Your WordPress Site: How to Tell When It’s Time for a New Hosting Company.
Posted by Tommy Oddo on August 29, 2010 at 8:25 pm.
Tags: User Experience, Vendor Selection, Web Design, WordPress
Last week, I finally realized I outgrew my hosting company and hosting plan, and spent the last 2 days moving everything to another hosting company. Not fun. You see, what worked well for my oddodesign.com website, was not suitable for my WordPress blog. Why? Well, my oddodesign.com website does not pull data from a database like a WordPress website or blog must do. And why does that matter? Because if your database server is slow, it means your WordPress web pages will load slowly, and your traffic will decline.
Windows 7 on My Mac: Why I Switched from VMWare Fusion to Parallels Desktop.
Posted by Tommy Oddo on June 26, 2010 at 12:14 pm.
Tags: Flash, Usability, Visual Design, Web Design
As a graphic designer, Iʼve been relying on Appleʼs Mac platform for over 20 years. When I began designing for “interactive multimedia” in the early 90ʼs, I used my Mac for design and development, but I used a separate computer— a PC, running Microsoft Windows, to test my work.
In many ways, things havenʼt changed. The vast majority of my clients (and end-users) still use Windows to access the websites, flash demos, and web apps I now design. But instead of investing in hardware for 2 different platforms, I simply run Windows on my Mac whenever I need to. Read More…
The Future of MarCom: A Look at Wired Magazine’s iPad Edition
Posted by Tommy Oddo on June 1, 2010 at 8:44 am.
Tags: Graphic Design, iPad, Publication Design, User Experience, Visual Design
Recently, the digital edition of Wired Magazine became a top-selling iPad app, with over 24,000 copies sold within the first 24 hours of its debut. Interestingly, Apple recently announced that it sold 2 million iPads in less than 2 months!
As a web designer and illustrator with roots in print design, Wired’s success caught my attention, and I decided to give the iPad edition a try.
Sketching with SketchBook Pro on the iPad
Posted by Tommy Oddo on May 22, 2010 at 3:41 pm.
Tags: Drawing, Graphic Design, Visual Design, Web Design
One of the first apps I purchased for my iPad is called SketchBook Pro. SketchBook Pro for iPad provides a deep and realistic toolset— from pencils to paintbrushes, and more. Although I was primarily interested in converting my iPad into a digital sketchpad, mainly for black & white concept sketches when designing logos, websites, etc., it can also be used for painting. Some of the paintings I’ve seen are really amazing.
Here is an unretouched pencil sketch I drew of a wooden, hand-carved object using SketchBook for iPad. Can you tell the difference between a "real" pencil sketch and this one?
While purchasing my iPad at the Apple Store, I also bought a Pogo Sketch Stylus.
How to Teach Flash and iPad to Play Nicely Together
Posted by Tommy Oddo on May 18, 2010 at 10:32 pm.
Tags: Flash, Usability, User Experience, Web Design, Web Strategy
As someone who has made a good living working with Adobe Flash for the past decade, I was horrified to learn that Apple wasn’t going to support Flash on its iPad. And while I love and use Apple products, I swore I’d never buy an iPad. So what did I do? I bought an iPad 2 weeks after they began shipping!
Why? Well, for one reason, I believe the iPad is the future of computing. But as far as Flash is concerned, I also wanted to confront my fears, and begin experimenting with alternative technologies (e.g., jQuery, HTML 5, etc.). Two weeks ago, I even removed all references to “Flash Design” on my website, for fear that prospective clients would think that I’ve fallen behind the times. I also began telling a few of my clients that it’s time to stop using Flash, whenever possible. And then, I came to my senses.
WhyWebsitesFail [#7]: The Wrong Firm Was Hired to Do the Job.
Posted by Tommy Oddo on April 30, 2010 at 8:08 am.
Tags: Graphic Design, Vendor Selection, Web Design, Web Strategy
It’s a classic problem. You talk to several friends; search the web; and pretty soon, you’ve got a short list of design firms to potentially help with your website. After selecting a firm; agreeing on the price; and signing the contract, you schedule a kickoff meeting, and the project is well underway.
Then, things begin to unravel. The firm promises to deliver mockups within 2 weeks, but delivers them in 3 weeks. Then, you wonder why the designer failed to follow your instructions. Or worse, you wonder why the designer followed your instructions so closely! You ask to see a revised version— it’s an improvement, but you’re still not happy. What happened?
