The 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing Blog

Web Development: Respond: React October 14, 2010 – 3:13 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Nowadays, with content streaming through various channels, maintaining a quality website is more critical than ever to marketing success.  People want an interface that has a linear theme telling a story in the development of a brand and its portfolio of products. When a firm has a website with a lacking user experience, the consumer will gladly move online, knowing that someone will meet their needs. Ben Gremillion, a writer for Smashing Magazine, discusses the importance of applying test feedback to gage your design abilities along with understanding the quality of your presentation.  He asks some key questions in several themes:  Does this piece serve a purpose or solve a problem? Is it easy to use? Is it meaningful? Is it clear?

1.  Regular Upkeep or Rigorous Pruning

This sounds easier than done, but with technology advancing at light speed, it is paramount.  Your customers’ needs and access to content changes with the passing of time.  It is critical to constantly research new software advancement and see if they fit in with the mission of your website.  Otherwise it is much ado about nothing.

2.  Ponder the Questions

The thought above may seem silly or impractical, but in the long run, you can minimize customer service by anticipating the errors before they come into existence.  Gremillion lists a few thoughts that can go a long way towards expediting the design and empowering your user experience.

1.  Turning the ‘About’ page into your home page.

2.  Turn the website sidebar into a footer

3.  Swapping the colors of the heading and background

For more details on his thoughts, click the Smashing logo.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in blog, Flash, Graphic Design, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, web development, Website Design | No Comments »
Tags: seo friendly website design, smashing magazine, website design agency nyc

The Darwinian Evolution of Photoshop September 22, 2010 – 10:15 am				Abdul Fattah Ismail

The headline says it all.  Adobe’s Photoshop recently turned 20 years old, leaving adolescence in the rearview mirror.  It is hard to believe that Adobe’s seminal program has not only become the de rigeur term for graphic design, but also the code word for image enhancement, especially within the world of photography.  I first used Photoshop way back in 1995 as an entertainment editor for my high school newspaper.  The Yearbook staff was the principal user, but I did not hesitate to tailor images on my spare time.

Nowadays, I need to verse myself again, as digital image software has elevated by a light year since the program’s inception.  I find it fascinating that Adobe has continuously added features over the years, such as a Camera, JavaScript Support, MacroVision copy protection, Bristle Tips, and a Content Aware Tool (?!) without compromising its integrity as a doctor of digital imaging.  Some harbor ill with what Photoshop has done to photography as technique, but the proof is in the pudding, and its impact on website development and publishing is undeniable.  The complexity of these features allows one to really let your imagination run, and magazine photographers are happy to fly with it. Last week, Adobe released this entertaining infographic of Photoshop’s evolution, and used a Darwinian motif.   If you haven’t dabbled in Photoshop, then join the revolution. What are your experiences with Photoshop?

Infographic: The Darwinian Evolution of Photoshop by Tech King

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in blog, Blog Marketing, Content Marketing, Flash, Graphic Design, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, web development, Website Design | 1 Comment »
Tags: adobe, adobe creative suite, adobe photoshop, Blueliner Marketing, darwinian evolution of photoshop, digital marketing nyc, infographics, ny web development agency, photo editing programs, photo editing software, website design agency ny

Pac-man Starts Life At 30 May 21, 2010 – 1:17 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

One particular football player won’t grow up because he’s a Toys ‘R Us kid, and other unmentionable things. But his father ages gracefully.  Today, Pac-man celebrates his 30th birthday after years of chasing pellets, big and small, to get the affection of his female cohort.  Google commemorates the celebration with this kitschy website design where you enter a coin and can play with Mr. and Mrs. Pac-man at the same time.  It’s an ingenious blend of marketing and synergy of the iconic, beloved arcade game.  It remains one of the most recognizable brands in the world, and its influence on postmodern society along with the digital age remains strong to this day. I remember playing at the barber shop on Saturdays in between cuts as a boy, and I could never get to the same level on subsequent trips.  I would climb several levels in one visit, then get nowhere the next time.  It is a game dependent on memory, hand-eye coordination, and perception. These skills can be applied to any medium in life, beyond video games. I think this explains its durability in an era of Grand Theft Auto, Wii, and Xbox. Pac-man has endless brand equity.  Before you start playing, flex your fingers because they will get a workout from pounding the arrow keys.  Click on the retro illustration to the right and get started.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Business News, Digital Media, Flash, Graphic Design, Website Design | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, brand equity, google pacman, Graphic Design, Marketing, pac-man 30th anniversary, pac-man news, Website Design

Remember Your Interface February 25, 2010 – 1:45 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

The staff at Blueliner prides itself on delivering quality web design to our clients in all phases. Unfortunately, the process contains pitfalls that derail the process. At times, businesses may concentrate too much on the application and forget to execute the web development necessary for quality design.  Sometimes, the original designers do not factor into the process.  Web developers will choose to handle the web applications and design, even if design is not their forté.

