Within the first few seconds of a new encounter, you are sized up, evaluated and appraised. People assess your visual and behavioral appearance from head to toe. They observe your demeanor, mannerisms and body language. Within just a few seconds, you make an indelible impact. You may intrigue some and disenchant others. This first impression process occurs in every new situation—including your website—and once the initial impression is made, it is virtually irreversible.

Face value
In doing the research for this article, I contacted a half-dozen marketing directors and advertising managers and gave each a simple directive: Visit a variety of design firm websites that you are unfamiliar with and make some general assessments of each based only on their site. I then asked my ad hoc team to share their observations. Following is a sampling of their commentaries:

• I could tell how old the firm or its designers were by the music that played while the site was loading.
• One group was so corporate and so serious, I probably would not pick them for our product. We are in the entertainment business and I could sense it would not be a good fit.
• I got a headache looking at one firm’s portfolio because it moved by so fast and there was no way to freeze it. It made me wonder if the people who worked there were over-caffeinated and really scattered as a result.
• The best sites had a nice range of work and included some well-written commentary in the portfolio section, but not too much information. It felt like they had a grip on what I wanted to know.
• A couple of the sites tried to be funny and it didn’t come off. One was actually insulting.
• I was surprised to see swear words on one site. I mean, I’m not a prude, but I am not sure the “F-bomb” is appropriate if you’re trying to get me to hire you.
• A couple of the ones I saw had great visuals, but the copy was horrible. Spelling mistakes and bad grammar are as unforgivable on a website as they are in a brochure.

The development of your own website is a formidable task. You have the creative resources, the technological wherewithal and the enthusiasm to show the world your work, and you want it to be done in a novel way. Yet, as you can sense from the comments above, web surfers make nearly instantaneous judgments not only about a company’s website but the entire company itself in the blink of an eye. As our review team demonstrated, they also assess you and the persona of your firm; they are making observations and coming to conclusions about who you are. And everyone knows you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.

So what are the “personality traits” of the most successful websites? Here are a few pointers to help you win the popularity contest:

1. Don’t be the class clown. Humor can be a sensitive subject in everyday life, and the perils of its use are compounded on the web. Jokes, satire, irony and ridicule can distract from your intent and—if not handled well—can compromise your professional credibility with certain audiences. Although you could argue that you simply don’t want to work with such uptight people—if this is your mind-set, you’re probably more likely to say “F--- them if they can’t take a joke”—then you might also want to consider:
2. No potty mouths. Although it’s true that the standard for what is considered a “dirty word” has relaxed over the years, there are still some people who are offended by certain terms, expressions and colloquialisms. In face-to-face situations, it’s easy to be discriminating, to use prudence in deciding how casual your language can be in a particular setting. The problem with the use of dicey words or images on the web is that you can’t edit or adapt your use based upon who is visiting your site. Once it is live, it’s out there.
3. Introduce yourself. An often-underutilized area on a designer’s website is the “Bio” or “About Us” section. While it’s true that potential clients are at first primarily interested in viewing samples of work, often their next action will be to try and learn more about the people who create the work. Share pertinent information about yourself—typical items that people are most likely to ask when they meet you for the first time. This is where you can differentiate yourself beyond the work. Tell about your background and introduce your staff, maybe share your philosophy of design, talk about your team’s processes. Give the reader a sense for the joie de vivre that exists in your studio.
4. A quick comeback. Interactive speed is a huge factor when it comes to user satisfaction. Make pages load quickly and minimize the variability of delay. Be especially careful to avoid sluggish response while users view pages. But beware “speed” when it comes to things like animation or how quickly words and subtitles scroll across the screen. Move too quickly and you may get left behind.
5. Keep it simple. Uncluttered layouts allow the focus of the viewer to be directed to your work. This is particularly important if your style is intricate, or the work you’re showing includes a lot of elements or other visual distractions. It’s tempting to employ loads of special effects, layer textures and backgrounds, mix in some complex audio or animation and essentially “pull out the stops,” but unless the goal is to stupefy viewers, a less-is-best approach might help keep the attention on you and your design work.
6. Have style and substance. While designers understandably get hung up on what the site looks like, it’s important to remember that your audience is also looking for information that will help them make a decision. This could take the form of a quote or testimonial from a client, a paragraph about results you’ve achieved or a note from you about how you approach particular projects. Unless you’re an especially adept writer yourself, it’s probably in your best interests to have a writer work on the text portion of your website.

