genre3

Did You Know? Loewy Created Seventy-Six Rough Sketches for the Exxon Logo

Jason Verlangieri — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 06:20:20 +0000

“…I was in my New York office in March 1966 when I received a visit from Jersey Standard’s counsel; he had come, he said, at the suggestion of the board of directors. The company had decided to change the Esso into another one, and, and for reasons he chose not to explain, the fact was to be kept in the most severe conditions of secrecy. The project was to be known as “Nugget”.

We signed a contract and I left immediately for my winter residence in Palm Springs, California.

In less than a week I found the name I wanted: Exxon, and I made seventy-six rough pencil sketches based on the word, placing the visual emphasis on the double x’s. After making photocopies for my files, I air-mailed the originals to Joseph Lovelace, then vice-president of my company in New York, whom I had selected as Nugget’s project manager.

I indicated the version of Exxon which I preferred, and it was eventually selected, adopted, and used by Jersey Standard. The sketch shown here is the original one I made in Palm Springs in March 1966.

Then a large team of Jersey Standard’s Executives started – in close collaboration with my team – the research, explorations, and so on, essential to such a major transition as a change of name and logotype for one of the world’s largest corporation. The end result of such intimate cooperation, carried out in top-secret condition, was the word Exxon.

I valued the double x for its neo-subliminal memory-retention value and also for a certain similarity to the two s’s in Esso…”

What Issuu Using for Your Digital Publishing?

Jason Verlangieri — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 05:57:11 +0000

I can’t say I know a lot about digital publishing platforms, unless you consider Adobe PDF a platform, but I have seen several “cool looking” digitally published documents. It wasn’t until recently, when a friend and client of mine, was looking to digitally publish a catalog we recently designed for them that I began to really look into the options for producing a more interactive, page-turning feel kind of document.

I had seen things in the past and looked at sites I knew had such publications; but most of them seemed to be produced with a piece of software and were hosted on their own server. While hosting wasn’t a big issue, price was, we weren’t looking to spend a lot, or even a little money for mediocre results, on software to produce one or two documents a year.

Additionally, and I realize this now in hindsight, having the document hosted with an online publisher already receiving billions of impressions makes much more sense then posting it to our relatively new site alone. Think Flickr, a hosted blog or YouTube, they are basically online libraries of an infinite amount of information waiting to be searched and found. It’s much easier for a possible visitor to go to a dedicated site like Flickr and look for something specific and be routed to your page than it is for them to “Google it” and come across your own hosted site and images. By using a hosted site for specific types of media and information, you increase your chances of being found exponentially.

During our search, Karen – one of the owners of Mercury (bicycle wheels) and my client, came across the company Issuu. Issuu is a digital publishing platform that helps you convert and host your publications online-via embedded code on your own site page and/or a direct link to a unique URL at Issuu.com. And just like Flickr, YouTube, Facebook, etc., you get your own page where you can direct users to an entire library of your publications.

According to Issuu’s website, they have 33 million monthly readers, 250,000 new publications a month and 2.4 billion monthly impressions. Also, they claim a global diversity focused mainly in Europe and the United States.

So, what did it cost? Nothing.

While they do have a paid feature, they also have a pretty nice free option that we of course chose for a trial run and still use today. While we can’t compare the free publication’s quality to the paid version we can say the quality is pretty good. Aside from the ad bar required in the free version, I assume the publication looks identical in every other aspect as the paid for version. Not only does the final, digitally interactive publication look good as far as features, usability and load speed, it’s identical to the size, dimensions and colors of the file we uploaded for conversion. Oh, and speaking of conversion – simply upload a PDF file and you’re essentially done – it does all the work.

Again, I haven’t researched many solutions, and Karen came across this one early in our search, but I’d have to say right now it’s a pretty good one and one I’d recommend. So, if you’re in the same boat we were in and find yourself looking for a free conversion and hosting solution for your digital publications I suggest giving Issuu a try.

