Forget that boring loading notification, 10%…  20%…  30%… blah.

This game switches in messages that make waiting for the game to load entertaining and funny, giving the user a positive experience before they have even played the game.

So although there may not be a client project for which I can use munching brains, or rising from graves, still a fun twist on how to engage the user while they wait.

New brand strategies! New visual systems! New identifiers! New communications vehicles! New digital strategies! New websites! New applications!

At the time, we knew we had a lot on our plates, but looking back, we’re kind of amazed. Not that we have time to look back for long, mind you, because 2013 is shaping up to be even more busy… and rewarding.

One particular project makes us want to toot our own horn a bit, mind you… but mostly because the project is all about finding time to toot our own horn.

We’ve had the classic problem known as the “cobbler’s kids dilemma”: we were so busy making sure our clients were building and developing compelling communications that we weren’t spending much time revisiting our own shingle on the web. Every time we’d try and revisit our digital presence, we’d get started… and then shelve it for a new engagement, or a ramp-up period with one of our existing partners.

Or at least that’s what we did… until now.

Go see it.

Our brand new website, freshly launched this week.

(!!!)

Complete with an expanded portfolio section, updates on what we’ve been working on, and a whole bunch of bios.

(!!!)

We’re pretty happy we cobbled some new kicks for ourselves… and we hope you enjoy it, too.

And if you need brand strategy, messaging, print or digital design, content strategy, digital strategy, social media strategy, a new website… well, take a look, and feel free to get in touch.

We’d love to work with you.

In a similar way, user observation testing provides us with a valuable way to help define user experience on a computer or mobile device. Simply defined, it is the process of asking members of your target audience to complete specific tasks while you look on. But here’s the tricky part: you can’t help them find their way.

While you may have been staring at the wireframe or prototype for weeks — and know the navigation like the back of your hand — you can’t suggest they keep scrolling, or that they should look in the footer, or,  “Can’t you see it? It’s right there!”

The results you see when you stand back and observe will often surprise you, and ultimately ensure that the most important people guide the final functionality of what you’re creating: the users.

When you’re in the process of defining a project schedule, time should be set aside specifically for user observation testing. Whether you’re an information architect, user experience designer, or interactive producer, it’s unlikely you’ll think of everything. Even if personas are used to define the target audience, it’s impossible to actually think like 4 or 5 unique people.

Further, when working on a website redesign, we must also factor in the preconceived notions of functionality that users may be bringing with them from the previous version of the site. There are many guidelines to follow when conducting testing, but overall, one rule matters most: test early, and test often. No matter how it happens, whether formally or informally, testing one person is always better than testing none.

The key to effective user testing is setting the stage to help your participants feel at ease. Users who feel comfortable are more likely to spend an amount of time similar to what that they would normally allot to completing a task. If participants are nervous, they may rush through the site, clicking around too quickly to properly read the navigation. Or, conversely, participants may be hesitant to say that they are unable to complete a task for fear of disappointing.

Suggestions for setting the stage of a productive user observation session:

• Wear something nice but casual
• Make sure to arrive early to get set up
• Give clear instructions to each participant:
  • Ask the user to take notes so you can compile their observations later, and ask if you can take notes, too
  • Establish the time frame of roughly 15 – 20 minutes
  • Ask them to speak out loud about what they are expecting, and/or thinking while working through each task
  • Let them know that if a task cannot be completed they may move on to the next at anytime, and you will be unable to answer any questions
• Take 10 minutes between participants to write additional notes, including first impressions, task completion rates, and their observations
• Consider using a screen and video capture tool like Camtasia to record user responses
• Ask for overall feedback from the participant — once the tasks are finished
• Testing in person is ideal, but there are also online resources (I like TryMyUi) that allow you to send out user observation tasks and instructions to a chosen demographic, and receive video footage in return, as well as responses to overall questions, if included.

If you do make the choice to factor in testing to the overall schedule, be sure to keep three things in mind: test early, test often, and watch quietly.

Interactive wireframes are an important tool for conveying the proposed functionality of a website. It is, however, always important to set the stage when first showing a wireframe to a client: they are not meant to represent design, but rather to highlight the information architecture of, and the journey that a user might take through the site.

Does it answer the important questions from a user perspective? Where am I? Where can I go? How can I get there? How do I get back? When partnered with a functional specification and representative page type designs, everyone involved can develop a clear understanding of look and feel, user experience, and development considerations.

Protoshare is a web-based tool that has a GUI approach, with objects organized according to a very intuitive component palette. The inspector allows for a good amount of object customization, including animation, visibility logic, appearance, position, size and specification details. Global elements can be created using masters and templates, and design elements can be imported and managed through the assets library. When planning state functionality, there is a quick review mode that allows you to easily test the wireframe before it goes live. To share, files can easily be exported and published to the web. Reviewers can post feedback directly onto the UI, and emails can be set to alert the creator of new comments or questions.

Another feature I like in Protoshare is the ability to have multiple page designs within a single project. This means that alternate approaches can be easily produced or different designs altogether, perhaps a tablet or mobile approach to facilitate a responsive build. Overall I highly recommend Protoshare. The learning curve is minimal, and functionality is just enough to help cut down on time needed to wireframe.

Most importantly, it encourages an early and ongoing dialogue between strategists, designers, developers and stakeholders, allowing everyone to take part in guiding the direction of the project.

That “good” could be anything from rescuing neglected dogs, to helping older people find a safe place for their final years, to digging wells in Malawi, to bringing children to museums, to funding cancer research… but the sentiment is similar at the core. You wouldn’t work to make a difference unless you thought a difference could be made… and not just a difference, but an improvement. That conviction is key to making your investment make sense.

