- Does design matter? (Spoiler alert: Yes)
- Kick a** latest creations from Vici
- Let’s talk Austin coffee (for the newbies in Session right now)
- Tips on best Mailchimp practices
Design touches nearly every part of our lives—often without us even realizing it. Teams of people spend their days thinking through every angle of our Coca-Cola bottles, automobiles, tennis shoes, iPhones (ok, fine…Androids too), the latest app, and, of course, websites.
What does design actually mean?
Generally speaking, design is the look and function of an object. Good design requires not only an aesthetic feel but a user-friendly functionality. What good is a beautiful website if it’s hard to navigate?
Why does good (web) design matter?
Design is more than a mechanism to display content. Among many other functions, it’s a tool to convey emotion. Design affects perceptions through the emotional experience created by the website, logo, or business card. A good design (aesthetics and functionality) generates a positive emotion that leads to increased engagement with the content and calls-to-action.
Think about it. We’ve all experienced that website where all you want is a telephone number. Five minutes later, you still haven’t found it and subconsciously you’re starting to question the competency of the business itself….because providing contact information should be part of Business 101.
The big “so-what”
Our world is becoming more and more digital. The way we consume information, communicate with friends and family, make reservations, order pizza, and conduct business is moving online.
Good design allows us to do these things effectively. Good design also creates a good impression, a positive emotion relating to the experience. And good experiences lead to loyal customers (or voters).
So, how do we approach the practice of good design? Our internal process revolves around three main conversations: the problem, the objective, and our solution.
Starting with a conversation with you, we explore each of those in depth and then craft a bespoke website based on your precise objectives and the best method of achieving them.
Check out a few of the latest…
Keep Austin Wired
(How to stay caffeinated)
In addition to being ambitious storytellers, have we mentioned we are avid coffee drinkers….coffee snobs, to be honest. We know many of you are new to Austin this session, so we thought we’d share some of our favorite spots in Austin.
This place serves amazing coffee, espresso, and cappuccinos 100% on their terms. If you want a crew that actually knows and cares about the craft of brewing or the specific flavor profiles of various coffee beans, then look no further.
Be warned, however, that you don’t go to Once Over for the service. This is not a feel-good coffee shop where baristas offer meaningless over-the-counter compliments to cover up the fact that you’re about to consume black tar water infused with caffeine…you go there for insanely good coffee. (The owner, Rob, though is quite affable.)
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the amazing taco food truck that’s right outside.
Andrei is super excited about El Primo
Radio Coffee and Beer
Located in south Austin, Radio shares Once Over’s reputation for insanely good coffee but without the internal struggle of whether or not you should apologize to the barista for interrupting their day to order coffee.
The WiFi is top notch and their beer selection is impressive (for a coffee shop). Be sure to stop by if you can.
OPA Coffee and Wine Bar
We consider OPA “the office” many days out of the month. When it comes to the coffee, our team is divided. Some love the Texas Pecan (dripped) roast, whereas others scoff at the idea of sipping a dripped coffee (who knew people still actually use coffee pots…).
Their lamb infused meatballs are amazing and the happy hour starts at 3 p.m.! The homey feel leaves you wanting to kick off your shoes, stretch out on one of the couches, and read your favorite book.
Mozart’s Coffee Roasters
We all agree: no one goes for the coffee. You go for the view. Enough said.
Good design matters because it affects our emotions, which in turn shapes our perceptions. So how can you incorporate good design practices into your online presence? Well, you’ve taken a big first step in the right direction when you hired Vici! Now that we’ve gotten our own self-promotion out of the way, let’s talk about what you can do in your day-to-day routines.
Many of you send out regular newsletters to your audiences…so does everyone else. How do you rise above all the “noise” on the Internet?
Mailchimp provides some great tips on how to fashion effective and visually appealing newsletters that capture and keep your readers’ attention. Check out their tips . Let us know if you have any questions on how to get started!