment where human beings are concerned.”

• Don’t be the weakest link (hat tip: Jason Macemore)
  

  “In a world of social participation, AJAX and rich user experience, the humble hypertext link can seem so web 1.0. However, this often-neglected tag is the fundamental building block of every web application and is in the front line for usability. This article seeks to re-evaluate its role and suggest some best practice for its use.”

• The Village Stew
  

  “The politics involved in building a large corporate website always make for an interesting dynamic. Contrary to what one might assume regarding strength in numbers, typically, the more people involved in the process, the more diluted the final product. When I worked for a Fortune 500 company, our web team struggled to convey this message to the multiple layers of middle management, while we pushed for a more agile development strategy. Finally, a delicate way of describing the problem of design by committee dawned on me. I have come to refer to this group-think phenomenon as village stew.”

• Free Newsletter Templates
  

  “ Kekeko.com proudly presents the free newsletter template archive. The templates gathered here have been used to great effect before and are created by professionals. Use them as you see fit, share them with friends and partners. Experiment and enjoy!”

• Cool 2.0 Ideas Executed With 1.0 Mindset
  

  “Great idea? Absolutely. Award winning design? Of Course. Did it test well in front of focus groups? Indupidably. Is it a pain in the ass when you start to try and use it? You bet.”

• Sheepwalking
  

  “I define “sheepwalking” as the outcome of hiring people who have been raised to be obedient and giving them a braindead job and enough fear to keep them in line.”

• Good Headings help, bad Headings hurt (hat tip: Jason Macemore)
  

  “On paper, the frequency of headings didn’t make much difference. […] But online, the difference is quite obvious. The order is:
  - Medium frequency headings (about every 200 words): the best
  - Low frequency headings (about every 300 words): in the middle
  - High frequency (about every 100 words) and No headings: tied for the worst, with ‘No headings’ slightly ahead.”

• Why Spec Creative Doesn’t Pay
  

  “Unfortunately, a spec campaign has little chance of moving your business forward. Why? Because a spec campaign is typically developed with only the most dangerous input: the preconceived notions, biases and personal experience of the team creating the work. A pitch process doesn’t provide enough time or resources to enable the agency to do the appropriate amount of consumer-insight work. Without proper understanding of the target audience and the marketplace, how can the agency possibly develop an appropriate strategy?”

~ by chrismoritz on February 16, 2007.