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Why You’ll Never See ‘Designed By Breaking Even Communications’ On A Website

14 June

We think it’s great but we don’t think of it that way.

We had a recent client who was so grateful for our work she insisted we put ‘Designed by Breaking Even Communications’ at the bottom of her website.

I refused.

She couldn’t believe it, and I couldn’t think of a way to explain it well at the time. (Yes, this is how I get ideas for most of these blog posts!)

What I am about to say may make some people annoyed. Many web designers put their credentials at the bottom of every website they do. Here’s why we don’t:

To me, website designers are invisible artists.

I’ve heard those who put their credentials in the footer of websites they design think about it like a painting they are making on commission. You sign your name on the bottom of a painting proudly, why wouldn’t you sign your name on the bottom of a website?

I can easily think of other examples in which someone does building/creative work for others. Did the company who painted your house sign your foundation? Did the person who designed your wedding invitations add their URL on the bottom corner of all 200 copies you ordered?

In my opinion, some artists are invisible. Web design to me is one of those professions.

Adding our name to the bottom of your website doesn’t give you more value.

Ideally your website is well coded, fast loading, visually pleasing, informational/entertaining, and highly functional… whether we did it or someone else did.

Unlike the painting example, having our name on the bottom of your website doesn’t give it more value, so why put it in there?

(I doubt anyone is having us design sites so they can own a ‘Breaking Even’ original, though I am extremely entertained at this thought).

You can see who designed a website if you look at the source code… or asking the person who owns it.

There are ways to put authorship on a website in the source code that’s completely non obtrusive to the website design. Sometimes we actually remember to do that.

But mainly, I think if someone likes a website, they can always ask the owner (via contact form or other means) who designed it. Looking at it from another angle, to get a feel for the kind of designs a particular web designer does, you can always look at their online portfolio on their website. (We have ours here, just so you don’t think we’re shady about our clients or anything!)

Our clients pay us to create things for them and their good word of mouth is the credit we appreciate most.

I am not writing this to make any enemies here; I’m simply saying why we don’t do this particular practice.

So what do you think, regular folks or fellow designers? Do you think you should have a link at the bottom of every website you do or do you agree we are silent artists?

How To Handle Control Freaks

29 May

This is what happens when Alice is gone and Nicole does graphics. I know, scary.

Someone has hired you to do a job for them. Based on their goals and other factors, you’ve decided a way to do it and they’ve signed off on your plan.

Or so you thought.

Suddenly, they want to be involved in every little detail of the process. (Why are you using 14 and not 16 point font? Or my favorite: How long does it really take you to do that?)

It’s one thing to have clear (ideally scheduled) communication and answer an occasional question… but it’s another to have someone asking you ‘why’ at every step or needing to call you multiple times a day.

People who take it to that endearing next level are control freaks… or as they would call themselves, detail-oriented project managers. But when you are on that other end, these people can be exhausting to deal with.

I’ve come up with a few ways to stay sane, in business and life in general.

Head them off before it even starts.

Are there times I could really use some money? Yes. Is there ever a moment where I will consider working with someone who will be unreasonable? No. Because the second you say yes to that crazy person, something legitimate you actually want to do presents itself. And you can’t do it… because you agreed to work with Mr. or Ms. CrazyFace.

As with anything, the easiest thing to do is avoid working with control freaks to begin with.

What are some telltale signs someone is going to be a control freak?

Very focused on hours, right up front. Listen, I get that you want to get how much something costs but it’s the equivalent of asking me to go steady on a first date. Can we exchange some information first?
Seems very particular but won’t offer specifics. They say they know what they want but when you ask them one or two basic questions (Have you looked into what software you want to use? When customers get to your website, what is the three things you want them to do?), they have no answers. Bonus points if this person thinks you are pumping them for information so as to ‘steal’ their multimillion dollar idea.
They can’t find anyone to work with them. “My graphics person took another job then my web designer moved away. And what’s weird is my freelance writer won’t return my phone calls.” One flaky person in someone’s life, I totally understand. Multiple people flaking and you should probably wonder why everyone is running away.

How do you subtly tell these people ‘no’ without saying no:

Force them to focus on what they specifically want before you speak with them again. ‘I’d love to see a list of criteria you see needing to be fulfilled during this project.’ Control freaks are often secretly insecure people who might not know how to answer this… and might not contact you back.
Tell them you have a full plate and aren’t starting new projects for 2-3 months. If they want to wait, at least you know they are committed to working with you. Chances are if they want someone to boss around now, they will go find that other person.
Help them do it themselves. I’ve noticed people are less likely to boss themselves around then other people so letting them do it can be a good workaround.

So let’s say you head off the majority of control freaks (like we do). What happens if you find yourself working with one anyway? Here are a few tactics I’ve learned:

Force them to list everything and give it to you at once.

