Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
A Christmas Carol - by LTF
Monday, 21 December 2009
RATM at Xmas #1, John & Traceys Facebook Campaign... what does it all mean for Social Media in 2010 and beyond?
Whatever you may think of the result of this particular campaign, or indeed its very existence, you cannot deny the implications of it. Not only does it have implications in Social Media, in the Music Industry and Popular Culture, but I believe in all forms of democracy.
Lead Singer of Rage Against The Machine, Zack de le Rocha said "this represents the silent majority...". Is that right? Or did people get caught up in it? Did they just want to "stick it to the man"? Or had they all, all 600,000+ of them, been losing sleep over the fact that Simon Cowell's been running the Xmas charts for 5 years in a row?
Also, what about Social Pressure? Because a group exists, does that make the cause ok?
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
WillDan Christmas card
We recently did this Christmas card for WillDan Systems, as a seasonal promotional product, see a wider range of our print based design at www.looktouchfeel.comPhoenix County Metals
Phoenix County Metals commissioned us to do their website, and here is the result, see www.looktouchfeel.com for more websites like this.House of Hose branding
We were asked by House of Hose to design their website and establish their brand identity, this is the logo we designed for them. See more branding examples at www.looktouchfeel.comMoore Media logo
This is the logo we designed recently for Moore Media, a wider range of brand identity examples can be seen on our website at www.looktouchfeel.comLike Minders leaflet
Along with their website and branding, we recently designed this DL sized promotional leaflet for Like Minders, see a wider range of our print based design at www.looktouchfeel.comLondon Hand Therapy website
As well as their brand identity, we were asked by the London Hand Therapy to design and relaunch their website, see more at www.looktouchfeel.comLondon Hand Therapy branding
A full range of our branding and identity work can be seen on our website at www.looktouchfeel.com, this is the logo that we designed recently for the London Hand Therapy.Duckling Green Children's Centre
Duckling Green Children's Centre asked us to do their website recently, please see www.looktouchfeel.com for similar work.Beane Valley website
We were recently commissioned by Beane Valley Children's centre to design their website, and here's the result... for more work like this, visit www.looktouchfeel.comThursday, 3 December 2009
Knowing How Much To Charge
The most basic thing to establish when it comes to pricing are your hourly and daily rates. I used to get confused about why there were hourly AND daily rates and actually, I still can’t get a sensible answer out of anyone, even people who’ve been Freelancing for decades! The way I view it is My hourly rate is 1 x Y and my Daily Rate is 10 x Y, because I work long hours (and usually if you’re working on a day rate, you might have to travel to and from the place).
Full article on Scrunchp, here:
http://scrunchup.com/issue-3/knowing-how-much-to-charge/
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Full article on Scrunchp, here:
http://scrunchup.com/issue-3/knowing-how-much-to-charge/
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Monday, 30 November 2009
A great intro to Web Standards
From the man that made it happen:
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Sunday, 29 November 2009
Friday, 30 October 2009
Where does it all go wrong in the feedback process... ..avoiding "McGraphics".
Something that we hear a lot from fellow designers is that they have lost control of their client, in so far as feedback just keeps coming, sometimes from multiple people, and the designer feels that they are losing money and that the project has gone way off scope.
We used to get this, but over the last couple of years have made changes to avoid it (more on that another time... I thought we had it sussed but Paul Boag gave me a bit of advice which has caused me to try another approach - Rick).
We call this issue, "McGraphics"... McGraphics is where your client becomes )or believes they become) the 'design expert' and begins prescribing how and what you should be doing with the design. They might say, "can we have this part blue, that bit red and make that part circular, please". When this starts to happen, the minute you say "yes, ok no problem", you start to lose control and take a submissive role in the relationship.
The way to retain control of the feedback process is to position yourself as the expert RIGHT AT THE START... remain positive but establish the fact that you are a design expert and explain to the client HOW to provide feedback. It's important that (ideally at the kick-off meeting) you ask the client to focus on the objectives of the project, and leave the design solutions for meeting those objectives, to you.
If you get this wrong, or fall into a submissive role, this is what you get:
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
We used to get this, but over the last couple of years have made changes to avoid it (more on that another time... I thought we had it sussed but Paul Boag gave me a bit of advice which has caused me to try another approach - Rick).
We call this issue, "McGraphics"... McGraphics is where your client becomes )or believes they become) the 'design expert' and begins prescribing how and what you should be doing with the design. They might say, "can we have this part blue, that bit red and make that part circular, please". When this starts to happen, the minute you say "yes, ok no problem", you start to lose control and take a submissive role in the relationship.
