Comments on: Design Mock-ups Dont Work?

By: Manchester web Design

Manchester web Design — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:48:16 +0000

I tend to build an initial first page that is flexible enough for the client to change.

Once they can actually see a layout on screen this helps with what the clients wants.

By: Fisherman Pants

Fisherman Pants — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 07:53:03 +0000

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By: Garret Blattner

Garret Blattner — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:51:40 +0000

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By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:40:27 +0000

Great to hear other people focus on producing one, quality design.

Our studio puts a lot of work into the wireframing, content layout and other stages before even thinking about the theme so 9 times out of 10 we produce a layout that works well and the client loves; important to note a pretty design doesn’t denote a good, usable design with great IA, so pushing out a couple of extra designs can sometimes deviate from the most productive outcome.

Obviously different rules apply to MNC’s and the higher budget corporations who expect to have an array of choices.

By: totalbs

totalbs — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:01:34 +0000

Guys,

Forgive me if I am wrong, but isnt the process discribed missing a stage that could probably solve alot of time issues.

Wireframing?

This is something that I use regularly using visio and some hand styled eliments. Its a fantastic way of gettting the look right for the UI/UX of a site before you even put colours onto the page.

This also means that the customer (client… whoever) gets a quick representation of how the site might work / function with the changes that you want to impliment.

Does anyone else use the wireframing technique?

By: Monkeyweb-design

Monkeyweb-design — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:34:22 +0000

Its refreshing to hear from other people that just concentrate on one idea or concept. Although, I can see the benefit of providing three layouts, I often find that the budget does not stretch to this and that design time is simply stretched over producing three different designs rather than concentrating on making one look really good.

By: Alec

Alec — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:52:40 +0000

Well written article. I agree that three web design mock-ups are too many but I don’t agree with your process.

I believe once you’ve got past the initial ‘getting to know each other’ meeting, touting your proficiencies in web design and web knowledge, and having won the business, you need to get straight down to brass tacks. An in-depth Q and A session of their web presence requirements, business model, their client habits and behaviors and an analysis of what will make their new web design work for their business is critical. ‘What design they might like’ shouldn’t be at the forefront of their minds no matter how important ‘colour’ is to them… ‘blue is my favourite colour can you design our new website arsenal.com’. It really does come down to making it work for their clients rather then pandering to their personal likes and dislikes.

I use this approach for designing sites for small one-man-bands through to SMEs. I have found that customers much prefer to get down to the bottom line ‘what web design and web functionality is going to get me the amount of customers I need to meet and exceed my targets’.

However blue chips are a different matter. But, when you have that kind of budget 3 mock-ups is hardly a chore. You start out knowing that the final solution will be further from the initial designs then you would have ever hoped.

Mood boards are for interior designers that can’t figure out what their client likes or dislikes.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:16:16 +0000

Excellent article extremely insightful. Mood boards are an great tool for focusing the mind to help with the creation process. We often see mood boards used within interior design (see article http://www.soeasyblinds.co.uk/news/19639464), but there is certainly no reason why they cannot be used in any design process.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:45:38 +0000

Thanks for posting this article. I found it very useful. I think that working with colour theory is a great approach. I usually tend to judge these things by eye, and whilst I don’t generally speak directly to the client in the initial stages of design I can see that having something solid like colour theory would be really helpful for the client to see the thoughts behind the design.

By: website design preston

website design preston — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:47:29 +0000

i would like to link to your site if you would link to mine