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Blog | 01/31/2013
Cait Smith
The Value of Invisible Data
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Blog | 05/07/2013
Ashley Wentz
Quality Content: It's All in the Mix
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Blog | 11/27/2012
Cait Smith
Why "Overthinking" is a Commodity for Designers
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Blog | 02/13/2013
Ashley Wentz
The Power of Music in Storytelling
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Blog | 08/05/2010
John Lane
Flash v. AJAX* - Comparing Experiential Designs
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Users Don’t Know What They Want (Talk to Them Anyway)
Tags: user research, UX
May 14, 2013 | | 8 Comments
Yes, Apple, users may not know what they want, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth talking to. User research provides valuable insights and surfaces needs—a vital part of the design process.
If you work in a business that aims to get its customers to do something, like buy a product or use a service (hint: that’s all of us), User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) are equally important. But, what’s the difference between UX and UI?
Quality Content: It’s All in the Mix
Tags: Brand Identity, Content Marketing, Engagement, Storytelling
May 7, 2013 | | 16 Comments
As marketers, it’s important to look at each piece of content that we put out into the world as another first impression. Every piece should act as a stepping-stone toward building brand loyalty and earning new customers. Using shortcuts and “OK” content only takes companies further away from their goals and puts them at risk for making a bad impression with new and existing clients.
Managing Change: Marty Neumier’s The Designful Company
Tags: Content Strategy, Thought Leadership
May 1, 2013 | | 2 Comments
How many business books do you own whose value and relevance is undying—books that you keep opening and sourcing throughout your work—books that you keep buying for your prized clients and peers? I have only one. And it couldn’t be further from the galvanized curatta of Harvard Business Review; however, it’s the one that should top it.
Content Marketing Art Of War
Tags: Content Marketing, Content Strategy
April 18, 2013 | | 3 Comments
I had the wonderful pleasure of speaking at the Digital Marketing for Business Conference earlier this week. It was a great event… and I’m not just saying that because Centerline was the sponsor. In this post you’ll find the presentation I gave: Content Marketing Art of War. It was a fun presentation to give. And I think I accomplished my only real goal: To give people content marketing ideas they can put to use. Thanks to everyone who attended my session!
Information Architecture Requires Research, Data & Empathy
Tags: Information Architecture, User Experience, Web Design
April 11, 2013 | | 11 Comments
It’s easy to overlook things that are critically important until they start failing. Just like we don’t notice the structure of a house until it’s in question (“Hmm, should I be walking on this?”), a site’s information architecture typically goes unnoticed until it fails at its job (“Why can’t I find what I need?!”). But information architecture is critical: it’s the manifestation of a brand’s focus on people, not just themselves, by seamlessly connecting users to the content they need.
Is Your Two Minute Video Too Long? Or Too Short?
Tags: Analytics, Content Strategy, Context, Video
April 4, 2013 | | 10 Comments
Nobody reads anything anymore. A video longer than 2:00 is too long — people won’t watch it. Pabst Blue Ribbon isn’t good beer, it’s hipster water. All these statements are generalizations informed more by the level of interest the speaker has in the subject matter than universal truth. Therefore, all these statements are also completely unfounded.
Musical Authenticity in Content Marketing
Tags: Authenticity, Awareness, Content Marketing, Customer Reference, IBM, Storytelling
March 8, 2013 | | 10 Comments
At Centerline, musical authenticity is a key component of quality content. For the IBM Customer Reference with Siam Commercial Bank, we wanted to incorporate a style of traditional Thai music that would be symbolic of the region while staying true to the IBM brand.
Balancing SEO and Content for True Optimization
Tags: Analytics, Content Marketing, SEO
March 4, 2013 | | 9 Comments
Page views are important, but are just one of many data sets that should be monitored and analyzed for insights about site performance. Taking a more holistic approach to optimization and expanding the focus beyond just search is not as daunting as it may seem. Many other important areas can see drastic improvement simply by focusing on one additional aspect: Content.
Integrated World, Integrated Experience
Tags: Experience Design, UX
February 25, 2013 | | 9 Comments
We’ve long used our understanding of physical space to guide our comprehension of the digital world. Our language, and more and more our designs, are manifestations of this understanding. But what does the merge of physical and digital experience mean for UX? How do we approach design for an integrated, unfamiliar world?