The way to retain control of the feedback process is to position yourself as the expert RIGHT AT THE START... remain positive but establish the fact that you are a design expert and explain to the client HOW to provide feedback. It's important that (ideally at the kick-off meeting) you ask the client to focus on the objectives of the project, and leave the design solutions for meeting those objectives, to you.
If you get this wrong, or fall into a submissive role, this is what you get:
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Our approach to Web Accessibility, and a dash of common sense
Lead Developer at looktouchfeel, Simon McFarlane, explains our "everyday approach" to Web Accessibility.
"We're often asked by clients what we do to ensure Accessibility. Whilst we realise that this is often just to enable a stakeholder to put a tick in a box, it's actually more important than many clients realise. BUT! Let's not get obsessive about it...it's about common sense as much as anything else.
The most important element required to make your site accessible is the use of well structured pages created using XHTML and CSS - the building blocks of your site.
Web users have many specific requirements... almost too many to list. Trying to second guess users wants and needs is very hard, and a bit of a red herring too.
What we typically do is completely separate the style from the content of the site using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). By using CSS the web user can customise their browser in anyway they wish. For example they can remove all the style, change font size, background colour... all with relative ease.
We ensure the content of the site is well structured using headings, paragraphs and lists... all images have an alternative text description for screen readers. We try where possible to keep the contrast high on text and if it doesn't affect the integrity of the design, we'll use underlines to signify links in the main body text.
Because of the well structured content; screen readers wouldn't have a problem with our sites. Most screen readers are separate programs which you install on your computer. Due to this there isn't much you can do apart from make your site reader friendly - which we have done.
We hide at the top of the screen 'skip to navigation' / 'skip to content' links which are specifically for screen readers to speed up the use of the site.
Internet Explorer 7 / 8, Firefox, Chrome and Opera all allow 'zooming' of site rather than just increasing the font size (Try holding down Ctrl and pressing +). This means everything gets bigger - in many ways this is more useful than simply increasing the font size...
Often we'll add an accessibility page to the site explaining what has been done and a link to the BBC accessibility site... this has lots of information, options and instructions: http://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/
For example, all the methods on this page will work with the majority of sites we build: http://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/win/sub_root.shtml.
If you'd like to know more about Web Accessibility or our methods for designing and developing websites, just drop us an email (us@looktouchfeel.co.uk) or give us a call (01327 828 443)"
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
"We're often asked by clients what we do to ensure Accessibility. Whilst we realise that this is often just to enable a stakeholder to put a tick in a box, it's actually more important than many clients realise. BUT! Let's not get obsessive about it...it's about common sense as much as anything else.
The most important element required to make your site accessible is the use of well structured pages created using XHTML and CSS - the building blocks of your site.
Web users have many specific requirements... almost too many to list. Trying to second guess users wants and needs is very hard, and a bit of a red herring too.
What we typically do is completely separate the style from the content of the site using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). By using CSS the web user can customise their browser in anyway they wish. For example they can remove all the style, change font size, background colour... all with relative ease.
We ensure the content of the site is well structured using headings, paragraphs and lists... all images have an alternative text description for screen readers. We try where possible to keep the contrast high on text and if it doesn't affect the integrity of the design, we'll use underlines to signify links in the main body text.
Because of the well structured content; screen readers wouldn't have a problem with our sites. Most screen readers are separate programs which you install on your computer. Due to this there isn't much you can do apart from make your site reader friendly - which we have done.
We hide at the top of the screen 'skip to navigation' / 'skip to content' links which are specifically for screen readers to speed up the use of the site.
Internet Explorer 7 / 8, Firefox, Chrome and Opera all allow 'zooming' of site rather than just increasing the font size (Try holding down Ctrl and pressing +). This means everything gets bigger - in many ways this is more useful than simply increasing the font size...
Often we'll add an accessibility page to the site explaining what has been done and a link to the BBC accessibility site... this has lots of information, options and instructions: http://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/
For example, all the methods on this page will work with the majority of sites we build: http://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/win/sub_root.shtml.
If you'd like to know more about Web Accessibility or our methods for designing and developing websites, just drop us an email (us@looktouchfeel.co.uk) or give us a call (01327 828 443)"
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Should brand/web designers do "Spec work"?
In a word, No*.
In a few more words...
We're with Paul Boag on this one (and many others) when we firmly throw our hat into the "no spec work" ring. We get asked a lot (usually on web design projects or for tenders) whether we will create some designs free of charge, in order to impress the client and MAYBE get the job.