You can check out the Issuu website at www.issuu.com. If you’d like to see the publication we created, here are a few link options:

Embedded in Mercury’s site: click here
Unique URL: click here
Mercury’s Issuu Page: click here

User-Centered Analysis vs Usability Testing: What’s the Difference

Jason Verlangieri — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 06:25:40 +0000

So, what exactly is the difference between User-Centered Analysis and Usability Testing? The answer is pretty simple. Analysis is done prior to and during the design of a product and testing is done after – the evaluation of an existing design or concept.

When looking at the techniques of each at a glance, the UT methods may seem like viable options for analysis but there are clear shortcomings of using Usability Testing methods for this purpose. For example, UT is reactive while UCA is proactive; it will help you define and identify what a problem may be but won’t necessarily help you know why or how to fix them. Usability testing is more observational, you can observe and record observations but may not ultimately understand the reasons behind the reactions – the results are limited by the task preformed and observed. You cannot therefore generalize them to the analysis of the entire design.

In a nutshell, Human Factors International, Inc. defines the two like this:

User-Centered Analysis (UCA):

Data gathering and Analysis to design a product.

How do users think and work in the entire domain?
What are the factors affecting users’ tasks?
What do users want or expect from the design?
What are the users’ aspirations, problems and motivations?

Some UCA techniques include interviews, surveys, contextual observation (what are they doing when and where are they using the product), focus groups and JAD (Joint Application Development) sessions.

Usability Testing (UT):

Evaluation of existing design with set criteria.

Is the design usable?
Does the design match the way the user thinks and works?
Is the design effective, efficient, and satisfactory for the user?
Can the user complete their tasks?

Some UT techniques include walk through tests, performance tests, subjective ratings, heuristics, A-B testing and click stream studies.

Latest Web Project: LuLu’s, Shoes & Accessories

Jason Verlangieri — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 04:21:48 +0000

We just posted the logo for LuLu’s but the new website also launched today so you’re getting a double dose of LuLu’s.

Introducing LuLu’s, Shoes & Accessories of Oxford, Mississippi. LuLu’s has been open since Fall of 2010 and has primarily been online in the social media circles and will continue to use Facebook, Twitter and Blogger as their primary sources of communication, however, today they launched their new website to compliment their current online presence.

The new website’s primary function is that of a springboard, sending its visitors to the store in Oxford, their Facebook page, Twitter feed or blog posts for daily doses of LuLu’s Shoes & Accessories. Designed to provide a peek into the physical store and to mimic the design of Avant Garde logo, the new website is colorful, clean and to the point. Check it out at www.lulusoxford.com and don’t forget to join them in the social media circle on…

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lulusoxfordms
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lulusoxford
Blogger: http://followlulus.blogspot.com/

Latest Logo Project: LuLu’s, Shoes & Accessories

Jason Verlangieri — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 04:01:28 +0000

LuLu’s logo was actually completed a few months back but we’ve just completed their website so I decided to introduce it now. The owners of LuLu’s are friends of mine and they came to me this summer for ideas on a logo for a new shoe store they were opening on The Square in Oxford, Mississippi.

Fortunately for me my pals already had a few ideas of their own, including font choices and color options, so all I needed to do was put their vision into a nicely crafted design reflecting the essence of the brand they were beginning to build – and within the parameters they gave me: “do whatever you want, with this in mind, and definitely not this!”

Sounds like I didn’t have much creative freedom or professional license to “do whatever” did it? But the truth is I wish I had more clients who knew what they wanted or even close to what they wanted, even if that only came in the form of knowing what they don’t want. I enjoy a blank canvas as much as the next artist but when crafting a design for someone else’s vision, a vision you will never quite understand like the owner’s own mind’s eye, it helps to have a list of don’ts and even a predefined palette of paint to help guide you.

The canvas is still blank and you’re still free to be imaginative, but those reference lines are exactly what you need to blend creativity and your client’s vision into a final design everyone can be excited about.