This does two things besides give you a bit of breathing room.

The first is it forces people to see how often they change their minds or how accidentally contradictory they are being. I want a modern website but I really want you to use this old timey font. I want my hairstyle to be edgy but I want it to look natural. By putting all ideas together and having a conversation, we can get to the heart of what the person really wants, an old timey looking website with bright colors, or a hairstyle of natural blonde highlights with chunky layers. Had they not listed out everything, we wouldn’t have gotten to that place where they could be happy.

The second is it’s usually easier to do batch changes, especially when they might need to be done in a certain order. If you have a list of things you want done to your website, it is much easier for us to log in and do them at once. This is partially a ‘while we’re at it’ issue and partially because one thing might effect other things you want done and therefore the order we should do them in. Ex: You want new kitchen cabinets and counters, you need to decide what you want for both before your whole kitchen gets ripped out so that as the bottom cabinets get built, they can accommodate your countertop.

Divert their energy to something useful.

If someone has a lot of energy they need to direct at a project but I need time to, say, work on the project, I need to give the client something constructive to do to help. For example, pick out the 50 best pictures for a slideshow of images. Or have them research x, y, and z to see which solution will work best for them so you can implement it.

This actually helps the project move forward and gives the person some decisions to make that have a direct impact. I like these kind of control freaks since they make my life easier by making some decisions I’d otherwise be making!

Know where it’s coming from.

Sometimes, people are used to treating people badly to get what they want. These people are called rude, and it is important to not let rude people treat you in a rude way.

Ruling out the fact the person is an irredeemable jerkface (few people are), know where the control freak is coming from. Are they under the gun with a deadline? Did they have a bad experience with a different service provider and are now skiddish with you? Knowing where someone is coming from lets you put up with a certain amount of crazy (at least it does with me). Realizing it’s not personal is a huge burden lifted so get to the root of the controlling nature if you can. The best way to do this is to have conversations and get the person to trust you over time.

In short, control freaks are a lot like you and me: they want something great and they want to control the outcome of their lives. Give them things to do to help the project, make them outline all concerns up front and be patient with them. Control freaks help us think of new ways to work and can uncover unknown issues, so be thankful on a certain level this person is in your life… and will be back out of it when the project is finished.

One Day Website Workshop: The When, The Why, and The How

24 May

Last Friday, we gave our twice a year ‘One Day Website’ workshop. Our reasoning is that there are people who have the time/interest in learning website software but not the funds to pay us to do it for them.

The reason we do it only twice a year? Honestly, it’s a ton of work ahead of time (helping people buy domain names, getting the software installed, preparing the slides since the software likes to change periodically). We barely break even on it looking at this from a purely business point of view… but the whole point of this business was to at least ‘Break Even’ so I guess we’re good there. (I know, haha!)

But earning beaucoup bucks is not why we do this. For me, I consider this a bit of community service… and if we happen to get business from it someday, great. But at least we’re doing our part, teaching small pockets of people how to do something they want to learn. It’s a bit like being a teacher again.

I’m always impressed by the variety of people who come to this workshop: different ages (everyone from college students to retirees), different businesses (artists to non-profit directors), different levels of seriousness (from ‘I want to get this done today’ to ‘I just came to check it out’). As someone who runs one very specific kind of business, it’s nice to get a window into what other people are working on, and what they care about in terms of a website.

Since Matt Baya and I started doing this workshop in 2009, we’ve helped take about 200 people through this process in the twice yearly ‘One Day Website’. And that’s kind of cool.

Many people don’t end up finishing their websites, which makes me a little sad. But then I think about the success rate of the adult ed French class I used to teach… or how long it’s taken me to lose 15 of the 30 pounds I want to lose… and I see it’s similar. It’s hard to make yourself do something that is a little (or a lot) against your nature.

I’m always sad when I haven’t taken photos of these things, especially since we had such a nice group on Friday. But it was fun and we do look forward to doing it again!

Had no idea we did this kind of event? For the official internet record, we do it twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall (summer is crazy and winter weather can make travel difficult where we are). The best way to find out about when it’s happening is to subscribe to our monthly email newsletter. We announce the workshop there first, wait 3-4 days then post it on Facebook, the website, etc.

Sometimes, we can do this workshop for a private group, like we did for the Maine Indian Basketweavers and the Maine Crafts Guild. If you can fill a room for us, we’ll show up and do our thing. If everyone chips in, it’s a pretty affordable (and almost painless) professional development opportunity. If you’re a Chamber of Commerce, business group, networking group, adult education facility, university group… it’s a pretty good offer since just about everyone these days needs/wants a website.

So thanks to everyone who came last week, and especially those who came to those first few workshops when we were still learning the ropes. There will be many more of these (and hopefully some other regular workshops) coming to Downeast Maine and beyond.

