Category Archives: Interactive

posted by Guests

Mar 31, 2011 @ 9:00am

Stop Guessing and Learn to Talk to Real People.

Build better sites and apps by getting to know the people who use them.
PART 1 of 2
By Dean Schuster, truematter

The manic drive to create websites and mobile apps quickly and cheaply requires huge sacrifices. Is complex functionality the first to go? Hardly. How about the content management system? Goodness no. Trendy design? Please.

The first casualty of most Web projects is, unfortunately, concern for the people who will use them. After all, people might actually have something to say about that nifty mobile app you’re building. Can’t have that. Ignore them and your preconceived ideas can flourish. Your site is probably already done.

This sounds absurd, but it has become an epidemic. The drive to build right now overcomes the small voice that asks, “Build what? For whom?”  We’ve created a culture of compromise.

I propose a radical idea. Maybe, just maybe, we should talk to the people who use our websites and mobile apps before we build the stuff for them. Radical ideas are bitterly opposed by the status quo. Sure enough, most Web teams avoid researching or interacting with people before they dive into work. I suppose they trust their own instincts or (gasp) make things up as they go.

I do not trust my instincts. Neither should you.

Talk to People First

Shockingly, real people have constructive things to tell us about themselves and their needs. If we ask, people will help us define our work in such a way that it has a greater chance of success. But here’s the thing. We have to interact with them before committing to a project direction.

There are several practical ways to do this:

  • Field Research: Observe people in their own environment.
  • Early Usability Testing or Prototyping: Test mock-ups with real people.
  • Direct Interaction: Talk with people.

Today, let’s focus on Direct Interaction. The principle is simple. If you are building an app for an amusement park, talk with amusement park enthusiasts. If you’re building a site that sells high-end bicycles, get up early on a Saturday and talk to cyclists. You’ll want to know the basics:

  • What are they like?
  • What do they do everyday?
  • How might the thing you’re building help them do what they do?

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posted by Cathy

Nov 22, 2010 @ 7:58pm

4 Lessons from the “Will We Ever Get This Website Live” Project

Late last week we debuted a significant update to our website, riggspartners.com. We did so without much fanfare; there were no email announcements, no Facebook status updates, no tweets.

Do you find this odd? I mean, we are in the business, after all. But I think we were just so worn out from process of getting the site rebuilt and live that we were ready to move on to the real reason we come to work every day: building powerful brands for our clients.

Nevertheless, I think it is worth a few minutes to make note of the Lessons Learned from the “Will We Ever Get This Thing Live?” RP web update project. So here goes.

1. Working on your business is just as important as working in it.

The most difficult part of this project was the discipline required to make decisions about how we want our company to evolve. Continual re-invention is a part of our DNA, so there was no shortage of ideas. But working out the details, and articulating them, took careful consideration and a great deal of time. We now have regularly scheduled partner meetings during which our agenda is focused solely on Riggs Partners.

2. Technology is changing so fast you will never be able to keep pace. And yet you must.

Halfway into the redesign we made the decision to expand the page width of our site. This became a consideration because we were seeing an undeniable trend toward larger monitors among our RP site visitors (numbers shifted dramatically in a six month period). We also knew we had to optimize for our mobile visitors.

3. Design is King. True, if by “design” you mean “usability.”

Thanks to our friends at truematter for our shift in perspective. They quietly insisted that nothing matters more than knowing who visits your site and organizing your content around their needs. Let me just say: We believe.

4. Do it well and your blog will become the center of the universe.

Keely Saye of KeelySaye.com is our Inbound Yogini. She’s made us realize the potential of creating a digital destination that when well honed, functions with its own magnetic force. “Create meaningful content,” she says, “and they will come.” She also got us serious about focusing, filtering, converting and monitoring. The new R | blog is proof.

5. Perfection can’t be the goal.

Late last year, the partners read Seth Godin’s book, Linchpin. We were all inspired by his insistence that the measure of success in this new world is the ability to SHIP. (Take too long and your work will become irrelevant before it sees the light of day.) I think it could well be THE lesson for those of us who are determined to explore every possibility before committing.

