Re: P2 Dual Processor 400 vs. AMD 1.3 GIg

>I think my main topic will be information delivery.
>
>However, I'd like to touch on graphics and related topics during the 
>discussion.

Hello Jacqueline,

Perhaps the simplest information delivery. How the right picture is worth a 
thousand words, and how the wrong picture or no picture can deliver the 
wrong message. And how branding with images can make a difference in 
impressions of professional vs amateur.

Two cases in point, one negative, one positive. If I offend with the 
negative, it isn't to offend, but to use as a case study. I really do 
belive in learning from mistakes, from others and especially from one's own.

I just received a letter from a woman web designer advertising her 
business. The letter was fairly plain, nice font, but she used bad clip art 
graphics, that didn't convey much about the business and it didn't even 
have a personal logo, to identify her as a unique service. Just a sketch of 
a woman at a desk, holding a pen in her hand. Oh, and she was trying to 
sell her web design book, but no image of that book.

The paper was sent in an plain envelope, hand written address, and not 
professional seeming at all. I am trained as a business person, so this 
didn't impress me. And that is part of the problem. It should have 
impressed me. That letter should have made me want to take the time to look 
at her site.

Well, curious as I was about web designers, I explored her site anyway. Not 
much there in personal graphics, again more basic clipart that didn't make 
her site unique. Again no logo or branding, no visual reason why I should 
recommend her services as web designer to my boss. Even worse, no images of 
the book she was trying to sell.

Then there was another site I just visited last night. Done in Flash, which 
is not my forte. This was well done, emphasized the message they tried to 
get across (a renaissance faire) with a simple background image of shield 
and crossed sword. It set the mood and tone just right. It let you know 
what the site was about, just from those two items. And the text buttons 
(with good font choice) and images that came across, explained anything 
that you needed to know quickly and efficiently. Excellent site, that I 
will try to keep in mind in future concepts.

I guess to my mind, as someone who likes to create graphics for each site I 
create, to set mood and to reinforce whatever message I am trying to 
convey, if you are going to design a website and use graphics, use them to 
reinforce your messages. Make sure they are appropriate, and considering 
bandwidth issues, only use what is really needed.

And I guess it should be said. Use a logo or something appropriate, to mark 
your site as different from others.

my two yen, whatever that current rate is.

:-)


Kimiko Drew
macruimmon(at)earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~macruimmon/

a web designer in The Camarilla
White Wolf's Official Fan Club

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