This request is a silly one for several reasons:
1 - We don't know enough about the project, not having had any time to discuss the brief with you or fact-find about the users or target audiences - so our design will purely be there to make you go "wow", but will be completely useless and get binned the minute you engage us for the project proper. This is a waste of our time (time=money) and your money.
2 - We've been in this game since 1999 - that's a bloody long time and we've learnt a hell of a lot. This is what you, the client, pays us for - our experience and expertise - NOT our ability to use Adobe Illustrator.
3 - Design is a PROCESS - not something you pull out of a hat and go "TA DA!". With Spec Work, there is no process - only razzle dazzle.
4 - We've got other work on, which is signed/paid work - we can't jeopardize that to spend time on design work for nothing, now can we?
5 - We agree strongly with many other PROFESSIONAL designers that Spec Work, and those that agree to it, undermines and undervalues our profession. Positioning design as a commodity, rather than a craft.
So... please don't embarrass both of us by asking us to do Speculative Design work - because, we don't do that. Sorry.
Most people that do ask will usually understand once you explain these reasons, and most will agree to pay for a day or so's consultancy to create a piece of useful design work that they can take forwards.
*OK, OK, OK - if we're talking £50k+ projects, we might consider it, but even then we would strongly suggest that the client simply pays us a few days consultancy so we can carry out a mini design process and create something that will be USEFUL in the subsequent project.
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
In a few more words...
We're with Paul Boag on this one (and many others) when we firmly throw our hat into the "no spec work" ring. We get asked a lot (usually on web design projects or for tenders) whether we will create some designs free of charge, in order to impress the client and MAYBE get the job.
This request is a silly one for several reasons:
1 - We don't know enough about the project, not having had any time to discuss the brief with you or fact-find about the users or target audiences - so our design will purely be there to make you go "wow", but will be completely useless and get binned the minute you engage us for the project proper. This is a waste of our time (time=money) and your money.
2 - We've been in this game since 1999 - that's a bloody long time and we've learnt a hell of a lot. This is what you, the client, pays us for - our experience and expertise - NOT our ability to use Adobe Illustrator.
3 - Design is a PROCESS - not something you pull out of a hat and go "TA DA!". With Spec Work, there is no process - only razzle dazzle.
4 - We've got other work on, which is signed/paid work - we can't jeopardize that to spend time on design work for nothing, now can we?
5 - We agree strongly with many other PROFESSIONAL designers that Spec Work, and those that agree to it, undermines and undervalues our profession. Positioning design as a commodity, rather than a craft.
So... please don't embarrass both of us by asking us to do Speculative Design work - because, we don't do that. Sorry.
Most people that do ask will usually understand once you explain these reasons, and most will agree to pay for a day or so's consultancy to create a piece of useful design work that they can take forwards.
*OK, OK, OK - if we're talking £50k+ projects, we might consider it, but even then we would strongly suggest that the client simply pays us a few days consultancy so we can carry out a mini design process and create something that will be USEFUL in the subsequent project.
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Friday, 9 October 2009
Launching the new Aspire website...
As part of a wider re-branding project, LTF carried out a total re-design and re-build of the aspirecompanies.com website. A global site, substantial in size, content and technical features – this was a great project that involved branding, design, photography, copy writing and development.
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Celebratng the Bar Code
It's the Bar Code's 57th Anniversary today... find out all about it's history, here.
In celebration of this landmark occasion, we have created a "looktouchfeel" barcode:
(You can create your own here - http://www.morovia.com/free-online-barcode-generator/)
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
In celebration of this landmark occasion, we have created a "looktouchfeel" barcode:
(You can create your own here - http://www.morovia.com/free-online-barcode-generator/)
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Thursday, 1 October 2009
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Blasting the Myth of "The Fold"...
I loved this article so much I am re-posting it...
by Milissa Tarquini on 2007/07/24 | [55 Comments]
The Above-the-Fold Myth
Ready made Re-Tweet:
Blasting the myth of "the fold" - educating clients to let go of the obsession (just a little bit) - http://bit.ly/13CyXE
FULL ARTICLE...
We are all well aware that web design is not an easy task. There are many variables to consider, some of them technical, some of them human. The technical considerations of designing for the web can (and do) change quite regularly, but the human variables change at a slower rate. Sometimes the human variables change at such a slow rate that we have a hard time believing that it happens.
This is happening right now in web design. There is an astonishing amount of disbelief that the users of web pages have learned to scroll and that they do so regularly. Holding on to this disbelief – this myth that users won’t scroll to see anything below the fold – is doing everyone a great disservice, most of all our users.