Three days live and we already have a list of “things I’d like to change” on our newly launched site. Ah, good reason to come back to work tomorrow.

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posted by Apprentices

Dec 21, 2009 @ 11:03am

New Work: Palmetto Opera Part 1

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Opera, boring? Blasphemy!

Opera is a dramatic, heart-wrenching form of entertainment, full of complicated love triangles and murderous villains. The Palmetto Opera has spent molti years working to share its love of opera with the people of South Carolina.

Founded in 2001 by a group of motivated enthusiasts, the Palmetto Opera started small until its first big break: a sold-out, full-length performance of The Marriage of Figaro. The organization’s wish is to garner enough community support to fund the presentation of a full opera performance every year.

Enter CreateAThon.

We developed a strategy for the Palmetto Opera designed to introduce a new, younger, previously untargeted audience. We designed a modern, interessante new identity. (Huge thanks to guest designer Jason Smith!) We also created a beautiful new design for the website.

To introduce the new identity, we designed invitations for the Palmetto Opera’s annual fundraiser dinner, An Evening in Italy, and we developed a new program to introduce opera to the new target audience in a comfortable, approachable atmosphere. More details to come in Part 2. Ciao!

Thanks to the creative team: Katy Miller, Cathy Monetti, Jason Smith, Lauren Bowles, GP Worrell, Zach Lepine and Sammy Rutkowski.

- Sammy Rutkowski

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posted by Apprentices

Dec 10, 2009 @ 4:15pm

New Work: Spartanburg Soup Kitchen Part 2

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In Part 1 of the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen project, the CreateAThon team addressed the objective of reintroducing the Soup Kitchen and the relevancy of its work by developing a new identity and outdoor campaign. Next, the team integrated the new identity into a plan for launching the public phase of its capital campaign.

To drive donations from the general public, we developed two exciting incentives. First, we designed custom melamine dishware sets, called Soupware. It was great fun creating the design, which incorporates the “S” from the new logo. We suggested that a new design be created each year, so annual donors can collect different sets over time. The dinnerware sets will be sold on a tiered pricing model, ranging from a hundred dollars for two sets to a thousand dollars for eight sets.

Second, we designed a series of new t-shirts, called Soupwear. These items provide incentives for lower-level donations.

The CreateAThon team developed a brochure to present these fundraising incentives to the community. To further promote the campaign, we created a master design system for a new website, helpthekitchen.org, so people can make donations online.

It has been a great pleasure helping the Soup Kitchen in their mission to feed the hungry. Keep serving up those plates full of goodness!

CreateAthon Spartanburg Soup Kitchen Team: Teresa Coles, Lee Price, Julie Turner, Tim Floyd, G.P. Worrell

- Sammy Rutkowski

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posted by Apprentices

Oct 27, 2009 @ 4:11pm

New Work: Poochapalooza

CreateAthon clients The Heartworm Project and PAALS (Palmetto Animal Assisted Life Services)
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These fantastic organizations co-host a fundraising event they describe as a “poker run-style dog walk.” At least until our CreateAthoners looked over the list of activities and deemed the description lacking. It’s an entire afternoon of dog party! A dog fest! A day where dog is king! And Poochapalooza was born.

Work included identity, two custom illustrated posters (Lauren Bowles) an event website, and a promotional lawn sign.

CreateAthon Poochapalooza Creative Team: Lauren Bowles, Katy Miller, Cathy Monetti, Jay Coles, Julie Turner, GP Worrell, Jason Smith

Special thanks to our printers, The Half and Half of Columbia, SC

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The Heartworm Project is a volunteer nonprofit organization that provides medical care for shelter animals in need. The Heartworm Project’s original goal was to treat heartworm positive dogs at local shelters who were scheduled to be euthanized because of their illness. But they’ve expanded their mission to include any medical attention that shelters cannot provide to dogs and cats of all ages.

PAALS (Palmetto Animal Assisted Life Services) is a nonprofit organization that serves the community by training assistance animals to help individuals with disabilities other than blindness or deafness. The animals assist with educational and recreational activities for those with social needs and certain physical disabilities.

- Lauren Bowles

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