Within the first few seconds of a new encounter, you
are sized up, evaluated and appraised. People assess
your visual and behavioral appearance from head
to toe. They observe your demeanor, mannerisms
and body language. Within just a few seconds, you
make an indelible impact. You may intrigue some
and disenchant others. This first impression process
occurs in every new situation—including your website—and once the initial impression is made, it is
virtually irreversible.
Face value
In doing the research for this article, I contacted a
half-dozen marketing directors and advertising managers
and gave each a simple directive: Visit a variety
of design firm websites that you are unfamiliar with
and make some general assessments of each based
only on their site. I then asked my ad hoc team to
share their observations. Following is a sampling of
their commentaries:
- I could tell how old the firm or its designers
were by the music that played while the site
was loading.
- One group was so corporate and so serious, I
probably would not pick them for our product.
We are in the entertainment business and
I could sense it would not be a good fit.
- I got a headache looking at one firm’s portfolio
because it moved by so fast and there was
no way to freeze it. It made me wonder if the
people who worked there were over-caffeinated
and really scattered as a result.
- The best sites had a nice range of work and
included some well-written commentary in
the portfolio section, but not too much information.
It felt like they had a grip on what I
wanted to know.
- A couple of the sites tried to be funny and it
didn’t come off. One was actually insulting.
- I was surprised to see swear words on one site.
I mean, I’m not a prude, but I am not sure the
“F-bomb” is appropriate if you’re trying to get
me to hire you.
- A couple of the ones I saw had great visuals,
but the copy was horrible. Spelling mistakes
and bad grammar are as unforgivable on a
website as they are in a brochure.
The development of your own website is a
formidable task. You have the creative resources, the
technological wherewithal and the enthusiasm to
show the world your work, and you want it to be
done in a novel way. Yet, as you can sense from the
comments above, web surfers make nearly instantaneous
judgments not only about a company’s website
but the entire company itself in the blink of an eye.
As our review team demonstrated, they also assess
you and the persona of your firm; they are making
observations and coming to conclusions about who
you are. And everyone knows you don’t get a second
chance to make a first impression.
So what are the “personality traits” of the most
successful websites? Here are a few pointers to help
you win the popularity contest:
1. Don’t be the class clown. Humor can be a sensitive
subject in everyday life, and the perils of its use
are compounded on the web. Jokes, satire, irony and
ridicule can distract from your intent and—if not
handled well—can compromise your professional
credibility with certain audiences. Although you
could argue that you simply don’t want to work with
such uptight people—if this is your mind-set, you’re
probably more likely to say “F--- them if they can’t
take a joke”—then you might also want to consider:
2. No potty mouths. Although it’s true that the
standard for what is considered a “dirty word” has
relaxed over the years, there are still some people
who are offended by certain terms, expressions and
colloquialisms. In face-to-face situations, it’s easy to
be discriminating, to use prudence in deciding how
casual your language can be in a particular setting.
The problem with the use of dicey words or images
on the web is that you can’t edit or adapt your use
based upon who is visiting your site. Once it is live,
it’s out there.
3. Introduce yourself. An often-underutilized area
on a designer’s website is the “Bio” or “About Us”
section. While it’s true that potential clients are
at first primarily interested in viewing samples of
work, often their next action will be to try and learn
more about the people who create the work. Share
pertinent information about yourself—typical items
that people are most likely to ask when they meet
you for the first time. This is where you can differentiate
yourself beyond the work. Tell about your
background and introduce your staff, maybe share
your philosophy of design, talk about your team’s
processes. Give the reader a sense for the joie de vivre
that exists in your studio.
4. A quick comeback. Interactive speed is a huge
factor when it comes to user satisfaction. Make
pages load quickly and minimize the variability
of delay. Be especially careful to avoid sluggish
response while users view pages. But beware
“speed” when it comes to things like animation
or how quickly words and subtitles scroll across
the screen. Move too quickly and you may get
left behind.
5. Keep it simple. Uncluttered layouts allow the
focus of the viewer to be directed to your work. This
is particularly important if your style is intricate,
or the work you’re showing includes a lot of elements
or other visual distractions. It’s tempting to
employ loads of special effects, layer textures and
backgrounds, mix in some complex audio or animation
and essentially “pull out the stops,” but unless
the goal is to stupefy viewers, a less-is-best approach
might help keep the attention on you and your
design work.