First, a definition: The word “fold” means a great many things, even within the discipline of design. The most common use of the term “fold” is perhaps used in reference to newspaper layout. Because of the physical dimensions of the printed page of a broadsheet newspaper, it is folded. The first page of a newspaper is where the “big” stories of the issue are because it is the best possible placement. Readers have to flip the paper over (or unfold it) to see what else is in the issue, therefore there is a chance that someone will miss it. In web design, the term “fold” means the line beyond which a user must scroll to see more contents of a page (if it exists) after the page displays within their browser. It is also referred to as a “scroll-line.”
Screen performance data and new research indicate that users will scroll to find information and items below the fold. There are established design best practices to ensure that users recognize when a fold exists and that content extends below it1. Yet during requirements gathering for design projects designers are inundated with requests to cram as much information above the fold as possible, which complicates the information design. Why does the myth continue, when we have documented evidence that the fold really doesn’t matter in certain contexts?
Once upon a time, page-level vertical scrolling was not permitted on AOL. Articles, lists and other content that would have to scroll were presented in scrolling text fields or list boxes, which our users easily used. Our pages, which used proprietary technology, were designed to fit inside a client application, and the strictest of guidelines ensured that the application desktop itself did not scroll. The content pages floated in the center of the application interface and were too far removed from the scrollbar location for users to notice if a scrollbar appeared. Even if the page appeared to be cut off, as current best practices dictate, it proved to be such an unusual experience to our users that they assumed that the application was “broken.” We had to instill incredible discipline in all areas of the organization that produced these pages – content creation, design and development – to make sure our content fit on these little pages.
AOL client application with desktop scrollbar activated
As AOL moved away from our proprietary screen technology to an open web experience, we enjoyed the luxury of designing longer (and wider) pages. Remaining sensitive to the issues of scrolling from our history, we developed and employed practices for designing around folds:
We chose as target screen resolutions those used by the majority of our users.
We identified where the fold would fall in different browsers, and noted the range of pixels that would be in the fold “zone.”
We made sure that images and text appeared “broken” or cut off at the fold for the majority of our users (based on common screen resolutions and browsers).
We kept the overall page height to no more than 3 screens.
But even given our new larger page sizes, we were still presented with long lists of items to be placed above the fold – lists impossible to accommodate. There were just too many things for the limited amount of vertical space.
For example, for advertising to be considered valuable and saleable, a certain percentage of it must appear above the 1024×768 fold. Branding must be above the fold. Navigation must be above the fold – or at least the beginning of the list of navigational choices. (If the list is well organized and displayed appropriately, scanning the list should help bring users down the page.) Big content (the primary content of the site) should begin above the fold. Some marketing folks believe that the actual number of data points and links above the fold is a strategic differentiator critical to business success. Considering the limited vertical real estate available and the desire for multiple ad units and functionality described above, an open design becomes impossible.
And why? Because people think users don’t scroll. Jakob Nielsen wrote about the growing acceptance and understanding of scrolling in 19972, yet 10 years later we are still hearing that users don’t scroll.
Research debunking this myth is starting to pop up, and a great example of this is the report available on ClickTale.com3. In it, the researchers used their proprietary tracking software to measure the activity of 120,000 pages. Their research gives data on the vertical height of the page and the point to which a user scrolls. In the study, they found that 76% of users scrolled and that a good portion of them scrolled all the way to the bottom, despite the height of the screen. Even the longest of web pages were scrolled to the bottom. One thing the study does not capture is how much time is spent at the bottom of the page, so the argument can be made that users might just scan it and not pay much attention to any content placed there.
This is where things get interesting.
I took a look at performance data for some AOL sites and found that items at the bottom of pages are being widely used. Perhaps the best example of this is the popular celebrity gossip website TMZ.com. The most clicked on item on the TMZ homepage is the link at the very bottom of the page that takes users to the next page. Note that the TMZ homepage is often over 15000 pixels long – which supports the ClickTale research that scrolling behavior is independent of screen height. Users are so engaged in the content of this site that they are following it down the page until they get to the “next page” link.
Maybe it’s not fair to use a celebrity gossip site as an example. After all, we’re not all designing around such tantalizing guilty-pleasure content as the downfall of beautiful people. So, let’s look at some drier content.
For example, take AOL News Daily Pulse. You’ll notice the poll at the bottom of the page – the vote counts are well over 300,000 each. This means that not only did folks scroll over 2000 pixels to the bottom of the page, they actually took the time to answer a poll while they were there. Hundreds of thousands of people taking a poll at the bottom of a page can easily be called a success.