SIDEBARS:

344 Design (www.344design.com)
Stefan Bucher
After working as a freelance illustrator in his native Germany, Stefan G. Bucher, principal of 344 Design, moved to California and earned a degree from Art Center College of Design in 1996. Following graduation he signed up for a tour of duty as an art director at Wieden+Kennedy.

Deciding he wasn’t cut out for a career in advertising or for life in Oregon, Bucher moved back to L.A. in 1998, and he has been “working to spread the gospel of 344 ever since.” Dynamic Graphics asked Bucher and other designers a few questions about their web positioning:

DG: Tell us a little bit about the personality you are trying to portray in your website.
Bucher: The personality I’m trying to portray in the website is my own. I want the work to look good, and I want visitors to be entertained. It’s hard to put it in words without sounding like a total gasbag, but I want the site to be smart, funny and attractive, maybe a little bit goofy and chatty and seductive. Like a great first date! (And yes, it’s true: 344 puts out!)
DG: Do you think your approach ever misfires, or has it ever been misunderstood by anyone?
Bucher: I’m sure the site has turned away business. But it’s also convinced quite a lot of clients to sign on with me. The more personal the site becomes, the better it functions as a screening tool to see who’d be a good match with me.
DG: Are there things in the future you’d like to do with the site?
Bucher: I’d like to include more audio and video bits, and I’ve already added a blog function that has become quite popular.

ROBOT (www.robotcreative.com)
Lara August
Founded in 1998 by Lara August, San Antonio-based ROBOT began as a freelance opportunity with a focus on identity and collateral design. After only six months the solo venture blossomed into a fullfledged business with an office and a staff of three.

In 2001, ROBOT acquired the assets and staff of a web services firm that was closing its doors and launched into the interactive arena. ROBOT quickly grew into a full service, boutique creative firm offering both copywriting and marketing services.

In January 2007, ROBOT relaunched its website, an undertaking that reflects the transition from a sole proprietorship to an LLC and the subsequent evolution of the business.

DG: Tell us about the personality of ROBOTís old site versus the new site.
August: For the old site: At the time of the original design, I would have said, ìMake us look cool and edgy.î This site was developed when I first began freelancing. It was basically me and one other designer. We were young, the portfolio was small, the clients werenít impressive, we hadnít won any awards yet. There wasnít much to tell. What we did have were great samples of what we had accomplished, and we wanted the portfolio to say it all. The site was kept intentionally black and white so the portfolio samples would really stand out. We added some text pages and the orange rollovers after a few years, but not much else had changed. For the new site: We want to appear integrated. Technically adept. As smart as we are creative. Weíre now an integrated marketing and design firm. We employ both creatives and people with business backgrounds, right- and left-brained. There are eight of us currently, and weíre growing steadily. Iíve always had an issue with imagery for our firm, which is one reason the redesign has taken so long. I worry that one type of style will attract some clients and turn off others. Weíre a strong, multidisciplinary team and weíre capable of lots of variety in our work. We like variety and donít want to become pigeonholed in what we do. In fact, weíve left the imagery areas intentionally separate from the content so they are easy to swap out. We plan on changing the look and feel of the image areas regularly to showcase our skills and to appeal to a wider audience.

