Andy Rutledge : Design View

Volume Doesn't Matter

Tue, 6 May 2008 14:55:31 -0600

Despite what you’ve read, the volume of text on your page in and of itself has no impact on the success of your site. Statisticians will tell you otherwise, because they observe specific behaviors and perceive patterns and think that their perceptions easily translate into concrete conclusions. They’re usually wrong on this score. The fact is, it doesn’t matter what volume of copy you have if the copy is well designed.

Unit's New Face and Office Space

Thu, 1 May 2008 13:22:31 -0600

Since we started eleven months ago, UnitInteractive has been sharing office space with a product marketing company. It has been a pleasant (and quite economical) experience, but we’ve been hungry for our own space and room to stretch our legs. With the acquisition of a new team member, it was time to make the move and get our own place. As of this week, we’ve officially moved into our new digs in Plano, Texas.

Criticism: Myths and Childishness

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:50:31 -0600

Regular readers of my articles know that I have no qualms or fear of offering criticism. Criticism is a vital component in what we do and in how we learn. In fact, critical evaluation is mandatory in design work. Without approaching, or at least finishing, every step of our work with a critical eye the results are likely worthless. And we’ve much to learn from what design criticism can teach us. Yet the more articles and criticism responses I read, the more I’m led to believe that too many designers misunderstand criticism.

Calculating Hours - the Client Factors

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 10:10:31 -0600

Pricing for services is one of the vital realms where design professionals do not often possess significant skill. And this is a shame because price estimation skill is often directly tied to a designer’s ability to keep clients happy and derive a sense of satisfaction from the work; important stuff. So in this article I want to examine some of the common but not oft-cited factors that affect project hours’ calculations and how these factors affect our pricing considerations, all in an effort to help designers avoid pricing mistakes.

Poynter's Eye-tracking Follies

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 12:50:31 -0600

Poynter released their EyeTrack ’07 study findings some months ago and while this effort was not a completely useless study like their previous one, I thought it would be good to revisit how these sorts of studies can unnecessarily distract us in our design efforts. What follows is an updated, edited, and expanded version of my previously published article on Poynter’s Eyetrack III study.

A Sense of Non-Commitment

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:10:31 -0600

I think that there’s a disconnect or disharmony in motivations and a certain obliviousness to (or ignorance of) facts among many designers. I think that many designers believe that building a reputation as a designer is the same thing as building a reputation as a professional. It’s not; certainly not as demonstrated by many designers.

How and Why: Styling Text Links

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:05:31 -0600

Poorly styled text links can detract from or ruin an otherwise well-designed page, while appropriately styled text links can add significant support to the brand and enhance the user experience. Since text links are a significant feature of the online experience, it’s an element of design worth getting right.

My Teacher

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:05:31 -0600

Ongoing education is something I expect all designers who are long out of school crave. Of course many of us work to educate ourselves daily by various means, but the luckiest among us have teachers or mentors who provide hands-on instruction on some regular basis. Last week my teacher came for his annual visit and I’m still reeling from the experience.

A Brand Synopsis

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:15:31 -0600

I probably should have read a few brand promises from other companies before resolving that ours is “done” or “right,” but we believe that we’re somewhat unique as a company, in many respects. So we’re going with this one. Therefore, this is something of a blind study. I hope it might spark some thought on the subject and hope that it might even help others working on similar efforts.