I came across some well-stated wisdom in this article from the MediaPostNEWS “Marketing Daily” commentary. Expanding on the cost-driven, hard-sell, awareness-saturated consumer we’ve come to know, Passikoff highlights the need to compete authentically and intelligently in a highly informed, value-driven market. Differentiation is crucial, reputation follow-through vital, and expectations higher than ever. Whether shaped by advertising in whatever media, social media connections, user-generated blog forums, or the in-store experience…the key to consumer hearts lies in veritable brand engagement. Better stated by the author, “Engagement is not a fad; it’s the way today’s consumers do business” …
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Value is the New Black: 10 Trends for 2010
Top 10: Web Design Resources
Here is a list of the ten resources I use most often when designing and developing for the web.
1. Smashing Magazine – This is a great source for design inspiration, how-to’s, best practices, and informative articles about all aspects of design. I often visit Smashing Mag to browse collections of different web elements, like search bars, navigation, or footers, and collections of sites with well-executed design.
2. Colour Lovers – Colour Lovers is a huge collection of user-submitted colors and color palettes. Whenever I need inspiration for color schemes, this is the first place I visit. There are tons of unique and out-of-the-box palettes.
3. Pattern Tap – Whenever I want to see examples and usage of a specific web design element, for example, a web form, I visit Pattern Tap. They have 45 collections of specific design elements, making it a great source for inspiration. Read more
Go Big or Go Home
Have you ever heard the phrase “The bigger the better”? According to a recent article from SmashingMagazine.com discussing Web Trends for 2009, the saying still holds true. Read more
Define Design: Typography
In this week’s Define Design we’re going to talk typography. Open your text books to page glyph. Read more
Coming Attractions
The Internet Movie Poster Awards hands out annual accolades to the best and worst movie posters, proving that while print’s heartbeat has slowed, it is still alive and kicking and remains a popular media in the movie promotion marketing mix. Not only do these posters serve as teasers, generating excitement and anticipation for upcoming flicks (think: The Dark Knight’s eerie Joker image), they can also take you back to a place and time, flooding a mind with memories. Read more