Design & R.O.I.
Investing in User Experience
A great article demonstrating that investing in a good experience for your customers is also a good investment for your company. Investing in companies that do that is also a good idea.
Good Designers Redesign, Great Designers Realign
A great write-up defending why small strategic tweaks can sometimes be much more powerful than a complete redesign. A new bad is still bad when a couple tweaks could make it good.
The Importance of Design in Business
Not in the bottom-line-make-another-dollar sort of way, but some seriously challenging reasons why good design is just good for business.
Painting A Better Landscape
An almost scathing breakdown of why "design", and more specifically, "web design" is such a confusing and misunderstood trade. Plus a little insight into what skills a professional designer should have.
Design & Strategy
How To Be Creative
A great collection of rules that will help guide you to be more creative through any part of your business and life. Each piece is described in detail, but is still insanely useful as a simple list.
Be brave or go home
Perspective changing thoughts on how aggressive or bold you should be with your design intentions and business goals. Consistently being risky is the only long term way to be safe.
10 Things That Will Make Or Break Your Website
A great set of guidelines to understand as you're developing a strategy for your website. Most would probably work very well in other parts of your business as well.
Strategy by Design
A lengthy, but informative, walkthrough of what it means to have, and to use, strategy in your business and with your design intentions. People, places, and actions that should be thought through.
How A Pretty Face Can Push Visitors Away
Pictures often seem like they can professionalize and personalize a website, but much of the time it distracts and confuses the potential customer. If you're going to use imagery, use them the right way.
Simplicity & Execution
Is it really the number of features that matter?
Sometimes the value the feature gives isn't worth the confusion it can cause. The web is one of the only places you can do almost anything... But that doesn't mean you should.
Hungry? Want another bullshit sandwich?
A very upfront approach to what really happens with successful companies and successful design. What good design is to bad companies and bad design to good companies.
Featuritis vs. the Happy User Peak
What actually adds value and what are just bells and whistles. Surprisingly enough, fear is at the root of a lot of the reasons why people have such a hard time creating happy users.
The Break Up
A hilarious video that perfectly demonstrates what is so terribly wrong with today's traditional advertising and what people are actually looking for.
Questions & Answers
Why We Ask for a Budget
Simple and straightforward reasoning for asking for a budget early in a project outline. Great analogy that really helps get the point across in an interesting way.
The Business Value of Web Standards
A solid group of reasons why we build everything online to such high standards. Cleaner, faster, available to more people on more devices, and a better overall experience for the customer.
The Four Returns Of Social Media Marketing
Four serious reasons why we feel social media is an important part of building awareness and credibility online. It's one of the most effective way to demonstrate who you are broadly and cost effectively.