AOL News Daily Pulse with 10×7 fold line and vote count
But, you may argue, these pages are both in blog format. Perhaps blogs encourage scrolling more than other types of pages. I’m not convinced, since blog format is of the “newest content on top” variety, but it may be true. However, looking at pages that are not in blog format, we see the same trend. On the AOL Money & Finance homepage, users find and use the modules for recent quotes and their personalized portfolios even when these modules are placed well beneath the 1024×768 fold.
Another example within AOL Money & Finance is a photo gallery entitled Top Tax Tips. Despite the fact that the gallery is almost 2500 pixels down the page, this gallery generates between 200,000 and 400,000 page views depending on promotion of the Taxes page.
It is clear that where a given item falls in relation to the fold is becoming less important. Users are scrolling to see what they want, and finding it. The key is the content – if it is compelling, users will follow where it leads.
When does the fold matter?
The most basic rule of thumb is that for every site the user should be able to understand what your site is about by the information presented to them above the fold. If they have to scroll to even discover what the site is, its success is unlikely.
Functionality that is essential to business strategy should remain (or at least begin) above the fold. For example, if your business success is dependent on users finding a particular thing (movie theaters, for example) then the widget to allow that action should certainly be above the fold.
Screen height and folds matter for applications, especially rapid-fire applications where users input variables and change the display of information. The input and output should be in very close proximity. Getting stock quotes is an example: a user may want to get four or five quotes in sequence, so it is imperative that the input field and the basic quote information display remain above the fold for each symbol entered. Imagine the frustration at having to scroll to find the input field for each quote you wanted.
Where IS the fold?
Here is perhaps the biggest problem of all. The design method of cutting-off images or text only works if you know where the fold is. There is a lot of information out there about how dispersed the location of fold line actually is. Again, a very clear picture of this problem is shown on ClickTale. In the same study of page scrolling, fold locations of viewed screens were captured, based on screen resolution and browser used. It’s a sad, sad thing, but the single highest concentration of fold location (at around 600 pixels) for users accounted for less than 10% of the distribution. This pixel-height corresponds with a screen resolution of 1024×768. Browser applications take away varying amounts of vertical real estate for their interfaces (toolbars, address fields, etc). Each browser has a slightly different size, so not all visitors running a resolution of 1024×768 will have a fold that appears in the same spot. In the ClickTale study, the three highest fold locations were 570, 590 and 600 pixels—apparently from different browsers running on 1024×768 screens. But the overall distribution of fold locations for the entire study was so varied that even these three sizes together only account for less than 26% of visits. What does all this mean? If you pick one pixel location on which to base the location of the fold when designing your screens, the best-case scenario is that you’ll get the fold line exactly right for only 10% of your visitors.
So what do we do now?
Stop worrying about the fold. Don’t throw your best practices out the window, but stop cramming stuff above a certain pixel point. You’re not helping anyone. Open up your designs and give your users some visual breathing room. If your content is compelling enough your users will read it to the end.
Advertisers currently want their ads above the fold, and it will be a while before that tide turns. But it’s very clear that the rest of the page can be just as valuable – perhaps more valuable – to contextual advertising. Personally, I’d want my ad to be right at the bottom of the TMZpage, forget the top.
The biggest lesson to be learned here is that if you use visual cues (such as cut-off images and text) and compelling content, users will scroll to see all of it. The next great frontier in web page design has to be bottom of the page. You’ve done your job and the user scrolled all the way to the bottom of the page because they were so engaged with your content. Now what? Is a footer really all we can offer them? If we know we’ve got them there, why not give them something to do next? Something contextual, a natural next step in your site, or something with which to interact (such as a poll) would be welcome and, most importantly, used.
References
1 Jared Spool UIE Brain Sparks, August 2, 2006:Utilizing the Cut-off Look to Encourage Users To Scroll
2 Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox, December 1, 1997: Changes in Web Usability Since 1994
3 ClickTale’s Research Blog, December 23, 2006: Unfolding the Fold
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
by Milissa Tarquini on 2007/07/24 | [55 Comments]
The Above-the-Fold Myth
Ready made Re-Tweet:
Blasting the myth of "the fold" - educating clients to let go of the obsession (just a little bit) - http://bit.ly/13CyXE
FULL ARTICLE...
We are all well aware that web design is not an easy task. There are many variables to consider, some of them technical, some of them human. The technical considerations of designing for the web can (and do) change quite regularly, but the human variables change at a slower rate. Sometimes the human variables change at such a slow rate that we have a hard time believing that it happens.