It is critical for interactive teams to clearly determine several phases of the web construction process. One of them is understanding the difference between a website and web application.  To the general public, they may be considered one and the same.  A website’s main purpose is to convey information in a clear manner with sound visual stimulation to generate traffic, which as we know leads to higher ROI metrics.  A web application, on the other hand, is the guts behind a website.  It allows businesses to perform several tasks at a singular time in order to carry out initiatives and ensure production.  Web applications are further segmented into open and closed applications. Open applications are simply accessible to everyone while closed applications are used for a corporate network on-site, carrying an offline status.

Businesses must also identify their users to ensure that the project meets their needs.  Interviewing users and stakeholders give answers about their knowledge of the system.  ”Shadowing” is another technique, where observation of user behavior through disclosed channels can reveal insightful answers.

These are just a few examples for businesses to consider when implementing a quality web strategy.  Janko Jovanovic of Smashing Magazine goes further in detail to discuss prototypes and other principals of the design process here.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Digital Media, Graphic Design, Marketing, Marketing Agencies, Search Engine Optimization, Small Business, web 2.0, web development, Website Analytics, Website Design | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, janko jovanovic, prototypes, smashing magazine, web applications, web design, web development agency

Throw The Kitschen Sink at Web Design February 18, 2010 – 4:14 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

In any creative enterprise, we reach a block where nothing fresh and genuine comes to our senses.  As an interactive marketing firm, Blueliner looks at endless channels to create innovative content that will increase traffic and improve our development techniques.  Boagworld.com posted an interesting topic back in Winter 2009, pressing web developers to take a step outside the box, so to speak.  They look at various websites who create poster templates of kinetic styles.  Here’s one from The Kitschen Sink, who use a pulp movie theme to sell jewelry and accessories.  Click here to visit the site.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Flash, Graphic Design, Marketing, web development, Website Design | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, boag world, internet marketing agency, kitschen sink, new york web design, seo media agency, web design, web development

It’s Simple Mathematics February 11, 2010 – 3:51 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

On first glance,  you would not think that mathematics would be an asset to web design and development.  If you take a closer look, however, mathematics can prove invaluable.  The beauty of mathematics lies in its symmetry, consistency, and finite properties.  As a foundation for any graphic designer, creative channels can be limitless.  Architecture, along with various art forms, are obvious examples of this fact.  Adit Gupta of Smashing Magazine goes into more depth with various examples, but I’ll explain the golden ratio.

Right below, I have an example called the golden ratio.  Basically, it is a proportion 1.618033988749895 ≈ 1.618 which holds between objects placed within some context.  Say that you want to create a fixed width layout for your page and you have a given layout width. First, calculate the widths of your contact block, then divide this result by 1.62. Next, you subtract this result from your given layout width.  The final step is to determine the ratio between your content and sidebar blocks, followed by the ratio between your container-width and container block.  If done properly, the ratios should all be close to equal.

Clearly, a designer does not have to use this example to a tee.  Nevertheless, the value of this symmetry is evident when looking at a website like Mint.com, which we had discussed here in the past.  It exudes a sensual, calm visual experience with good composition and crisp color schematics. Many designers can learn from the golden ratio and see that limits aren’t all bad.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Graphic Design, Marketing Agencies, Website Analytics, Website Design | 1 Comment »
Tags: adit gupta, algorithms, Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, great web design, seo design, smashing magazine, web analytics, web design agency

A Love of Color February 4, 2010 – 3:56 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Smashing Magazine is an outstanding source of web design news and link for building the best web page possible.  It also provides valuable tutorials, such as this one.  Cameron Chapman discusses how to use color in a multi-part series called “Color Theory for Designers”.  He takes an exploratory view on color’s subjective nature and how the right color scheme can affect your digital strategy in terms of traffic, brand development, and ultimately, brand equity.  This feature can provide some invaluable feedback on Blueliner’s future direction with web development.  Take a look.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Flash, Graphic Design, web development, Website Design | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, cameron chapman, Graphic Design, photoshop, smashing magazine, web design, web development

Digital Conservation for Your Web Design August 25, 2008 – 11:26 am				Arman Rousta

As we all know, green design is no longer about light bulbs and electric cars. Windmills and solar panels play an important part in sustaining energy and our future, but what about conserving our digital economy?

From producers to buyers and everything in between, all of you are powering web 2.0. and everyone will have a role in determining the shape of the next generation Internet. As more people get directly involved in producing content on the web, we all have the option to implement best-practices in ‘digital conservation’.

We know about the greening of data centers. Instead of busting out a new tech meme for green coding practices, let’s reuse some older terms. Below are some familiar terms to get you started thinking green in your designs, work-flows and coding practices. This is not meant to be a definition of sustainable web design but it could lead you to more research.