6. Have style and substance. While designers understandably
get hung up on what the site looks like,
it’s important to remember that your audience is also
looking for information that will help them make
a decision. This could take the form of a quote or
testimonial from a client, a paragraph about results
you’ve achieved or a note from you about how you
approach particular projects. Unless you’re an especially
adept writer yourself, it’s probably in your best
interests to have a writer work on the text portion of
your website.
When you make the best possible first impression,
you have your audience in the palm of your
hand. When you make a poor first impression, you
lose your audience’s attention, and unfortunately—especially on the web—there are no do-overs.
SIDEBARS:
344 Design (www.344design.com)
Stefan Bucher
After working as a freelance illustrator
in his native Germany, Stefan
G. Bucher, principal of 344 Design,
moved to California and earned a
degree from Art Center College
of Design in 1996. Following
graduation he signed up for a
tour of duty as an art director at
Wieden+Kennedy.
Deciding he wasn’t cut out for
a career in advertising or for life
in Oregon, Bucher moved back
to L.A. in 1998, and he has been
“working to spread the gospel
of 344 ever since.” Dynamic
Graphics asked Bucher and other
designers a few questions about
their web positioning:
DG: Tell us a little bit about the
personality you are trying to portray
in your website.
Bucher: The personality I’m trying
to portray in the website is
my own. I want the work to look
good, and I want visitors to be
entertained. It’s hard to put it in
words without sounding like a total
gasbag, but I want the site to be
smart, funny and attractive, maybe
a little bit goofy and chatty and
seductive. Like a great first date!
(And yes, it’s true: 344 puts out!)
DG: Do you think your approach
ever misfires, or has it ever been
misunderstood by anyone?
Bucher: I’m sure the site has turned
away business. But it’s also convinced
quite a lot of clients to sign
on with me. The more personal the
site becomes, the better it functions
as a screening tool to see
who’d be a good match with me.
DG: Are there things in the future
you’d like to do with the site?
Bucher: I’d like to include more
audio and video bits, and I’ve
already added a blog function that
has become quite popular.
ROBOT (www.robotcreative.com)
Lara August
Founded in 1998 by Lara August,
San Antonio-based ROBOT began
as a freelance opportunity with
a focus on identity and collateral
design. After only six months the
solo venture blossomed into a fullfl
edged business with an office and
a staff of three.
In 2001, ROBOT acquired the
assets and staff of a web services
firm that was closing its doors
and launched into the interactive
arena. ROBOT quickly grew into a
full service, boutique creative firm
offering both copywriting and marketing
services.
In January 2007, ROBOT
relaunched its website, an undertaking
that refl ects the transition
from a sole proprietorship to an
LLC and the subsequent evolution
of the business.
DG: Tell us about the personality of
ROBOT’s old site versus the new site.
August: For the old site: At the
time of the original design, I would
have said, “Make us look cool and
edgy.” This site was developed
when I first began freelancing. It
was basically me and one other
designer. We were young, the portfolio
was small, the clients weren’t
impressive, we hadn’t won any
awards yet. There wasn’t much to
tell. What we did have were great
samples of what we had accomplished,
and we wanted the portfolio
to say it all. The site was kept
intentionally black and white so
the portfolio samples would really
stand out. We added some text
pages and the orange rollovers
after a few years, but not much
else had changed.
For the new site: We want to appear
integrated. Technically adept. As
smart as we are creative. We’re now
an integrated marketing and design
firm. We employ both creatives and
people with business backgrounds,
right- and left-brained. There are
eight of us currently, and we’re
growing steadily. I’ve always had
an issue with imagery for our firm,
which is one reason the redesign
has taken so long. I worry that one
type of style will attract some clients
and turn off others. We’re a
strong, multidisciplinary team and
we’re capable of lots of variety in
our work. We like variety and don’t
want to become pigeonholed in
what we do. In fact, we’ve left the
imagery areas intentionally separate
from the content so they are easy
to swap out. We plan on changing
the look and feel of the image areas
regularly to showcase our skills and
to appeal to a wider audience.