This is happening right now in web design. There is an astonishing amount of disbelief that the users of web pages have learned to scroll and that they do so regularly. Holding on to this disbelief – this myth that users won’t scroll to see anything below the fold – is doing everyone a great disservice, most of all our users.
First, a definition: The word “fold” means a great many things, even within the discipline of design. The most common use of the term “fold” is perhaps used in reference to newspaper layout. Because of the physical dimensions of the printed page of a broadsheet newspaper, it is folded. The first page of a newspaper is where the “big” stories of the issue are because it is the best possible placement. Readers have to flip the paper over (or unfold it) to see what else is in the issue, therefore there is a chance that someone will miss it. In web design, the term “fold” means the line beyond which a user must scroll to see more contents of a page (if it exists) after the page displays within their browser. It is also referred to as a “scroll-line.”
Screen performance data and new research indicate that users will scroll to find information and items below the fold. There are established design best practices to ensure that users recognize when a fold exists and that content extends below it1. Yet during requirements gathering for design projects designers are inundated with requests to cram as much information above the fold as possible, which complicates the information design. Why does the myth continue, when we have documented evidence that the fold really doesn’t matter in certain contexts?
Once upon a time, page-level vertical scrolling was not permitted on AOL. Articles, lists and other content that would have to scroll were presented in scrolling text fields or list boxes, which our users easily used. Our pages, which used proprietary technology, were designed to fit inside a client application, and the strictest of guidelines ensured that the application desktop itself did not scroll. The content pages floated in the center of the application interface and were too far removed from the scrollbar location for users to notice if a scrollbar appeared. Even if the page appeared to be cut off, as current best practices dictate, it proved to be such an unusual experience to our users that they assumed that the application was “broken.” We had to instill incredible discipline in all areas of the organization that produced these pages – content creation, design and development – to make sure our content fit on these little pages.
AOL client application with desktop scrollbar activated
As AOL moved away from our proprietary screen technology to an open web experience, we enjoyed the luxury of designing longer (and wider) pages. Remaining sensitive to the issues of scrolling from our history, we developed and employed practices for designing around folds:
We chose as target screen resolutions those used by the majority of our users.
We identified where the fold would fall in different browsers, and noted the range of pixels that would be in the fold “zone.”
We made sure that images and text appeared “broken” or cut off at the fold for the majority of our users (based on common screen resolutions and browsers).
We kept the overall page height to no more than 3 screens.
But even given our new larger page sizes, we were still presented with long lists of items to be placed above the fold – lists impossible to accommodate. There were just too many things for the limited amount of vertical space.
For example, for advertising to be considered valuable and saleable, a certain percentage of it must appear above the 1024×768 fold. Branding must be above the fold. Navigation must be above the fold – or at least the beginning of the list of navigational choices. (If the list is well organized and displayed appropriately, scanning the list should help bring users down the page.) Big content (the primary content of the site) should begin above the fold. Some marketing folks believe that the actual number of data points and links above the fold is a strategic differentiator critical to business success. Considering the limited vertical real estate available and the desire for multiple ad units and functionality described above, an open design becomes impossible.
And why? Because people think users don’t scroll. Jakob Nielsen wrote about the growing acceptance and understanding of scrolling in 19972, yet 10 years later we are still hearing that users don’t scroll.
Research debunking this myth is starting to pop up, and a great example of this is the report available on ClickTale.com3. In it, the researchers used their proprietary tracking software to measure the activity of 120,000 pages. Their research gives data on the vertical height of the page and the point to which a user scrolls. In the study, they found that 76% of users scrolled and that a good portion of them scrolled all the way to the bottom, despite the height of the screen. Even the longest of web pages were scrolled to the bottom. One thing the study does not capture is how much time is spent at the bottom of the page, so the argument can be made that users might just scan it and not pay much attention to any content placed there.
This is where things get interesting.
I took a look at performance data for some AOL sites and found that items at the bottom of pages are being widely used. Perhaps the best example of this is the popular celebrity gossip website TMZ.com. The most clicked on item on the TMZ homepage is the link at the very bottom of the page that takes users to the next page. Note that the TMZ homepage is often over 15000 pixels long – which supports the ClickTale research that scrolling behavior is independent of screen height. Users are so engaged in the content of this site that they are following it down the page until they get to the “next page” link.
Maybe it’s not fair to use a celebrity gossip site as an example. After all, we’re not all designing around such tantalizing guilty-pleasure content as the downfall of beautiful people. So, let’s look at some drier content.
