Design is more than just making things look good.
Like any product, design starts way before any final touches but focuses on the core delivery.
What exactly are you trying to make? What is your USP? Why should anyone be interested?
These are just some of the questions we ask any client before we get into the design process. Your product is stripped bare of any aesthetics – it’s unstyled.
Only by truly understanding your product or business can we make an informed decision about how your design is influenced.
To ensure we deliver the perfect online presence for your product or business, we focus on three crucial factors:
- consumers
- content
- context
Consumer First
It’s very easy for you to know how you want your business or idea to operate but do you thoroughly understand what your consumers want from you? Have you created a product to fulfil a personal need or to serve an untapped market? Is that coming across in your marketing strategy? These are further questions we ask you early on in the design strategy process.
You need to consider the user experience of your marketing strategy. Is that “Latest Tweet” section necessarily appropriate at the top of your website when they just want to buy a product? Are Facebook users really going to “like” a personalised product? Think about the consumer, not the technology.
Content Second
Typically, design agencies create mockups and prototypes with placeholder text scattered throughout. This breaks the process for us. With that logic, any website could be dropped into a template with no correlation to the product.
It is our philosophy that content influences design. By defining the content early on, we can make an informed decision on the direction of the design. We will work with you to help identify the key areas of focus for your content, how best to market your product, the tone of voice you should be adopting not just in your website but all other forms of communication such as emails, social marketing and print.
Context Third
There is no denying that the mobile web is happening. Statistics suggest all mobile internet traffic will surpass desktop in 2013. You cannot ignore the figures – nor your audience.
We adopt a technique that designs your website for mobile devices first, desktop second. By taking this “responsive” approach, none of your potential visitors will be neglected. Those visitors on mobile will get a streamlined user experience focused entirely on quick navigation. Visitors on desktop or tablets have more space to take in your content, possibly additional content to enhance the experience (although it could be argued if it’s not relevant for mobile, is it relevant at all?)