Thanks to all who have filled-out the survey! We’ve gotten some great responses — all of which are quite positive and inspiring. The winner of the book will be announced shortly.

A special announcement episode will be coming soon, so pardon the lull.

Consider this a Summer Break and enjoy your time off! {if it’s Summer where you live}

duration 28:27

In issue #24, we speak with Jason Santa Maria, designer to the stars.

Jason {from Twitter}

Be sure to take the CreativeXpert Survey. Thanks!

What I know of Jason is that I envy the work he does. He’s an incredible designer who not only is on everyone’s Twitter list, he’s presented at many of the cool design conferences that I wish I could attend.

One recent achievement was making the list of Extremely Heterosexualist Web Designers. Fawny.org says Jason Santa Maria is a densely packed, deceptively short powerhouse with giant paws and a macabre streak. Honest.

Jason is a Creative Director at Happy Cog Studios. To quote Happy Cog:

Jason has been recognized for designing stylistic and imaginative web interfaces that maintain a balance of usability and effective content presentation. His work has won dozens of awards, including seven Addys in 2004.

During the interview we face-off in the first-ever Word Association Smack-down | Houser -vs- Santa Maria.

Jason answers these questions:

• When did you first decide to become a designer?
• You consider yourself a Graphic Designer, but you must be involved with UI design and User Experience. What do you do most?
• What type of design do you like the most?
  
• What things inspire you most? And where do you find them?
• I know lots of designers say that they don’t seek inspiration online, that you can get inspiration from things not web-related, but since we work on the web, and our work shows-up on the web, don’t you find that it’s necessary to pick-up some things online?
• Do you use a sketchbook?
• What do you do to stay current or fresh?
• Are there techniques that you have yet to try? Any new tools or software?
• We have a comment from Brad Thomson on the WordPress design. Brad says: “Great job on your WordPress work! How did you get that gig, and how long did it take you? Can you describe the design steps?”
• Another question from Kelsie J: What’s your favorite donut, both in brand and in flavor?

This interview is the 6th in our re-design series over at Creative Component. Follow the blog as we go through a very public site design.

duration 2:00

Hello loyal listeners. I have a post-Independence Day* announcement!

I’m considering shaking things-up a bit here at CreativeXpert, by making the podcast a LIVE WEB DESIGN SHOW, where you can listen to the show online + participate in the show by calling-in and/or chatting with us live.

Along with the weekly guest, I’m also wanting to add a co-host or two. I think together, we could make CreativeXpert a really interactive program.

However, I would like your feedback. I’ve created a simple survey, and as a reward I’m going to give-away a book to a random entrant.

The winner can select either book:
“3DS MAX9 ACCELERATED” {still not available in stores}
“GOOGLE HACKS”.

Click Here to take the CreativeXpert survey.

*This really has nothing to do with Independence Day. It was just a way to use my July 4th fireworks, recorded in my yard. For our international constituents: Independence Day defined…

duration 38:34

In issue #23, we speak with Kate Rutter, a Senior Practitioner for Adaptive Path.
During her ten plus years in the web industry, she’s honed her talent for bringing companies and customers closer together through smart strategies and inventive design. She actively embraces the term “specialized generalist.”

Have questions for the show? Contact us now.

A website costs money. It’s your job, as a web professional, to make sure your website is written and designed well, that visitors can use it easily, that it’s accurate, and that it’s contributing to the achievement of your company’s mission.

Kate answers these questions and more:

• Why is site evaluation important?
• The best way to improve the effectiveness of a Web site is to have data that indicates how it’s performing. That would primarily be based on visitor’s experience. How do you get this information?
• Using tools that we’ve talked about before, like Google Analytics or Woopra, I can view the number of visits to a page, etc. But how can I measure satisfaction?
• I can know my audience through research: Surveys, Phone Calls, What about Profiles or fake personas? How are these effective? Like designing a site based on needs and expectations?
• I want to collect both quantity and quality results. What sort of Web Metrics or Web Analytics?

