Thoughts on Digital Life

New Year Resolutions are often a bit strange. As if you haven't done something correct this year and need to change for the better the next year. Well, maybe you didn't do anything wrong this year. But I'd like to put some thoughts forward for 2015. 1. Think first, act after In my previous post I was already raving about Design Principles. Next year I will try implement those more often. Sometimes projects were so small this year that I simply couldn't sell Design Principles as part of the project. Next year I will always set Design Principles for every project - even if we can't charge it to anyone. They should be a part of the project. 2. Quality When you've been working in the business for 16 years there's the danger of routines. In the past I've seen people get stuck into a routine that worked and I have always vowed to move out when that happens. I'd feel like you put a coin in me for me to dance. Dance monkey! As I do every year I vow...

In this post I'd like to dive into Design Principles. To me, they are one of the best things ever in this line of business. What are Design Principles? Design Principles are a set of rules you define with your client. They provide direction in your design process. They give the design process a clear and shared vision and help in making decisions. Finally, they describe the meaning of your product or service to the customer. I myself mostly use them for the clear and shared vision and as an aid in making decisions. Principles first! It's important to write the Design Principles before starting the webdesign. You need everyone to agree to the Design Principles before you start your design task. There's a simple reason behind this: think first, act after. If you're developing the Design Principles during the design phase you'll most likely write them so they match what you're doing in the design. Example: I always have a Design Principle stating "Cu...

Client call coming in. "Hello good people of Agency X, we need a website. It needs to be done in one month, may cost us $ 10.000 and we need it to reach 200.000 visits of which 10% needs to subscribe to our e-mail newsletter. Can you help us out?". There isn't an agency or individual out there who is going to answer the question with a no and rightly so. Very often clients have no idea what they are really asking for nor do the agencies. What was your initial thought after reading the first paragraph? It should probably have been: why is the client asking for this? Back to basics Many agencies take a client brief like the one above and take it "home" to develop. This basically means they start brainstorming , often with limited information. I've seen it before and have lost the occassional pitch against another agency because their story "looked better". However, I would always insist on getting some information if your Account Executive or S...

I've just created this blog. My intention is to write down whatever I experience in the industry - and have an opinion. I've been working in the world of digital media for just over 15 years and I have worked on CD-ROM presentations (they were once cool), animations, flash websites, games (incl. Nintendo DS) and big webdesign projects. I've worked for clients such as Philips Lighting, Philips Medical, Shell, Sony, MasterCard, McDonald's, Nickelodeon, MTV Networks, Q Dance, Unibet, Warner Brothers, Universal, Tork, Talpa, Studio100, Adecco, KIA, Knauf, DAF, KLM, Aegon and many more, both big and small. I intend to look at stuff from both angles: agency and client. I hope my insights will help others when tackling a web project, whether you're from an agency or a client. I've already got my first items to write about: Starting a project, Design Principles and Content. My goal is to write my first 3 articles before Christmas. All the best, Corné