Pemaquid Communications

Just read an article today on how people go about finding the best deals on travel sites. One self-proclaimed road warrior says he starts with Orbitz.com, because he “likes the layout”. He’ll move on to Expedia or Travelocity if he doesn’t find what he’s looking for, but its interesting to note that he starts on a particular site because of how it looks and how the information is presented.

All things being equal, good design is a key differentiator that will help your site stand out from the crowd. It shouldn’t be given short shrift.

One important rule we try to follow @ Pemaquid is to always have 3-4 Sharpies and tall stacks of blank paper when meeting w/a Client to review design comps.

It’s the easiest way to sketch out your design thoughts visually. It’s faster than using a whiteboard, and it’s much easier to sketch out ajax or design interactions with Clients - especially those who aren’t particularly Web-savvy - than it is to try to explain it to them verbally.

Scanning through Cameron Moll’s book Mobile Web Design, and he points out the difference between Art and Design:

…what separates design from art is that design ‘is meant to be functional’.

I couldn’t agree more. The graphical, visual look of a Web site, in order to succeed, must serve to make the site useful.