Blog & Buzz

Pitching Your Design
March 3, 2010, 1:17 pm - By: Chad Halvorson

We've all seen the online comics about web design. (photo credit) They usually tell the same story; —web designer creates a design, client makes a ton of changes and thus "ruins" your design. While the common theme portrays the web designer as the victim, if objective strategies were applied to the presentation of the design, the outcome would most likely be very different.

The nature of client feedback can be shaped based on how the creative is "sold" to the client. As the designer, you've already sold it to yourself (over and over again). Here are few strategies for "selling your web design ideas".

Present the ideas/designs, don't send a link. Schedule a meeting to present your design, preferably in person. If not in person, then through a NetMeeting session or some other desktop sharing meeting service. The goal is for the designer / creative director to be the gatekeeper of the artwork until it has been properly presented. DON'T EVER send a link or JPG for initial review of creative. There are some exceptions to this, but generally you always want to present the creative.

Tell a story / paint a picture. You've put a lot of thought into the creative and your client has hired you for your expertise. Tell a story with your designs. Start with the homepage, discuss why you've chosen the layout and interaction model and how it works well with the interior pages. Keep your points matter-of-fact. The goal here is to show that you've thought about the entire user experience as a whole and based your creative decisions on the business objectives of the client.

Don't leave your creative decisions to interpretation. Even though you've made decisions based on creative instinct or "just because it looks good", don't leave the method to your madness open to interpretation. Have a game plan. You've made hundreds of decisions during the design process, many of them subconsciously; —defend them objectively.

Be objective even though creativity is typically subjective. Use your noggin, you have experience, you know what works and what doesn't, you know how to use colors to convey different moods, you know about typography, etc. There is always some level of objectivity behind good design.

WhoMadeThatWebsite.com & IWorkedOn.com
February 2, 2010, 6:40 pm - By: Chad Halvorson

2 months after we released: www.whomadethatwebsite.com

We get answered back with: http://www.iworkedon.com/

That's pretty cool! The more exposure for designers and devs the better. Now you can take credit for your work in two places. Good work "I Worked on" guys! Our two sites parallel nicely i reckon.

New Decade, New Stuff.
January 7, 2010, 10:09 am - By: Chad Halvorson

So what is the next ten years going to bring to interactive technology and gadgets. Here are a few of my thoughts on what's going to gain momentum over the next decade.

1. Overall, broadcast and entertainment will evolve the most. Now that we've finally gotten passed the digital television hurdle in 09, we can finally start focusing on what we can do with this new protocol that took 5 years to get everyone transitioned too.



2. All TVs will come stock with DLNA clients. This will probably happen inside 5 years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Living_Network_Alliance



3. Television in general will start to transition to non-linear scheduling. Broadcast media will be made on-demand but it's availability will of course still be scheduled.



4. Internet connectivity to your new gadget will be standard. This has already started to take place with devices such as the Kindle via the "Amazon Whispernet". Connectivity is going to become an after thought and expected with every new gadget and gizmo.



5. Throw away single function gadgets. One function gadgets will be cheaper and already be connected out of the box. You'll be able to buy a cheap flip phone that uploads or streams directly to YouTube. Or get a mobile device just for posting Twitter updates, or Facebook updates. (I think there already is one out for Twitter, I just think they are going to get more trendy, cheaper and run rampant as more social media outlets emerge)



6. Free internet. Access to the internet will finally be available for free via some (slow) wireless connectivity, probably the old television spectrum that we finally let go of in 09. If you want a decent speed, you'll still need to fork it over to Comcast or equivalent in your area.



7. The Linux market share will go up. Probably not much, but with so many netbooks floating around now, and new simple devices yet to come, plus the tech savvy generation, Linux use is bound to increase.



8. Home Media Servers. More homes are going to be equipped with large storage devices for managing terabytes of movies, home videos, photos, etc. If a household has two desktops, three laptops, a PS3, xBox, and a DLNA compatible TV, there is definitely going to be a need to central storage via a home network. This reminds me of Microsoft's book, "Mommy Why is There a Server in the House"



9. Internet enabled cars. Like the Kindle, car makers are going to sell their products with internet connectivity standard. Sync music and video wirelessly from your PC to your car's media player, stream movies to the back seat for kids, get reviews on restaurants around your GPS location, traffic stats, weather, etc. I know you CAN do some of this now.



10. Mobile devices are going to replace your keychain and wallet. Your mobile device will unlock your car, start your car, open your garage, arm your home security system, unlock your door, pay your bills, pay at vending machines, pay for groceries, pay for gas, etc. Payments in general will go wireless via your mobile device. For example: squareup.com

Permalink: New Decade, New Stuff.

Who Made That Website?
December 17, 2009, 10:53 am - By: Chad Halvorson

We're officially launching our latest web application, whomadethatwebsite.com (WMTW). The concept is simple, find out who made a website. The idea is for web designers and developers to create a profile and list all the websites they've played a role in creating. Oh, and it's totally free!

How often does a new client choose a web designer or agency because they like a website they created? WMTW gets clients in touch with the creator of their favorite websites. WMTW is a simple and free way for designers and developers to take credit for their work.

The intent of WMTW is not to be a central hub for finding web designers, but rather a portal for search engines, such as Google, to index everybody's profile of websites. This should attract visitors coming from search engines who seek out phrases related to "who made greatwebsite.com".

Initially all listings will be entirely free, however, we plan to roll out a "Featured" option for designers and developers to get their listings showcased on the homepage along with a thumbnail. For now, however, we plan to feature websites randomly until the demand for featured listings increases.