SIDE NOTE:
Government agencies are required by law to establish performance measures in their web practices, to show how they’re achieving their mission, and further — to make their annual performance plans readily available to the public. The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)

ANOTHER SIDE NOTE:
Listeners will appreciate a product coming soon from Clear-Left called Silverback. It’s An OSX application to help people run their own low-cost Guerrilla usability tests, combining screen activity and video from the built-in iSite camera. Sign-up for information at silverbackapp.com

• What about Usability testing?
• What about Quality and Compliance?
• What about Usability Goals — setting performance goals for your users. Can you talk about that? (the time it takes a user to find specific information, or submit data) — I sometimes think about this topic when bailing on an e-commerce form, hoping they’ll see me running-away from the transaction.
• On the topic of Parallel Design, I worked for an online company where we used a service that would deliver content to a small cross-section of members. This would allow Marketing to make design decisions based on user data. Very breakthrough, and I must also add that it was somewhat limiting as a designer — where I’m stressing that a particular look & feel is what will work, and being shown the data that proves otherwise.

Be careful when MOVING THE DOG DISH.

Evaluate the markup on your site using the Firefox plugin called The Web Developer Toolbar.

• Does the website work with CSS off? Meaning — can you read the content?
• Does the website work with Javascript disabled?
• is the website using tables for layout, instead of CSS?
• is all essential information in the HTML?
• is there extra code, non-essential information in the HTML?
• is the site all Flash?
• is there hidden content?
• is image replacement being used?

LINKS PROVIDED BY KATE:

The Elements of User Experience
Jesse James Garrett
http://www.jjg.net/elements/
(You can download the summary diagram of the elements from here.)

Content essay with Kristina Halvorson & Kate Rutter
http://www.adaptivepath.com/ideas/essays/archives/000959.php

Kristina Halvorson of Brain Traffic
! Big note !..I think I flaked and said BrainTree (thinking of Boston, apparently) and the company is Brain Traffic. http://www.braintraffic.com/

Jeff Veens old but still great essay on content inventory
Doing a Content Inventory (Or, A Mind-Numbingly Detailed Odyssey Through Your Web Site)
http://www.adaptivepath.com/ideas/essays/archives/000040.php
It’s a great way to start a site assessment.

This interview is the fifth in our re-design series over at Creative Component. Follow the blog as we go through a very public site design.

duration 29:24

In issue #22, we speak with Henning Fischer, a design strategist for Adaptive Path, whose principal focus is on design research and strategy development.

Have questions for the show? Contact us now.

If you’ve seen writer/director Cameron Crow’s 1996 film, JERRY MAGUIRE, you’ll remember Tom Cruise’s character, Jerry, typing vigorously at 1 o’clock AM at the Miami Hilton, fueled by passion. Jerry was writing a Mission Statement.

A large percentage of companies, including most of the Fortune 500, have corporate mission statements.

Mission statements are designed to provide direction and thrust to an organization, an enduring statement of purpose.

A mission statement explains the organization’s reason for being, and answers the question, “What business are we in?”

Henning answers these questions and more:

• Do small companies need mission statement too?
• How do I create a mission statement for my company?
• What are the differences between a Mission, Vision and Value statement?
• Should a mission statement be specific, or simply a 30,000 foot view?

Show listener Anonymous asks this question about living-up to a mission statement:

“I’ve worked at many organizations that had mission statements straight out of Dilbert, and don’t live the values they espouse, they’re just words on paper that have zero impact on action. Why does this lack of vision-transfer happen from the C-suite down? How can you get companies to wake up in middle management and start walking the talk?”

On the topic of Web Design & Development…

• Why is scope important, or even necessary?
• How do you determine Project Scope?
• In terms of the visitors of a website, it’s probably best to know your audience?
• On planning, what about setting objectives? Does this come from asking the hard-hitting questions?

Listener Elbowroom Design in Calgary, Alberta asks this question:

“Sometimes we get great ideas for a website once we’re halfway into the development project. By that point, it’s not called a good idea, it’s just something that gets in the way of meeting deadlines and budgets.
– What are some ways to shake out the important epiphanies at an early enough stage?”

