Entries for month: December 2009
15 December 2009
Good Enough is the New Great
In the New York Times Annual "Year in Ideas" issue, that came out this past Sunday, December 13, 2009, there are a collection of ideas that the editors believe characterized the year. One idea that caught my attention was titled, "Good Enough is the New Great," and was described by Robert Mackey. Mackey contends that everywhere you look, people are accepting a lower level of technology and quality in exchange for ease-of-use and lower cost. Mackey provides examples such as the growth of Flickr, which displays snapshots often taken with cell phones and cheap point and shoot cameras. Despite the easy availability of multi-megapixel cameras with zoom lenses and auto focus, iPhone images are "good enough." Although high definition plasma TV's are available, more and more people spend time watching blurry, low-res videos on their laptops or iPhones. Younger audiences he contends, actually prefer the lower-end sound of music on an iPod than then the crisper fidelity of a CD and so forth. In the field of graphic and web design, this has been true for some time, although 2009 put the ! on the concept.
Because websites are so ubiquitous and it doesn't take much expertise to put up a templated site, even in many cases where a client needs a website with a lot of customization or strategic insight, they are often willing to go for a "good enough" solution if it's cheap and reasonably professional. Recently a former client for whom we created a website in 2005 came back to us for a new site. The specifications were similar to the site we created 4 years ago plus a few extra features that are now available. When I brought out the budget from 2005, and said the new budget would be about the same, I thought by not passing on our increased expenses, I was being sensitive to economic realities. The client informed me that our budget was higher than others she was speaking with. Although that client had come to me in 2005, looking for something great, she was measuring us against a set of vendors who had the distinction of providing a "good enough" solution at a "great" price.
The notion of great to me has always meant providing the A+ in all facets, i.e., navigation, messaging, design, use of technology and client service. Great meant we'd differentiate our clients by sweating the details the way a craftsman does. Great meant we offered guidance on the business implications of our sites, not just navigation and design. Because I was classically trained in the most rigorous manner in a Bauhaus-inspired design program, it was always ingrained in me to do things the right way and I've always surrounded myself with like-minded people. As we enter 2010, due to the pace of business, speed of communication, fear of the economy, advent of new technologies du jour and general stress in the work force, business is getting back to basics. People have something of a "wing it" attitude and if winging it saves time and money without too much of a hit on quality, it's a wrap.
"Good Enough" is a trend worth watching. Businesses in 2010 will continue to be primarily budget-driven with regard to interactive services, and firms like RainCastle will need to work with that. It will also be incumbent upon us to remind our clients and prospects that if they view their online presence as something that should create competitive differentiation, help increase leads and improve business, sometimes good enough is not good enough.
Photo: davitydave. Flickr.
Categories:
Posted by Paul Regensburg at 5:45 AM |
08 December 2009
Using Video to Put a New Spin on an Old Story
I'm struck by a wistfulness in some of my clients when we work together. They tell me that the work on which we collaborate — creating their brand and web experiences is the most fun they have in their job. I'm happy to represent that for them and feel that as hard as we all work, it's important to find some joy and perhaps tap into that passion that originally led us down the path to where we are today.
My job seems to many to be fun. My company makes things. There is creativity in what we produce and subjectivity in how it is received by clients. But, while this is true, even in our field, there is repetitiveness and some of the mundane. Back in June, I began thinking about a fresh way to convey how RainCastle thinks, on our new website, which has now launched (www.raincastle.com). Watching HBO's "In Treatment" one night, I had an inspiration. For those of you unfamiliar with "In Treatment," Gabriel Byrne, a terrific actor, plays the part of a psychiatrist and each night of the week he sees a different patient. These dramatic and expertly crafted sessions make up the show. You get to follow psychiatrist, Dr. Paul Weston (Byrne's character), as he guides each patient through issues and crises, in most cases toward greater self-awareness. I've often felt there are parallels with how we consult with our clients, and the approach of a shrink. We're both diagnosing a problem by analyzing a symptom and sometimes delving into its root cause. In our case the patient may have an underperforming website, marketing campaign or brand.
Once I considered this notion, I wrote the script for the first video, "Web's Home" (www.raincastle.com) attempting to capture the nature of how I problem solve, which is to guide my clients down a path that enables them to draw the right conclusions and make the best decisions about their brand or interactive experience.
Inspired by "In Treatment," I called my show, "InTension," because, after all it is marketing that we're doing. I wrote each script as a metaphor, made up the tongue-in-cheek t-shirts with the "patient" names printed on them and recruited friends to play the "patients." In "Web's Home," my friend Doug plays the role of Web. He feels loneliness and isolation because everyone who comes to his "home," leaves as soon as they arrive. As the "Dr.," I ask him why he thinks this is happening and through the ensuing dialogue, lead him down the "healing path" to a home (page) renovation, aka, a new website.
In 2010, there is little mystery in creating a website, assuming a website is the end game. Why clients need a "web Dr." is that their websites have become a critical marketing tool connected to and sometimes the centerpiece of an increasingly complex, multi-faceted marketing ecosystem that conjoins search, email marketing, social media and traditional media. Viewing the website as a commodity or ignoring its place in the marketing ecosystem is a sure way to negatively influence the health of your company. And in that instance you're out of luck, since I'm not licensed to prescribe medication.
Categories: General
Posted by Paul Regensburg at 12:14 PM | 1 Comment
01 December 2009
What Crowdsourcing Can Teach Designers
We recently won a competitive situation and will provide web site design, a pay-per-click (PPC) Search program, eMarketing and brand messaging for a company run by engineers. The company had originally been referred to us for "a website." When I asked the client why he chose RainCastle, he said we were more strategic in our approach, viewing the web in the realm of marketing rather than technically, and that we understood how engineers view marketing ... or don't. Generally, he felt confident that we could work with his senior people and successfully guide them through a process. The consultative approach remains viable in the age of social media.
The other side of the coin is the social media trend of "crowdsourcing" which I've been observing this past year with interest. Wikipedia defines Crowdsourcing, for those unfamiliar with the term, as "a neologism for the act of taking tasks traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing them to a group (crowd) of people or community in the form of an open call. For example, the public may be invited to develop a new technology, carry out a design task (also known as community-based design and distributed participatory design), or help capture, systematize or analyze large amounts of data (see also citizen science)."
I've seen logos and brochures crowdsourced for lower fees than I charged as an art student in the early 80's. And for that work, only one person in the crowd of contributors gets paid. From my perspective, as a trained design professional and owner of a creative business, I view this as more complex than just an example of using technology to devalue the design profession. While I believe a logo is a strategic brand asset, strategy is in the eye of the client. Assuming a client is open-minded, it's my job as a design professional to sell strategic value. If a client decides that a logo or even the name of their company is not of strategic value, then exploiting a wealth of inexpensive talent makes sense for them. The notion of crowdsourcing should remind all design professionals that business is most often the context for design. Those who master it will be the kind of strategic partners that will keep the crowd at bay.
I'd be interested in hearing about your views and experiences and insights with crowdsourcing. I suspect there are other uses of crowdsourcing such as for science, where the notion is collaborative rather than competitive.
Photo from The Moonstone Archive, Flickr
Categories: Web / Interactive
Posted by Paul Regensburg at 9:47 PM | 1 Comment