When hiring a design firm, you need to:
- Ask about their process— do they immediately start “decorating”, or, do they help you clarify your strategy first?;
- Look at the firms’ work and ask a lot of questions— what things in particular were they responsible for?;
- Check out team members’ profiles on LinkedIn— do they have a proven track record?;
- Determine exactly who you will be working with— is the “chemistry” good?
“WhyWebsitesFail” by Oddo Design, is a series of helpful tips intended to help entrepreneurs and marketing professionals improve the effectiveness or their marketing efforts.
WhyWebsitesFail [#6]: Unrealistic Budget
Posted by Tommy Oddo on April 28, 2010 at 10:25 am.
Tags: Web Design, Web Strategy, Website Pricing
Putting together a budget for your new website can be a very frustrating experience. Some websites are free and can take just a few minutes to create, while others cost many thousands of dollars and take months to build. So how do you determine what the real cost of your website will be?
To begin to answer this question, it is best to create a preliminary site map. The site map will give you and your web designer a better idea of what it will take to create the site. If the estimate comes back much higher than expected, talk to your designer. Scale back the site if necessary until you’ve arrived at a budget you’re comfortable with.
Above all— ask questions! Buying a website is not like buying office supplies! You need to read the fine print, and ask a lot of questions to make sure you understand what you’re paying for (and not paying for).
“WhyWebsitesFail” by Oddo Design, is a series of helpful tips intended to help entrepreneurs and marketing professionals improve the effectiveness or their marketing efforts.
WhyWebsitesFail [#5]: No Differentiation
Posted by Tommy Oddo on April 26, 2010 at 6:07 pm.
Tags: Identity Design, User Experience, Visual Design, Web Design, Web Strategy
While there is much to be gleaned from the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors’ websites, don’t fall into the trap of trying to be just like them. When you do, you run the risk of turning your products and services into a commodity. And from that point on, it’s a downhill spiral.
Do you know what makes your company different, and why these differences are beneficial to your customers? Have you defined your “brand promise”, and is it clearly, and consistently, represented throughout your website and all other customer touch points?
While only you can define these differences, a good designer and writer will make sure they are presented in a way that your target audience can appreciate.
“WhyWebsitesFail” by Oddo Design, is a series of helpful tips intended to help entrepreneurs and marketing professionals improve the effectiveness or their marketing efforts.
Note to Magazine Publishers: You Got It Wrong. Design the iPad Edition First; the Printed Edition Last.
Posted by Tommy Oddo on April 24, 2010 at 10:34 pm.
Tags: Graphic Design, Print Design, Publication Design, Usability, Visual Design, Web Design
When Apple first demo’d the iPad, I was furious— primarily because of their refusal to support the Flash plugin. And while I certainly wasn’t the first to stand in line to buy one, I eventually cooled off and purchased one anyway (about 2 weeks ago).
One of the main reasons I bought mine is that I like the idea of having all of my books and magazines stored digitally, and in one location. No more bulky bookshelves. And probably a lot less trips to Barnes & Noble (which sadly, may become the next “BlockBuster” some day). I can also highlight text that I want to refer to later, and depending on the iPad app, add notations, and more.
So far, other than a limited selection of books and magazines, the iPad hasn’t disappointed me. But one thing I’d like to see— instead of magazine publishers porting over their printed publications, they really need to design and write specifically for the iPad (and other hardware devices like it). Why? Because even though the iPad’s display is very sharp, it still doesn’t compare to high-quality printing. Small details that are beautiful to look at in print, are difficult to appreciate on the iPad. In other words, text and graphics should be resized during the design process, for optimal viewing on a computer display.
Here’s a screenshot of a page taken from Esquire Magazine, as seen via the Zinio app for iPad:
As you can see, subtle background images; lightly colored, fine text; and thin-lined illustrations, just aren’t the same on a digital display.
WhyWebsitesFail [#4]: Ineffective Site Promotion (or None At All)
Posted by Tommy Oddo on April 23, 2010 at 6:39 pm.
Tags: Web Design, Web Metrics, Web Strategy
Even the best-designed websites will fail if nobody knows they exist. But generating traffic is just half of the promotional battle— you need buyers, or in the case of web applications, users. So, while the site is being designed, be sure to take the time to develop, and eventually implement, a good marketing strategy— one with the right mix of marketing channels (e.g., search engines, social networking, direct mail, etc.) to attract the audience you are targeting, relative to your budget.
“WhyWebsitesFail” by Oddo Design, is a series of helpful tips intended to help entrepreneurs and marketing professionals improve the effectiveness or their marketing efforts.