So go check it out. Create an account and start taking credit for your work!

http://www.whomadethatwebsite.com

Switching To TextMate
December 11, 2009, 12:11 pm - By: Wil Chow

Last month, I made the switch from Dreamweaver to TextMate as my primary text editor. I have been using Dreamweaver for years mainly because it is the editor that comes with the Adobe suite. The problem with Dreamweaver is that it is so packed with features it can be slow at times. TextMate on the other hand is light and fast. This is not to say it lacks features. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Among them are snippet support, code collapsing, auto-pairing brackets and characters. That is just scratching the surface. If you are a shortcut ninja, you will love TextMate. There are shortcuts for everything. Rapid development is what TextMate is all about.

Backing up Lots of Data Remotely
December 10, 2009, 1:54 pm - By: Chad Halvorson

Recently we started backing up a few of our workstations using BackBlaze. So far it works great; it consistently backs up all our project files to a nice, cozy off-site location.

Our company file server is another story. We produce a lot of video programs, website designs, code, graphics, animations, etc. So our storage needs are huge. With our file server being Linux, finding an off-site backup service that didn't break the bank was virtually impossible.

At this point we have roughly 3TB of data on our file server. We needed a way to get this data backed up to a safe location in an automated, daily fashion.

Weighing all our options we chose to build a second Linux file server and run it at a different location. After that it was fairly straight forward. We used "rsync", a free Linux based remote file copying tool.

Configuration took some thought. We chose to sync all files 3GB or less to the remote server. That would cover all project files and assets, however, most rendered and finalized videos would be left out. We were OK with that since all final renders and videos are backed up to disc and/or tape any way.

The initial backup took the longest. We closely monitored progress over the course of about 5 days. Yup, it only took 5 days to backup just under 3TB over a 10Mbit upload connection.

So far the results have been great. The servers sync every night, updating modified files, backing up new files and removing deleted files. The whole process now only takes 30 -60 minutes each day depending on how much data we transferred that day.

The upfront cost comes with the purchase of the second server. Ongoing costs are negligible; —additional storage when needed, broadband internet connections at each location, etc.

Common Overlooked Elements of a Website Redesign Launch
November 2, 2009, 2:33 pm - By: Chad Halvorson

A lot goes into the launch of a website redesign. Everything from the initial planning and web design to template creation and programming are core to the launch. However, there are a number of things that get overlooked and cause the new website to suffer following the initial launch.

Most of the forgotten tasks are related to the previous website that's being replaced. It's easy to forget about the old site and simply delete or archive it; —as if the redesign is going to make everything better and replace all negative energy surrounding the previous version of the website. While some of that is true, there are always elements of your old website that are left behind and need to be considered.

1. First, think about the visitors that may have regularly visited the old site or bookmarked pages from it. What about links to your old website that may have been emailed and saved for future reference. It's important to consider the legacy of links that your previous website has left behind. All pages or links from your previous website need to remain in tact and be redirected to "content equivalent" pages on your newly redesigned website.
   


2. Second, regardless of how optimized your old site was for search engine indexing, odds are some of the pages from your old site have been indexed by search engines. You don't want to cut off access to the old pages. Search engines may return results to your old website's pages for up to 3 months before eliminating them from their cache. This means you want to make sure quality redirects have been set up so all visitors that find links to your old website in a search engine are transparently directed to the new version of the old page.
   


3. Finally, just remember that your old website doesn't go away the minute you launch your new website. Elements of your old website can linger for months, even years. Make sure that you take all necessary steps to clean up any mess your old website has left behind. It's important to ensure your redesigned website is well connected to your old site's link legacy.

New Projects Added
October 28, 2009, 8:44 am - By: Chad Halvorson

We recently added a few new projects to our website. Our latest projects are showcased in the Websites & Microsites, Marketing & Sales and Education & Training sections. I know this isn't much of a blog entry but if you're interested in what's new around here... now you know.

CSS Support in Email Clients
September 2, 2009, 8:00 am - By: Chad Halvorson

Here is a great resource for identifying CSS properties that are supported in various email clients.



Guide to CSS support in email clients

thisCLICKS interactive among ‘Best Places to Work’
August 28, 2009, 12:14 pm - By: Brian Hagen

ST. PAUL, MN August 27, 2009— thisCLICKS interactive, a full-service interactive agency, was recently named among the Best Places to Work in the Twin Cities by the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal.

Each year, the Business Journal conducts an online employee survey to determine the Twin Cities’ Best Places to Work. thisCLICKS received high scores on a variety of topics ranging from culture, work environment, to how well the company embraces innovation and new ideas.

thisCLICKS relocated their headquarters last year to newly constructed offices near downtown St. Paul. Employees benefit from the state-of-the-art facilities and a creative work environment. “We recognize the value of our employees and the importance of creating a workplace that inspires creativity and success for our clients,” said Chad Halvorson, Managing Partner. “As a winner in the small-sized company category, thisCLICKS is proud to be named as a leading company in the Twin Cities.”

About thisCLICKS
thisCLICKS specializes in developing premium interactive experiences and providing insight into how technology can be used to meet business objectives. thisCLICKS’ broad range of services include; website design and custom application development, mobile content creation, video production, and kiosk deployment. thisCLICKS' client base includes leading local, national and international clients across a wide range of industries. For more information, visit: http://www.thisclicks.com

Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal Article

Contact: Brian Hagen
thisCLICKS Interactive
Phone: 651-330-4482
brian@thisclicks.com