Blacktop Creative (www.blacktopcreative.com)
Principals: Mike Miller, Shawn Polowniak and Dave Swearingen Blacktop Creative was created in April 2001 on the principles of innovative design and collaborative creative direction. Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., Blacktop employs 17 full-time staff including designers, illustrators, production artists, client service professionals and office staff. Three partnersó Mike Miller, Shawn Polowniak and Dave Swearingenóstarted the business and still manage the day-to-day operations.

DG: Explain a little about the personality that your website was designed to convey.
Blacktop: We feel our website showcases Blacktop Creativeís culture: how our processes revolve around a constant collaborative team effort and the energy we have. At Blacktop, itís not uncommon for a client to be in our office, sitting alongside a designer, trying different color combinations or pointing out where they think the logo should be placed in an ad. And thatís what we want to demonstrate in our websiteóthat we are a dynamic group who believes in a collaborative approach to everything we do!
DG: Have there been any misfires with your approach?
Blacktop: The possible misunderstanding that may occur through viewing our website is potential clients might not understand the breadth of work that we handle. Blacktopís brand is edgy, but that doesnít mean that all of our work is edgy. The website embodies our brandónot necessarily how we would project a clientís brand. This is where our collaborative process proves to be so important.
DG: Future site plans?
Blacktop: Weíve talked about adding a Blacktop Road Trip Racing Game, where the viewer can race the Blacktop Mini that has been on our site and can also simply ìdrive aroundî the site viewing work completed over the past couple of years. We also plan to create an interactive virtual environment that shows the many facets of our operation.

Savage Design Group (www.savagedesign.com)
Paula Savage Hansen
Located in Houston, Texas, Savage Design Group was established in 1973 by Paula Savage Hansen. Currently, Savage Design is led by six partners, four of whom are design directors, two of whom have MBAs Ö and all have a degree in graphic design. The firm doesnít have account service staff, and clients work directly with the designers assigned to their projects.

DG: In terms of personality, what are you trying to convey in your website?
Savage: We based our updated website on our new tagline: ìSmart. Fresh. Human.î As with most design firm websites, the primary focus is on our fresh work and strategic solutions. But we also think clients want to see who they might be working with, so we feature black and white candid photos of our creative staff, accompanied by their own personal ìword.î When hired, each new employee picks a word that has significance to them: Itís on their business cards, their bio and featured on the site.
DG: Future site plans?
Savage: We are in the process of adding case studies that promote our branding expertise. Weíre also adding a client extranet that we envision as not only serving specific project needs, but also providing a way to share recent work with clients, since they probably do not visit our website on a regular basis.

Recommended resources
First Impressions: What You Donít Know About How Others See You, by Ann Demarais, Valerie White, $24, First Impressions, www.firstimpressionsconsulting.com/pages/book.html

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell, $25.95, Little, Brown and Company, www.hachettebookgroupusa.com

Designing Great Web Experiences (DVD), $39.95, Designing Great Web Experiences, www.amazon.com

Designing Websites That Sell: For Graphic Designers, by Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis, $39.99, Rockport Publishers, www.quaysidepublishinggroup.com

Self Promotion Online: Marketing Your Creative Services Using Web Sites, E-Mail and Digital Portfolios, by Ilise Benun, $20, North Light Books, www.northlightbooks.com

Speed Up Your Site: Web Site Optimization, by Andrew B. King, $39.99, New Riders, www.websiteoptimization.com/speed

The Online Copywriterís Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Write Electronic Copy That Sells, by Robert W. Bly, $19.95, Henry Holt and Company, www.henryholt.com

Portfolios Online: Digital and Graphic Designerís Websites, by Kathleen Ziegler and Nick Greco, $40, HBI, www.amazon.com

About the author
Sheree Clark is managing partner of Sayles Graphic Design in Des Moines, Iowa; an author and speaker on organizational and business issues; and owner of Art/Smart Consulting, which provides self-promotion and business strategies to creative professionals.

This article was originally published in the February/March 2007 issue of Dynamic Graphics magazine.

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