Those who can do teach. Those who can’t, we can just teach you in a class.

How To Handle Tragedy On Social Media

13 May

So when something crappy happens, what are we supposed to do online? The same things we do offline actually. Here’s what I’m talking about.

There was a historically huge Bangladesh factory collapse that killed over 1,000 people recently. My friend David posted a link from The Village Voice showing a screenshot of Joe Fresh, the retailer’s homepage, after the body count was posted:

OK so this is kind of ridiculous. Should Joe Fresh have done a bit more considering this was their factory? I think so.

Now posting a small condolence message is not quite the same as:

So this second instance of a brand handling a tragedy got A LOT more negative feedback on social media then the first one. Probably for a couple reasons:

For better or for worse, people seem a lot more sensitive about US-based tragedies. That said, it’s important to mention what is happening overseas in some cases so please mention something even if it seems far away… just know a US-based audience will react to a US-based tragedy more strongly as a general rule.
Acknowledge the tragedy if you want, especially if it affects your company.
If you go the acknowledge a tragedy route, don’t try to sell to people.
You can ignore a tragedy (without any or many negative consequences) if it has nothing to do with your business.
If you schedule social media updates ahead and something bad happens, skim your scheduled updates of accidentally offensive content. (Ex: There is a huge fire in your city and you have a post scheduled to go out called ‘Sell like your store is on fire.’ with a link to your latest blog post. Yeah, you might want to change that.)

In other words, you can’t be selling your stuff and be mournful at the same time. Your customers will think it’s kind of weird and creepy. And if you go the ‘we’re a sensitive company’ route, be prepared to wait a respectful amount of time before returning to your regularly scheduled program.

Want to read other opinions on this subject? Check out:

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/Can_companies_ignore_their_way_out_of_social_media_14329.aspx

http://www.enveritasgroup.com/2013/04/26/when-tragedy-strikes-how-does-social-media-respond/

http://holtz.com/blog/crisis-communication/the-conundrum-of-being-a-non-u.s.-company-when-tragedy-strikes-the-u.s/4103/

Managing Expectations For Your DIY Project

08 May

My hairdresser Shaina is a great person who not only does amazing hair but also has one of those witty personalities. She posted this awhile back:

I will say right off that I don’t do anything hair altering (especially related to hair color) by myself. The whole looking in the mirror and having it be backwards thing is enough to keep me from even attempting updos.

I used to do my own box hair color but I knew it wasn’t as good as what Shaina would do. So I finally gave up and left it to the pros. Now I have people emailing me asking who is doing my hair.

This cartoon struck me a certain, specific way because it can relate to a bunch of different kinds of businesses.

What is ombre hair you may ask? Well it’s all the rage on Pinterest. Here are some pictures to show you:

So you get the idea, it’s one hair color grading into another hair color gradually and on purpose. Now you know!

Here’s the kit Shaina’s cartoon joke probably refers to:

Now if you are expecting to look like you’ve just stepped off the runway after spending a couple hours with plastic gloves in your bathroom, you are going to be disappointed.

And this is what we call in the business ‘managing expectations’. This is what I used to do when I did my own hair color and what you need to do when you attempt something yourself that you ought really to hire a professional to do.

Managing Expectations: It will be cheaper but it will take you longer.

It is cheaper to dye your own hair but by the time you set up, do it, and clean up you are talking double the time you would have spent at the salon. But it will be cheaper.

It’s ok if cheaper is important. Just realize you are prioritizing cheaper above quicker.

Managing Expectations: You are not going to get professional results.

If you think you can learn anyone’s job well in 2-3 hours (or even 10 hours) of internet searching, you are delusional.

If you think you can do a better job than someone with years of experience, you are delusional.

Embrace that you are not a professional. You might not be able to execute certain things. It might not look exactly like you expected. It’s ok.

Managing Expectations: You will get functional (and possibly even ok to good) results.

At the end of two hours, will your hair be different colors with this kit? Yes.

‘Results’ are a relative term. Whether you pay my gal Shaina or get your own ombre highlighting kit, you will technically have ombre hair at the end of both processes. But if you put the pictures of each result side by side, they will look different. When that matters to you is when you should pay for a pro. When it doesn’t, keep doing it yourself.

It’s best to know a pro you can call, should you decide to try something yourself in case you decide you can’t live with the results. But heading into a DIY process with some managed expectations is a good way to go into a project, whether it’s coloring your own hair or making your own website.

In the meantime, I’m going to let Shaina keep making me fabulous. Because I clearly can’t handle it.

My 6 minutes and 40 seconds of [local] fame

03 May

People think that I am an extrovert, and they couldn’t be more wrong. I’m quite simply an introvert who has gone great lengths to hide her fear of speaking in public. Make it till you fake it, as they say. So when I was asked to participate in a Pecha Kucha Night here on MDI – I thought, oh god. I have to do this or they’ll figure me out.

