Post pobrano z: Separating Gimmicks from UX Add-ons: Fine-Tuning your Ecommerce Site

One of the most important things that separates an industry-leading product from a regular brand is the time spent on user experience (or UX). Improving the usability of your website is something that should always be on your mind as it builds a competitive advantage. A site that only allows to you shop at a basic level is not something that 21st century customers want. These days, customers want an experience. Something that no other company can offer them.

At an ecommerce level, you probably can’t make a completely unique experience for your users, but you can implement some UX features that will benefit your site rather than hinder it.

Homepage Carousel

For the uninitiated, a carousel is a scrolling marquee of pictures or videos that is usually placed at the top of your homepage to highlight certain products. Carousels are huge on ecommerce website homepages as they showcase whatever products you are having deals on or just focus on the products that might need more advertising space. A survey from Baymard Institute found that 52 percent of the top US ecommerce websites utilize a homepage carousel on their website.

Not Using Stock Photos

If you don’t see anything wrong with using a stock photo on a website that sells things, you might want to rethink your strategy. While stock photos aren’t inherently awful, they are pretty terrible as far as customer experience is concerned. People can generally spot stock photos from a mile away and are often so generic that they can make your shop seem insincere or even fraudulent.

Imagine you are on an ecommerce web page that is positing itself as a seller of premium products and/or services. If they were using stock photos to help advertise on their website, what would you think? At the very least you’d probably think that the seller was trying to save a few pennies by not hiring a professional photographer to take product pictures. Using pictures on your website is designed to give your page a customized and emotive appeal.

Keep Your Website Simple

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. If you can get from Point A to Point B quickly, why take any detours? Some web developers will add a whole bunch of unnecessary design elements that are not needed for function, and often will put stress on the overall user experience. Creative appeal should be achieved in the aesthetic layout of your website, not by creating more web pages or hoops for your customers to jump through before they get to the checkout. Always keep the amount of clicks in mind when designing anything for your ecommerce store. Your conversions depend on it.

Simple Search Page & Results

The ability to search through your website is a benefit that cannot be understated. Make your search bar easily found. Typically this will be in the navigation section of your website and on every single page. Adding a search bar is the low-hanging fruit of the UX world. While adding one may not necessarily boost the overall experience in a meaningful way, not having one will definitely impact you negatively.

The results page of the search should also be as clean and effective as possible. It should direct people to the right products in a way that doesn’t detract from your overall aesthetic. Most prepackaged enterprise ecommerce solutions will have some sort of search bar built-in.

Creating a great user experience is hard, but you don’t have to swing for the fences from the very beginning. Start out by taking care of the above tips and then get observant. Through customer surveys, you can start to understand what your customers are having issues with, what’s keeping them from converting, and why they would or would not shop with you again.

Think of websites that you personally enjoy visiting and come up with a list as to why. Then look at your website and compare it to the sites you like shopping on. By staying objective and putting yourself in the shoes of an online consumer, you’ll start to get an idea of if you are making it harder or easier (enjoyable or unenjoyable) for your customers to purchase from you.

Post pobrano z: Intermarche: #lamourlamour

Film
Intermarche

Advertising Agency:Romance, France
Ceo:Christophe Lichtenstein
CoFounder:Christophe Lichtenstein
Executive Creative Director:Alexandre Hervé
Copywriter:Alexandre Hervé
Strategic Director:Romain Roux
Copywriters:vincent Boursaud, Julien Bon, Gautier Fage
Art Directors:vincent Boursaud, Julien Bon, Gautier Fage
Tv Prod:Sophie Megrous
Postproduction:Jérôme Deplatière
Director:Katia Lewkowicz
Production:Carnibird

Post pobrano z: Yellow Pages: How to not do it yourself

Online
Yellow Pages

PagesJaunes turned to Sid Lee Paris to help them take a stand against the Do It Yourself movement and, with a dash of humor, remind us that nobody does it like a professional. To prove their assertion, the the agency created 3 videos of a whole new genre: Tutorials about how to not do it yourself.

PagesJaunes asked 3 of the most followed French tutorial YouTubers to try something new – create their own satirical tutorials wherein they sit idly by while a PagesJaunes professional gives a demonstration of their know-how – the way it should be done if you want the best results.