For example, take AOL News Daily Pulse. You’ll notice the poll at the bottom of the page – the vote counts are well over 300,000 each. This means that not only did folks scroll over 2000 pixels to the bottom of the page, they actually took the time to answer a poll while they were there. Hundreds of thousands of people taking a poll at the bottom of a page can easily be called a success.
AOL News Daily Pulse with 10×7 fold line and vote count
But, you may argue, these pages are both in blog format. Perhaps blogs encourage scrolling more than other types of pages. I’m not convinced, since blog format is of the “newest content on top” variety, but it may be true. However, looking at pages that are not in blog format, we see the same trend. On the AOL Money & Finance homepage, users find and use the modules for recent quotes and their personalized portfolios even when these modules are placed well beneath the 1024×768 fold.
Another example within AOL Money & Finance is a photo gallery entitled Top Tax Tips. Despite the fact that the gallery is almost 2500 pixels down the page, this gallery generates between 200,000 and 400,000 page views depending on promotion of the Taxes page.
It is clear that where a given item falls in relation to the fold is becoming less important. Users are scrolling to see what they want, and finding it. The key is the content – if it is compelling, users will follow where it leads.
When does the fold matter?
The most basic rule of thumb is that for every site the user should be able to understand what your site is about by the information presented to them above the fold. If they have to scroll to even discover what the site is, its success is unlikely.
Functionality that is essential to business strategy should remain (or at least begin) above the fold. For example, if your business success is dependent on users finding a particular thing (movie theaters, for example) then the widget to allow that action should certainly be above the fold.
Screen height and folds matter for applications, especially rapid-fire applications where users input variables and change the display of information. The input and output should be in very close proximity. Getting stock quotes is an example: a user may want to get four or five quotes in sequence, so it is imperative that the input field and the basic quote information display remain above the fold for each symbol entered. Imagine the frustration at having to scroll to find the input field for each quote you wanted.
Where IS the fold?
Here is perhaps the biggest problem of all. The design method of cutting-off images or text only works if you know where the fold is. There is a lot of information out there about how dispersed the location of fold line actually is. Again, a very clear picture of this problem is shown on ClickTale. In the same study of page scrolling, fold locations of viewed screens were captured, based on screen resolution and browser used. It’s a sad, sad thing, but the single highest concentration of fold location (at around 600 pixels) for users accounted for less than 10% of the distribution. This pixel-height corresponds with a screen resolution of 1024×768. Browser applications take away varying amounts of vertical real estate for their interfaces (toolbars, address fields, etc). Each browser has a slightly different size, so not all visitors running a resolution of 1024×768 will have a fold that appears in the same spot. In the ClickTale study, the three highest fold locations were 570, 590 and 600 pixels—apparently from different browsers running on 1024×768 screens. But the overall distribution of fold locations for the entire study was so varied that even these three sizes together only account for less than 26% of visits. What does all this mean? If you pick one pixel location on which to base the location of the fold when designing your screens, the best-case scenario is that you’ll get the fold line exactly right for only 10% of your visitors.
So what do we do now?
Stop worrying about the fold. Don’t throw your best practices out the window, but stop cramming stuff above a certain pixel point. You’re not helping anyone. Open up your designs and give your users some visual breathing room. If your content is compelling enough your users will read it to the end.
Advertisers currently want their ads above the fold, and it will be a while before that tide turns. But it’s very clear that the rest of the page can be just as valuable – perhaps more valuable – to contextual advertising. Personally, I’d want my ad to be right at the bottom of the TMZpage, forget the top.
The biggest lesson to be learned here is that if you use visual cues (such as cut-off images and text) and compelling content, users will scroll to see all of it. The next great frontier in web page design has to be bottom of the page. You’ve done your job and the user scrolled all the way to the bottom of the page because they were so engaged with your content. Now what? Is a footer really all we can offer them? If we know we’ve got them there, why not give them something to do next? Something contextual, a natural next step in your site, or something with which to interact (such as a poll) would be welcome and, most importantly, used.
References
1 Jared Spool UIE Brain Sparks, August 2, 2006:Utilizing the Cut-off Look to Encourage Users To Scroll
2 Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox, December 1, 1997: Changes in Web Usability Since 1994
3 ClickTale’s Research Blog, December 23, 2006: Unfolding the Fold
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Thursday, 27 August 2009
Interview on BBC Radio Northampton - What's Your Story?
Joe Pignatellio kindly raised awareness today about the What's Your Story website conceived, designed and developed by looktouchfeel as part of our marketing consultancy services to JR Press.