Lulu’s logo is centered around the name “LuLu’s,” displayed in an Avant Garde font intended to represent a sense of style and refinement not unlike those used in the early 1800’s to originally push aside the status quo and evoke a feeling of “modern”. “Lulu’s” is combined with the “Shoes & Accessories” (this is what we do) tagline and in conjunction with a subtly shoe-inspired ornamental border.

Hopefully one day “Lulu’s” can stand on it’s own, without the border and without the – this what we do – tagline, but until that brand recognition has been established on a broader scale the three elements of the design seem to be working in harmony, hiding the fact that “LuLu’s” treatment is already quite capable of standing on it’s own to feet and is quickly becoming the sole of Oxford!

Munich, Germany Called – Pissed; Our Design Was Too Good?

Jason Verlangieri — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 06:20:36 +0000

I can’t go into details now, I’m not sure what I can and can’t say but I’ll create a full post as soon as I can.

Basically, this is just a funny episode involving me and a friend of mine, a major auto company, an amateur sports blog and one heck of a five minute design job.

Again, full post to come but the lesson learned – The power of Brand Identity, why it works, and why businesses should be proactive in developing guidelines to protect and preserve that power.

Fleshing Out a Sitemap? Sticky Notes to the Rescue!

Jason Verlangieri — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:29:57 +0000

Sticky notes, ah those helpful little sheets of famous yellow paper attached to our refrigerators, stuck to our computer monitors, occasionally appearing on the bathroom mirror and basically scattered and stuck throughout random places in an effort to organize our daily routine and ultimately our lives. That little piece of paper that so effortlessly helps us organize it all and keep track of keeping track.

If you use sticky notes, or more specifically Post-it notes (they stick the best), you’ve no doubt discovered more and more ways to use the little guys and you’ve probably found one way that truly redefines its original intent. I don’t use sticky notes on my fridge, on my monitor or even in the bathroom, but I have found a great use for them and it’s one I’ll always rely on. Are you working on a new sitemap or redefining a current one? Sticky Notes to the rescue!

It’s certainly no secret in the world of user interface design that sticky notes are a valuable tool when it comes to architecting a website or application; but if you’re new to the UX game, I suggest going out and stocking up on a nice variety of colors and sizes so they are always on hand when you need them.

The concept is simple enough – a wall, whiteboard or window will serve as your canvas and your sticky notes and a sharpie or pen the medium. You simply stick and write, stick and write or write and stick, write and stick. Your goal is to create the visual sitemap or architecture of your UI design quickly and without investing too much of your time resource too early in the project.

The sitemap process is an iterative one, and the sticky note concept will allow you to quickly (and easily) visually manipulate your sitemap. Move this sticky note over here, this one under here, let’s remove this one completely. I usually start with the main page – the landing page, homepage, whatever; the idea is to start where your users will start and work your way down, out and through your site or application in a hierarchical fashion, the levels of the design. Simply write the page title (proposed title – it may will change) on each sticky note you place on the wall and do that for each page of the site. You can even use different colored or sized sticky notes for different areas or sub-levels.

Throughout this process you will be able to step back and take a comprehensive look at the entire design – just like throwing an idea at the wall and seeing if it sticks. More importantly, so can your colleagues and clients – there is nothing better than getting input this early in the process on one of the most important steps in the process. Not only will you uncover some client expectations but they will begin to see what the final site may look like, just from sticky notes.

So, if you’re starting out a new design or in a redesign process, reach for your arsenal of little, sticky notes and start sticking. In no time you’ll have a pretty good idea of what the final architecture may look like and even the beginnings of some other useful UI design methodologies…

Coming up next – Card Sorting & Primary Nouns!

Happy New Year!

Jason Verlangieri — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 19:58:00 +0000

Well the New Year is upon us and I’ve been putting off the blog launch post long enough. It’s time to kick it into high gear and get rolling. As promised in December – expect our first post on the value of sticky notes in your user-centered design process to be posted soon!