Advertising Agency:Sid Lee, Paris, France
Executive Creative Director:Sylvain Thirache
Creative Directors:Céline Mornet Landa, Clément Mornet Landa
Senior Art Director:Yoann Plard
Art Directors:Hugo Demazière, Sophie Dherbecourt
Managing Partner:Johan Delpuech
Deputy General Manager:Bruno Lee
Account Director:Jean-Baptiste Destabeau
Account Manager:Thomas Lec’hvien
Production Director:Thomas Laget
Producer:Nicolas Lasjaunias, Julia Dutriez
Digital Production Director:David Bismut
Digital Producer:Clément Cassajus
Production:Grand Crème
Director:Hugo Kerr
1st Assistant:Gilles Langlois
Director Of Photography:Sébastien Marchaland
Cameraman:Gabriel Dugue
Photographer:Hugo Souchet

Post pobrano z: Looma Creative Services: Before/After Ads
Print
Looma

Your ad before, your ad after.

Advertising Agency:Looma, Kiev, Ukraine
Creative Director:Sergey Prokopchuk
Illustrator:Looma

Post pobrano z: 40 Typography Based Logos

Typography is defined as “the art or process of printing with type” (Dictionary.com). It truly is an art and can be the difference between success and failure. For example, logo typography is all about appealing to your target market in the form of letters and type. A certain style of typography can either attract or repel that target market, so selecting the appropriate typography is crucial.

I’ve gone ahead and put together a collection of 40 typography logos for your inspiration. Enjoy!

Credit to respective artists.

Conclusion

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this weeks logo design roundup! But even more importantly, I hope that you’ve been able to find some inspiration for your next logo project. Remember, typography is an art that can be the difference between a logo’s success and failure.

Thanks for stopping by!

Post pobrano z: Chevrolet: How Can I Help?

Online
Chevrolet

In Women’s Month, Publicis Salles Chemistri created a campaign for Chevrolet that encourages the public to thank for all the help they receive from the special women in their lives.

Advertising Agency:Publicis Salles Chemistri, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Creative Director:Hugo Rodrigues, Domenico Massareto, Luis Felipe Figueiredo
Art Director:Flávio Toscano
Copywriter:Rodolfo Monteiro
Photographer:Léo Kawabe
Head Of Art:Marie Julie Gerbauld
Accounting Mananger:Marcos Vinicio, Vinícius Zuñiga, Stefany Soria
Planning:Eduardo Lorenzi, Bibiana Lopez, Bruno Midea
Media:Miriam Shirley, Silvia Tajiki, Erica Cappellano, Marco Iadocico, Thais Marques
Traffic:Rose Ramalho
Rtv:Tato Bono, Dani Toda, Cayan Lobo
Producer:Trust Filmes
Film Director:Levi Riera
Finnisher:Leandro Torres
Sound Producer:Comando S
Client Approval:Renato Heiffig, Aline Aquilino

Post pobrano z: Poaching other’s ideas? / Pris la main dans le sac?

THE ORIGINAL? Fundacion Vida Silvestre – 2006 Source : NYF BRONZE Medalist Agency : Ogilvy (Argentina)	LESS ORIGINAL PETA Anti-poaching / Watch the Case-Study Film – 2016 Source : Cannes GOLD LION, Spikes Asia SILVER Agency : Ogilvy & Mather Bangkok (Thaïland)

Post pobrano z: An incorrigible seducer / Quiproquo-pycat?

THE ORIGINAL? Renault Dacia “séduction” – 2011 Source : Stratégies Agency : Publicis Conseil Paris (France)	LESS ORIGINAL Ford Ka Plus “la séduction” – 2017 Source : Stratégies, CB NEWS Agency : GTB Paris / WPP (France)

Post pobrano z: 23 Bake Designs Fresh Out’ The Oven

Few things make me more excited than when I know someone’s been baking in the kitchen, and I hear that final oven ding. I get a rush of adrenaline, making me to sprint at a speed quicker than normal. I’m always the first one to snatch a goodie off the oven rack.

But that’s just me. Maybe some of you don’t even like baked goods? If that’s the case, I can guarantee you’ll at least appreciate the collection below of baking related designs; from cookbooks, to the local bakery on the corner. I hope that this collection serves as inspiration for all of you! Enjoy!

Credit to respective artists.

credit:Gentiana Shabani

credit:Sorbet Design

credit:KJ Mska

credit:Marc Cybe

credit:Amber Dee

credit:Laura Reeves

credit:Sarah Brockett

credit:Rosie Gopaul

credit:Shao ?

credit:Eszter Laki

credit:Ralee N.

credit:filthymedia ltd

credit:Nastya Novikova

credit:Martin Dvorak

credit:Alyssa MacLeod

credit:Jing Gao

credit:Christos Andronicou

credit:Laith Wallace

credit:nathan somers

credit:Sarah Babetski

credit:Amanda Lee Krueger

credit:Shai Long

Post pobrano z: Getting Creative with Big Data: How Web Designers Made Numbers More Exciting

Turning something objectively boring into something subjectively engaging isn’t easy. When you’ve got an attractive subject or a gorgeous setting to work with, making something creative doesn’t take as much effort. For example, if you were staring across the horizon from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain, you’d probably be able to think of a dozen different ways to take an inspiring picture or paint an abstract representation of the landscape.