Pecha What?

Pecha Kucha is a presentation format created a design firm in Japan to highlight new ideas, without presenters running on and on. You get to present 20 slides for 20 seconds each and then you’re done. Pecha Kucha Nights are becoming very popular events – where people gather to learn more about other folks in their community. The short format is excellent for those of us with short attention spans, and is easier on the presenter as well. The slides help the presenter tell the story – as well as keep to the time limit.

PKslide

Finding a Topic:

I was surprised, and honored, to be included as one of 8 presenters for the first ever Pecha Kucha MDI

When Astra from the Abbe Museum contacted me back in February to ask me if I would present, I assumed they had a particular topic in mind, and that’s why they asked me.
“Nope!” She said. “We just think you’d tell an interesting story.”

Okay. No pressure.

I decided to talk about my career as a special effects artist in Hollywood for 2 reasons.

1) it’s s topic I’m very familiar with, and have some good stories about.
2) it’s something that makes me fairly unique in a small Maine community.

Making your slides:

They wanted the slides 2 weeks ahead of time! A brilliant move on their part – because it made me step up and prepare.

Every blog I read about pecha kucha advised to plan out your speech before you make your slides, but I decided to reverse the process.
I design websites, so creating the visual part of the presentation first makes more sense for me. And making the slides was the fun part. Planning the speech not so much. Always start with the fun part. With every image I added to my slideshow, I thought of another detail I could talk about. I figure I made about 40 slides more than I needed as I changed my path through my story, but I don’t regret that time spent.

Preparing to speak:

I started by practicing my speech, without visual aids, alone in my car. Then I worried about timing and slides.
Both Keynote and Powerpoint have a timed playback feature so I could emulate the 20 second presentation style. Practicing with timing was the WORST. I stumbled. I mumbled. I would end sentences with “and….. I’ll talk about something super interesting here.” Mostly I feared that I would be like a deer in the headlights.

The solution I came up with was to make a list of 3 bullet points per slide to guide me when I got lost. I’m good at getting lost.
I put little images next to the bullet points in case I couldn’t see the slides during the presentation. I printed out my list and carried it around like a security blanket.
I admit that I made this list 2 hours before the presentation. Last minute deadlines yo!

The Presentation:

Did I mention I was nervous? At 3 am the night before I woke up to the thought “Crap, they’re probably going to record this.” Just another thing to sweat over.

Then when I arrived at the Library there were at least a hundred people in the audience. At this point I gave up feeling nervous and thought “What the hell, I’m either going to tank or I’m not.” Oh what wisdom comes with age, and a nice glass of spanish red.

I didn’t present until after intermission – another detail I had angst over which turned out to be a blessing.

Seeing the other presentations made me realize a few things.

1) we were all nervous, and all doing this for the first time.
2) the audience was just so happy to be there and loving every word.
3) there could be no failure in that environment.

From the first presenter to the last – everyone had a different style and a completely different topic, and everyone was fantastic.
Every topic presented was interesting and well thought out. The topics were climate change, the love of birds, a a journey through a little town in India, the perfect pie crust, a story of a favorite aunt, a womans fearless journey to Africa, and anecdotes from animated movies. In 6 minutes and 40 seconds you have a chance to get engaged, learn a bit, and still leave wanting more information. It’s like the best date ever.

Our MC was a Lyzz Bien – the most fabulous drag queen MDI or Maine shall ever see, and her thoughtful and hilarious introductions for each presenter tied the whole evening together.

Looking back:

I honestly don’t remember much about presenting, except that people laughed in all the right places, and I didn’t trip on my way to the podium.

And the best part? So many people approached me afterwards and told me how wonderful it was to learn more about me. I’m fairly new to the MDI community – and I feel like that community expanded exponentially in the space of, well, 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

Another best part? This presentation was the first time since I left Hollywood 5 years ago, that I’ve put that experience into one concise story. The career I made as an effects artist was a bittersweet one, and I was so burnt out when I left, that I never took the time to look back on it with fresh eyes. Now I can almost see what other people see, that I had an unusual and pretty cool experience in another part of the world, in a time shaped an entire industry. I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve had, and incredibly thankful for the chance to share it with my new friends and neighbors here on MDI. I couldn’t be more pleased that I was included in the first ever Pecha Kucha MDI – and I know I will attend every future event. I can’t wait to see what else I can learn about my new home, and the people who live here.

For other Maine Pecha Kucha Nights visit www.pechakuchamaine.org

Breaking Even Communications

Breaking Even Communications (BEC) is an internet marketing and website content creation company location in Bar Harbor, Maine. The Breaking Even Blog is a blog about marketing and Maine.

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