Posts Tagged 'usability'

An interesting fact for you. Netbook PCs (very small laptops with 7-10 inch screens)  have accounted for 30% of all Laptops sales in the UK in 2009. Sales of these tiny laptops are currently outstripping sales of the iphone, and sales are expected to rise throughout the remainder of the year and in to 2010.

So with emergence of this new ‘mobile’ laptop device and continued increase in their popularity, are there challenges that lay ahead for website designers and usability experts?

The software on these devices is for the most part a simple copy of their bigger brothers, the Laptop, which has lead to issues viewing and navigating websites on these tiny bundles of joy. The screen is so small that scrolling up and down, and left and right is inevitable. A very interesting white paper I recently stumbled upon from Mobilein.com explores this in more detail.

There are already tools to help you Netbook users, Minifox and Google Chrome both help the Netbook user with resolution and re-sizing issues, as well as tools like Ubuntu Netbook Remix which helps move a lot of on screen ‘furniture’ to the side of the screen for you. But does the real work need to be done at the design and build stage? And what are the implications, will we start to see the fold moving up the web page?

So, just as most mobile phones work better with the ‘mobile’ version of the website, will we now need to start considering Netbook versions when designing new sites? Have the considerations for website builds changed forever? The Mobile version, The HTML version…. The Netbook version?

Q: What’s a brand without a personality?
A: Nothing

If you’re a new brand, or an old one for that matter. How do you let your customers and prospects know about your personality?

How you communicate with your audience says as much for your brand as the beautiful logo and pretty creative you wrap it up in.

Brand experience occurs every time a consumer comes into contact with your brand. This audience experience must communicate equally on all levels, if the brand fails to connect on any of these touch points – albeit offline or online -  it affects the way your brand personality is perceived.

A customers digital experience can make a huge difference to the quality of interactions individuals have with brands and their services, but the quality of these interactions are often mixed.

Understanding how digital communications and platforms are going to be received by your audience goes a long way beyond the most elaborate brand guidelines documentation. It’s more complex than pixel width, or where your logo sits on the page.

In the digital realm, usability, user experience, content, copy and tone of voice can have a huge influence on brand perception and all contribute to driving that all important consumer advocacy.