However, what do you do when you’re presented with something as bland as a bunch of numbers? If you’re a website owner or developer in 2017, you know that numbers and data are now a major part of the game. Indeed, big data, as it’s technically known, has been helping to improve efficiency, increase engagement and generally give more depth to a variety of industries and endeavors.

Big Data is Changing the Way we Interact with the World

For example, Bernard Marr for Forbes has pointed out that big data was extremely helpful for Walmart during Hurricane Sandy. Following a series of storms in 2004, the company was able to compile a wealth of statistics about how people shop in an emergency. Fast-forward to 2012 and Walmart was able to stock up on items such as strawberries and Pop Tarts, all of which virtually sold out, due to the statistical insights from 2004.

Beyond businesses using big data to boost their bottom lines, consumer-facing websites have also made use of big data in recent years. Take, for instance, online bookmakers. These sites are basically statistical hubs where sports fans can go to get the lowdown on everything from a team’s/athlete’s past results to their future chances of success through various betting odds.

Unfortunately, as insightful and important as this information is in both instances, there really isn’t anything sexy about numbers. Now, in the case of Walmart, it doesn’t really matter if the company is creative with the presentation of the data or not. However, when you visit websites where statistical information is important but not the main reason for a person visiting the site (i.e. they’re mainly there for some form of entertainment), endless lists of data can be mind numbing.

Fortunately, as the use of big data has increased, web designers have responded in some clever ways.

Presentation is Key to Consuming Stats in Seconds

If we go back to our sports betting example, the way odds are now collated and presented has improved dramatically. Instead of bland tables filled with whitespace and nothing but numbers, operators will now incorporate images and icons to inject some colour into proceedings. For example, if someone wanted to find the latest AFL betting odds, they’d visit a site like Oddschecker. Each table on said website not only pulls in data from a variety of sources, but it contains a variety of interactive elements. From the + icon that adds bets to a user’s account with a little animation to auto-scroll links, the page feels a lot less mundane.

Similarly, when a punter wants to get more insight into a future game, they can click through Oddschecker’s AFL tips section and get important numerical insights through the use of infographics. For example, if someone wanted to know how many “net free kicks” each AFL team were award in 2016, they could get this information just be looking at the site’s graphical representation. Now, as well as making bland data more visually appealing, infographics also help increase engagement and retention. Visitors can tell they’re getting an abundance of useful information at first sight.

According to Identity PR, infographics do not only distil a lot of information and present it in an attractive way, but people are 30 times more likely to read articles with visuals in them. Moreover, the brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text. So, the use of infographics is actually something that bridges the gap between style and substance perfectly.

Subtle Mind Games Make Data More Appealing

Source: Visual News

Looking towards another creative way to display big data findings, color, and orientation of images can be hugely important. If we take FightMetric as an example, you can see that the designers have tied the theme of the site (i.e. mixed martial arts) with its styling.

For instance, in an MMA bout, each fighter is assigned a color e.g. the red corner and the blue corner. Taking this convention, FightMetric colors each opposing stat in either red or blue. So, if a user wanted to compare the total number of strikes thrown vs. the number of strikes landed, they could quickly do this by noting how the red stacks up against the blue. To help promote this idea of one stat vs. another, FightMetric also uses semi-transparent boxouts. Instead of solid blocks of color, you can see through the boxout and make out the details of the fight image in the background. This almost gives the impression of a HUD that appears to be working in real-time.

Finally, and this is a subtle design consideration, many of the stats are noted as XX “of” XX. For fight fans, this use of the word “of” is one that will feel very familiar. Phrases such as “we’re entering round 2 of three” are common in the fight game and, therefore, help to give less significant stats more relevance.

Big Data is Great, but Only if it Looks Great

In a world where technology is increasingly making use of big data, the presentation of something traditionally uninspiring has become extremely important. As we said at the top of this article, it’s easy to take something beautiful and be creative with it. However, when you’re presented with a spreadsheet full of numbers that someone needs to make sense of and not fall asleep, things get a little tougher.

However, where there is a will there is a way. Using a little bit of artistic flair and some clever psychological tricks, web designers have been able to make something boring into something engaging. So, the next time you look at a website filled with stats, make sure you take note of any creative quirks the developers have used to make your experience a little less laborious.

Featured image by Dennis Kummer