Problems with my current brand

Logo – I used to love my logo, now not so much. I’m not quite sure what’s happened from then till now, but I think I’m looking for something a little simpler.

Website isn’t dynamic – Since I created my current website my skill set has increased greatly. A few things that I’ve added to my belt is some php, wordpress as cms, and a bit of jquery. I want to create a dynamic website using these new found tools.

More social integration – Right now my website is behind a few years mainly because it doesn’t have any kind of social integration i.e. twitter, facebook, digg, and all those others. I use these things but don’t have a way for people to know about them when they visit my website.

Overall visual appeal – My website right now is too dark, I want to get away from that with my new design. I want to make it look more professional but also let it show more of my personality, maybe showcase a bit of my illustration skills.

Inspiration

I’ve mentioned that I’ve been inspired by a few designers websites, so here they are:

After seeing these don’t you want to redesign your website!?

This is one of the most useful generators I’ve come across recently. Finally a generator that will create CSS sprites automatically, no more loading images in photoshop and piecing them together (although I love photoshop). This makes it quick and painless to reduce the number of http requests on the page for smaller images.

Step 3: Don’t even touch that computer!

After I’ve collected all the information that I need, I put my computer to sleep and take out the old notebook and BRAINSTORM!

Sketch sketch sketch, get all your ideas down before you start coding. Here’s an example of what one of my sketches look like:

notebook

They are usually a lot messier than this but for the sake of your eyes I cleaned one up a bit.

Step 4: Turn on that computer but don’t start coding just yet!

Now comes the fun part…translation from notepad to photoshop (or gimp or whatever).

• If you are like me always remember to organize from the very beginning, those 2 or 3 layers will soon turn into 30 or 50.
• Make variations! Don’t just settle on one design you never know what your client is going to like.
• Optimize your images for the web. It’s very important to do this step because it cuts down the file size when it comes to loading them on the web.

Everyone’s photoshop process is different and mine changes from project to project. There are plenty of tutorials out there to help you learn web design photoshop techniques. Some of my favorites are:

• Web 2.0 style buttons
• Large sprite piece photoshop tutorial
• Graphic design studio web layout tutorial

Step 5: Show off to your clients.

Now that you’ve got a presentable layout and design, show it off. Usually I like to batch the photos into pdf format and send it that way.

Step 6: Now wait, and get out of the computer chair.

If you’re like me you haven’t stopped until step 5 has finished. I like to follow through if I have a good design. Get out of your computer chair, get some coffee, take a walk, kiss your cat that you’ve been neglecting unkakjjfekffifele it stefrerereps on yourrryyytyt keybkjaljreahlkjrd.

Ok that’s it for Part 2, hope you’ve enjoyed it! Want to read more? Go to Part 3.

Step 1: So I’ve got the clients interest, now what?

I send out a routine email asking a few questions that help me understand more about the client and what they want and need.

What do you want your website to do for you?

This question is useful for the client as well as myself. It allows them to think about what there website is actually for, believe it or not a lot of people can’t answer this question very well, they just have a mishmash of content on there website not really having a clear focus. It helps to figure out which content needs to go and which content needs to stay.

What is your target audience? (age/level of internet experience)

This helps determine the overall design and look of the website. If it’s geared towards the pre-web generation than easy navigation and simple layout is in need. If it’s geared towards the younger generation that’s grown up with the internet and knows the ins and outs a lot more advanced things can be done with it.

What image do you want to portray?

This is the big one. Make sure the client elaborates on this one, the more information the better. After all as a web designer what were you hired for if not to portray their image on the web?

What do you absolutely definitely want on your website?

If you’re redesigning a website, this is helpful in deciding if they want brand new content (writing, images, colors) or maybe they want to keep some. If creating a website from scratch this is important in deciding what exactly they want on there website. This question is also helpful in breaking down the cost. If they want a basic 10 page website, you charge them your basic rate, if they want to add some flash or a Wordpress blog, you charge them extra. Simple as that!

Can you list some websites that you like/like aspects of and why?

This one is really helpful for me. It lets me get inside the clients head for a bit. It tells me what they think looks good as a website. It also gives me some inspiration as to how to design there website.

Whatever you do asking questions like these at the beginning of the process is very important and starts the client/webdesigner communication off very well and very informed.

Step 2: Set price and deadlines

Communication is key. Let your clients know your set price. Send them an invoice whatever you do to let them know the deal.

Set your deadlines. You know yourself and what you can do and how fast you can do it. Set a reasonable deadline that you know you can reach and then add some, you never know what could happen to slow you down.

That’s it for Part 1 want to read more? Go to Part 2.