Join us next week, when we speak with Kate Rutter, a Senior Practitioner at Adaptive path, who will be speaking on EVALUATING YOUR CURRENT WEB SITE.

Learn more about Henning and Adaptive Path on their web site.
Henning Fischer’s bio: www.adaptivepath.com/aboutus/henning.php
About Adaptive Path: www.adaptivepath.com/aboutus

JERRY MAGUIRE’S MISSION STATEMENT
The things we think and do not say: thoughts of a sports attorney

This interview is the fourth in our re-design series over at Creative Component. Follow the blog as we go through a very public site design.

duration 17:46

In issue #21, we speak to Lorraine Ball from Roundpeg, based in Carmel, Indiana.
Roundpeg helps small businesses become big businesses.

Lorraine believes that the only way to be successful is for a brand to stand for something, and to own that position in a consumer’s mind.

She says:

“It’s allot easier to use a brief statement, like we help small businesses become big businesses, and if I’ve caught their attention, when they ask me ‘how do you do that?’, for me to then go back and explain: We develop logos, we develop web sites, we develop marketing and business plans, etc. etc.”

“If someone is not interested in your message, there’s no reason to go to that next level. The same can be said for your branding communications, and certainly on your web site.”

Lorraine then explains that when a visitor comes to your site, they want to know immediately — have I come to the right place?.

Read more show notes on the Creative Component Re-Design site.

Visit Lorraine online at www.roundpeg.biz

The Twitter reference mentioned during the show is www.weallhatequickbooks.com.

Other interesting links from flickr.com:

Vintage Logos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_carl/sets/72157604144345854/
Advertising, 1950’s-1970’s:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkponk/sets/72157600267969060/

This interview is the third in our re-design series over at Creative Component. Follow the blog as we go through a very public site design.

duration 25:28

In issue #20 we meet Lea Alcantara of Lealea Design, who helps the arts community and niche small businesses find their identity to be seen, be heard, and be read.

Most people think that your BRAND is your logo or your identity. Lea explains that branding encompasses allot about the processes, the identity, the core and heart of your business, your values, etc.

“Your brand is about every single aspect that touches or interacts with your customer/intended audience.”

Lea mentions how stereotyping is important — get to the core of who you are.

We also hear about establishing a brand, honesty, integrity, and the most important aspect of branding: CONSISTENCY.

Visit Lea online at www.lealea.net

About Lea {from lealea.net}…
Lea Alcantara is the sole proprietor of Lealea Design and is often hired to kill bad design. A graduate of the Design Studies program at Grant MacEwan College, Ms. Alcantara started her career in 2003 as Print & New Media Specialist for a national Canadian security services firm, launching her own company, Lealea Design, in 2005. Ms. Alcantara’s articles have appeared in Design-in-Flight, and her Art of Self-Branding series has been linked and well-received by several design blogs and publications. Her thoughts and techniques regarding branding are also shared through her speaking engagements at conferences like the Future of Web Design 2007 in New York City and SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, TX.

This interview is the second in our re-design series over at Creative Component. Follow the blog as we go through a very public site design.

duration 17:46

In issue #19 we speak with Michael Boyink of Boyink Interactive, who provides Internet consulting and design to clients of all sizes.

Michael is known for his online ExpressionEngine training both on his site, and his EE training site, Train-EE.com. This interview covers the basics of building a site with ExpressionEngine, a commercial Content Management System {CMS}. We also discuss site architecture, specifically for ExpressionEngine.

ExpressionEngine is a content management system, designed by EllisLab. It is available in a free “Core Version”, and in both “Personal” and “Commercial” versions after paying a one-time fee. The current version is 1.6.3. Version 2.0 has been announced for “some time in the summer of 2008″.

ExpressionEngine is intended to be a simple, yet powerful content management system; for instance, it requires no knowledge of PHP, (but allows you to use it, if you want) and has extensive online documentation and a very active community of users and developers, with regular participation of the company’s lead programmers and other key personnel.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT…

This interview is the first in our re-design series over at Creative Component. Follow the blog as we go through a very public site design.