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Get yourself down to the HAKAMOU bar/restaurant
We've been working with the guys at HAKAMOU - a funky new "Easter Island" themed bar/restaurant in Northampton...
We designed their website for them, developed by the lovely Esme at Site Simplicity, who is "on the team" at Hakamou. And we've just delivered them these funky fresh menus too:
Friday, 14 August 2009
What's Your Story? Fantastic local business campaign...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Doreen Ashmore
JR Press
01327 301 566
Doreen@jrpress.co.uk
www.jrpress.co.uk
Local businesses overcoming downturn by sharing ideas and positive thinking
Daventry, Northamptonshire, 14th August 2009
Local businesses in Daventry and the surrounding areas are sharing their marketing ideas, and stories of success, during the downturn thanks to a new website called “What’s Your Story?”. The website, launched on August 14th, will showcase submissions from local business owners, explaining how they have used marketing to counteract any decline in sales.
The website’s aim is to generate a “feel good” factor among local businesses and to create a valuable resource for businesses owners looking for inspirational marketing ideas. The campaign, “What’s Your Story?”, is the brain child of Doreen Ashmore, Sales & Marketing Manager for JR Press, a successfull Printing company in Daventry. Doreen has high hopes for local businesses in 2009; “Everyday we are speaking to clients and hearing very positive things. We wanted to share these stories and collect more, so that we can spread this positivity and fight the downturn together”.
Stories already submitted include that of DNG Dove Naish, a local chartered accountancy. Victoria New wanted to share their strategy; “We have increased our marketing activity generally and have re-assessed our client care standards in the process by making recommendations where extra services could provide savings and add efficiency”.
To read (?) the stories, or to submit your own, visit the What’s Your Story website at www.jrpress.co.uk/yourstory
For additional information or a sample copy, Contact:
Doreen Ashmore
JR Press
01327 301 566
Doreen@jrpress.co.uk
www.jrpress.co.uk
JR Press, a printing company in Daventry – established 1984.
# # #
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Seeking a talented young graphic/web designer
I'm looking for a talented young graphic and web designer who is looking to boost their
experience and portfolio by working alongside a freelance consultant (yes, me) on everything
from re-brands to web designs, social media marketing to animation. Are you this person? Do
you know them? Will someone you know, know them? (you get the idea...) - Please put them
in touch with me via www.looktouchfeel.com
Thursday, 9 July 2009
AllTranz Branding
New pics from AllTranz - the branding we created for them has been applied to all of their vans and trucks. ;0)
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
The most unique internet video competition ever?
The most unique internet video competition ever?
We’re working with a 300 year old cereal company based in Crewe, Cheshire. Mornflake is the 8th oldest company in Britain handed down over 14 generations. As a company, it epitomises probity, fiscal responsibility and social conscience and has rejected every offer of being acquired in all this time. Kind of values we want to see in all companies right now, right?
Problem is; few people have heard of Mornflake, although anyone who eats porridge is likely to have eaten their cereals. Mornflake already supplies most of the major supermarkets’ own label oats based cereal foods and is re-launching its own brand of cereal foods.
Since TV advertising is no longer the default way of creating widespread awareness of a new brand, we’re organising a very different kind of video competition for Mornflake. Our approach differs in three unique ways;
1. We’re asking people to make videos about themselves. So lots of good material there! More specifically, videos about their values. The Mornflake brand must feature in the video but in a product placement kind of way. We’re not looking for cheesy reasons why people should eat Mornflake oats. The best video creator will win a cash prize of £15,000.
2. We’re conducting the competition on Facebook using an application called Uvizz (check out the video on their home page – truly impressive). Uvizz works in a way that financially rewards video creators and video viewers for spreading video around their personal networks.
3. We’re adopting an open source approach to engaging online communities and have commissioned a network of independent thinkers called Minciu Sodas. They are building a directory of online communities in the UK and starting conversations with people in an open, respectful and authentic way. A way that reflects Mornflake’s values. This data will be made available to any other organisation that wants to learn how to engage these communities and will help those communities be found by other people.
The competition will launch in mid-June. The exact date will be announced soon but you can still register here and we promise to let you know when it all starts. The basic entry rules are here.
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Interview with Graphic Shack
Just completed my interview with @TheGraphicShack over at http://www.thegraphicshack.com/?p=135
Very enjoyable and looking forward to more ;0)
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Very enjoyable and looking forward to more ;0)
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Friday, 27 March 2009
Connect with me ;0)
I have current profiles with the following social and business networks, please connect with me:
You can see my graphic and web design work at the following online portfolio sites:
Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