Reduce

Power requirements in web servers are going down. Energy Star compliance for computers was the beginning but data centers are now driving cooling, energy and bandwidth requirements. Hosting control panels are reducing the amount of support required by giving more control to the site owner and site designers. Better designs which include mature, standards-based languages and coding practices help insure we get the most logic from the least amount of code.

Web standards like XHTML 1.0 and CSS 2.0 help reduce the amount of code on a page. Emerging standards like POSH and other Microformats help designers write semantically-correct code leveraging existing standards. Spending less time learning new standards shortens learning curves. Shorter learning curves free designers to focus more on user needs and sustainability.

Recycle

Design patterns help recycle code, imagery, and media based on past-project requirements. One example might be shopping cart code that is recycled from product sku to product sku. The same JavaScript is reused while the variables get updated for each product skew. The associated graphical elements, like “Buy Now” and “Add to Cart” buttons might be recycled from other navigational aids found in the site design. Rich Media such as product video introductions can be recycled from product to product using the similar titles, intro and credits.

One key to recycling code is the separation of code from presentation and style. Themes are a great example of site design recycling since a theme can be easily duplicated, and recycled through designer customizations.

Reuse

Hot-swappable hardware such as hard drives are refurbished and disk images are reused across entire server farms. Virtualization software and platforms help optimize the entire process. Even though we’re just in the beginning stages of green design, the techniques we’re employing in the technology sector are amazing. It seems to have started in the data centers.

Data centers themselves are now being located near renewable energy sources and some web hosts are entirely off-the-grid. Just as the data centers were driven to go green by cost-savings, green design is beginning to take hold as standards progress.

Another example of “reuse” is the popular one-click installations offered by many web hosts. Entire websites are now installed with just a few clicks and an ever-increasing amount of code in site designs are reused. Portions of your site design may be reused on other sites such as social networks. Your CSS, product descriptions and contact information may be simply cut and paste between many sites.

In sum, conservation starts with a mindset and we all have the power to contribute in different ways.

Additional Reading

Web Standards Project

Sustainable Web Design

Sustainable Web Community

Seven steps to a green data center

Sustainability Defined at Wikipedia

Posted by Arman Rousta
Posted in blog, Graphic Design, green marketing, Interactive Marketing, Marketing Agencies, Public Relations, web development, Website Design, World | 1 Comment »
Tags: green web design, recycle, reduce, reuse, sustainable

Make Your Website’s Graphic Design Effective in 2008 March 13, 2008 – 11:00 am				Arman Rousta

“Strike the eye, Seduce the mind”

That phrase, coined by prominent national artist and professor Marc Dennis, is, or should be, the mantra of all marketing related visual materials. While messaging is key in marketing materials in order to generate sales, a strong message will be lost or wasted if it is set in a visual design that does not also engage the viewer.

This is especially true with web sites, since the interactive nature of that marketing medium has vast potential for enthralling the viewer. Extensive studies have shown that customers who enjoy or like an advertising piece instantaneously create a positive association with the brand. This effected is multiplied ten or twenty fold on a web site because of the comprehensive interaction between a consumer and the web site’s branding as the consumer moves through a site.

Thus it is key that the visual design of a web site be treated as much like a work of art as a mode for sending a message

To aid the marketer in creating a web site that seduces the minds of customers via striking visual imagery, I present four key principles for successful design. These principles largely stem from the confluence of traditional design techniques and studies in consumer behavior that uncovered key visual stimuli that attract attention.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Arman Rousta
Posted in blog, Digital Media, Graphic Design, Marketing, Website Design | 1 Comment »
Tags: Graphic Design, Marketing, visual design, Website Design, website design in 2008, website marketing

Social Media Marketing: Lessons from a Matchmaker January 8, 2008 – 12:41 pm				Arman Rousta

Match.com is the latest Corporation to try it’s hand at the the world of Facebook

Match.com’s latest attempt to generate a wider social media user base has made big news, but faces even bigger challenges. In what objective social media experts might call a match (har!) made in interactive heaven, Match.com has created a Facebook application which pulls user data from a Facebook profile and, with help from Match.com’s algorithms, identifies potential matches. 99 cents unlocks the user data and contact info for those matches (“Match.com Integrates with Facebook“).

The devil, or potentially devastating flaw, for this program is in the details. The application fails to stipulate whether it matches you with other Facebook users or other Match.com profiles. Then, when the application sets you up, it pulls little or no data from your profile. Email address and name are automatically picked up, but most meaningful data must be manually entered. It also costs money to contact potential matches using the application. As other Facebook application writers have discovered, wildly popular Facebook applications are intuitive, simple, easy to implement, and FREE.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Arman Rousta
Posted in Affiliate Marketing, blog, Graphic Design, Social Media Marketing, Website Design | 1 Comment »
Tags: application design, branding design, facebook, Match.com, networking, programming, social media, social networking