Blacktop Creative (www.blacktopcreative.com)
Principals: Mike Miller, Shawn
Polowniak and Dave Swearingen
Blacktop Creative was created
in April 2001 on the principles of
innovative design and collaborative
creative direction. Headquartered
in Kansas City, Mo., Blacktop
employs 17 full-time staff including
designers, illustrators, production
artists, client service professionals
and office staff. Three partners—
Mike Miller, Shawn Polowniak
and Dave Swearingen—started the
business and still manage the dayto-
day operations.
DG: Explain a little about the personality
that your website was
designed to convey.
Blacktop: We feel our website
showcases Blacktop Creative’s
culture: how our processes revolve
around a constant collaborative
team effort and the energy we
have. At Blacktop, it’s not uncommon
for a client to be in our office,
sitting alongside a designer, trying
different color combinations or
pointing out where they think the
logo should be placed in an ad.
And that’s what we want to demonstrate
in our website—that we
are a dynamic group who believes
in a collaborative approach to
everything we do!
DG: Have there been any misfires
with your approach?
Blacktop: The possible misunderstanding
that may occur through
viewing our website is potential
clients might not understand the
breadth of work that we handle.
Blacktop’s brand is edgy, but that
doesn’t mean that all of our work
is edgy. The website embodies our
brand—not necessarily how we
would project a client’s brand. This
is where our collaborative process
proves to be so important.
DG: Future site plans?
Blacktop: We’ve talked about adding
a Blacktop Road Trip Racing
Game, where the viewer can race
the Blacktop Mini that has been on
our site and can also simply “drive
around” the site viewing work completed
over the past couple of years.
We also plan to create an interactive
virtual environment that shows the
many facets of our operation.
Savage Design Group (www.savagedesign.com)
Paula Savage Hansen
Located in Houston, Texas, Savage
Design Group was established
in 1973 by Paula Savage Hansen.
Currently, Savage Design is led
by six partners, four of whom are
design directors, two of whom
have MBAs … and all have a degree
in graphic design. The firm doesn’t
have account service staff, and clients
work directly with the designers
assigned to their projects.
DG: In terms of personality, what
are you trying to convey in your
website?
Savage: We based our updated
website on our new tagline: “Smart.
Fresh. Human.” As with most
design firm websites, the primary
focus is on our fresh work and strategic
solutions. But we also think
clients want to see who they might
be working with, so we feature
black and white candid photos of
our creative staff, accompanied by
their own personal “word.” When
hired, each new employee picks a
word that has significance to them:
It’s on their business cards, their
bio and featured on the site.
DG: Future site plans?
Savage: We are in the process of
adding case studies that promote
our branding expertise. We’re also
adding a client extranet that we
envision as not only serving specifi
c project needs, but also providing
a way to share recent work with
clients, since they probably do not
visit our website on a regular basis.
Recommended resources
First Impressions:
What You Don’t Know
About How Others
See You, by Ann
Demarais, Valerie
White, $24, First
Impressions, www.firstimpressionsconsulting.com/pages/book.html
Blink: The Power of
Thinking Without
Thinking, by Malcolm
Gladwell, $25.95,
Little, Brown and
Company, www.hachettebookgroupusa.com
Designing Great
Web Experiences
(DVD), $39.95,
Designing Great Web
Experiences, www.amazon.com
Designing Websites
That Sell: For Graphic
Designers, by Shayne
Bowman and Chris
Willis, $39.99,
Rockport Publishers,
www.quaysidepublishinggroup.com
Self Promotion Online:
Marketing Your
Creative Services
Using Web Sites,
E-Mail and Digital
Portfolios, by Ilise
Benun, $20, North
Light Books, www.northlightbooks.com
Speed Up Your
Site: Web Site
Optimization, by
Andrew B. King,
$39.99, New Riders,
www.websiteoptimization.com/speed
The Online
Copywriter’s
Handbook: Everything
You Need to Know to
Write Electronic Copy
That Sells, by Robert
W. Bly, $19.95, Henry
Holt and Company,
www.henryholt.com
Portfolios Online:
Digital and Graphic
Designer’s Websites,
by Kathleen Ziegler
and Nick Greco, $40,
HBI, www.amazon.com