The hardest thing to learn about our convictions, however, is that not everyone shares them — not for the same cause, not for the same reason, not for the same result, and often not enough to do anything about it. And when your heart is deeply invested, it can feel almost offensive when someone else doesn’t see the value.

But it’s not necessarily that they’re being cold or callous.

They’re just not invested in your “good”.

This is where things start to fall apart for many nonprofits:

The assumption that your “good” is, or should be the same good that matters to others.

The assumption that telling the story should do all the work of engaging.

The assumption that the ask should be irresistible because the cause is irresistible.

The assumption that everyone else should care.

Our backgrounds, cultures, priorities, and passions create a unique map in our minds and hearts. What resonates with us has a long journey to get all the way to our emotional core, through biases, beliefs, and sometimes, fear: the fear that we’re investing in the wrong thing, or that what seems compelling right now won’t always matter. Which is why the notion of “good” often fails to go the distance.

The most unsuccessful nonprofits are just as convinced as the successful ones that they’re pursuing an important vision. They dream of solving problems, of helping, of changing things, of moving forward.. all beneficial results. But unlike organizations that make an impact, they assume their passion should guarantee support.

Certainly, there will be donors and supporters who see a light in your eye… and they will invest in that glimmer.

The vast majority, however, need something more.

And frankly, there’s nothing wrong with that. Even if it seems like the existence of a problem should be enough reason to care about the solution, it’s impossible to solve all the problems we see. We have to prioritize where we put our energy, or we’ll never move the needle on anything worthwhile. And those choices often come down to a sense of connection to what an organization does.

Which is why you need to learn about your constituents before you can reach them.

Is there something you do that overlaps with something they already care about?

Can you tell a story they recognize themselves in, or perhaps someone they love?

Is there a simple, practical way they can help — help they might not know you need?

Is there a difficulty they experienced that you’re working to prevent?

Is there an aspect of who you are that isn’t immediately obvious, but would radically change the way they saw you?

How might your brand halo add more shine to theirs?

And how are all of your different audiences actually perceiving your brand, period?

From our perspective, the brand you’re communicating is actually a Mosaic Brand: there are parts of it you can control, and other parts you can only influence. Ultimately, you want to control as many tiles in your Mosaic Brand as possible, in order to influence the tiles you don’t control… thus creating a Mosaic Brand that makes an impression, and one that provides multiple opportunities for connection… which brings us back to “ways in.”

There’s a lot of resistance to this “ways in” approach among some of the most dedicated people who work for causes, because they see it as an inferior point of connection to altruism. You should want to help. You should see the value intrinsically. You should know it matters. You should take my word for it.

You have to invest deeply to do the job well. And being “all in”? It changes your filters.

But hanging on to the value of your “good” — over the possibilities inherent in developing a whole range of “goods” — won’t advance your mission. And if you’re not advancing your mission, are you really doing the most… good?

Your value isn’t one-note. Your constituents aren’t one-note. Your possibilities aren’t one-note. So why is your call to action?

Maybe it’s time to learn a new tune.

At Sametz Blackstone, we’ve been excited to see a brand employing the concept of synecdoche* in this new mark: using a part to represent the whole. It’s a design that is fresh, punchy, and a little edgy; a bold move that works effectively to turn around the retailer’s previously stodgy reputation.

My high school did something similar a few years ago. Miss Porter’s School is an all-girls boarding and day school in Farmington, CT. Aware of a misperception that it was still a 1950’s-style “finishing school,” MPS leveraged the concept of synecdoche and entirely dropped the “Miss” and the “School” from their mark. (Insider’s note: “Porter’s” is what alumnae of my era call Miss Porter’s, while “Farmington” is how older generations refer to the school.)

While the name is still formally “Miss Porter’s School”—and that phrase appears somewhere on all materials, both print and digital—the new mark is an effective, high impact vehicle for communicating the character of the school today, while still recognizing a strong sense of place and history.

One final example (though very recently rendered obsolete): the Toronto Blue Jays former logo. A new version was unveiled in 2011, which incorporates the team’s full name, but the last incarnation (the second below) was a fun and evocative mark for the “Jays.” While the new logo has been hailed as a design success, the old edition was perfectly—and pithily—on point… thanks to synecdoche.

*Synecdoche: a figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole (as fifty sail for fifty ships), the whole for a part (as society for high society), the species for the genus (as cutthroat for assassin), the genus for the species (as a creature for a man), or the name of the material for the thing made (as boards for stage). -Merriam-Webster Dictionary

This is a tremendously exciting time to be doing what we do: never before has there been such a diverse range of communication tools and venues available to help organizations tell their stories, and build a “mosaic brand.”

Blog posts around New Year’s often focus on reflections on the year behind us,  or predictions for the year ahead. We’re going to land somewhere in the middle, and share a few favorite posts from our blog over the last 12 months. Technically, that’s reflective, I suppose — but some of them had predictions, too!

We’ll be sharing more of our thinking in the months ahead, and celebrating some great achievements by our friends and partners.

Stay tuned.. and the very happiest of New Year’s to you and yours.

Sage thoughts from Roger on when “logo drama” is unwarranted (starring corporate titans Starbucks and the Gap)

Our New Year’s video from last year — a labor of love

What happens when great design and great music come together

A favorite identity from the past year — and a project we’re proud to be a part of

Everyone gets a turn with the markers and whiteboard around here

“Adopsters”… the hipsters of social media

Sametz Blackstone 101: so is it an actual “cup of tea”, or?

Director of Design, Joerg, looks back in time… and finds that it flies

A can by any other color would not taste as sweet?

Thanks for coming by today — and join us for more in 2012!

Luckily, in addition to being an incredibly smart group of people, the Sametz Blackstone team is extraordinarily welcoming, patient, and kind. Over the last six weeks they have taught me far more than I would ever learn in a semester’s worth of classes on branding, marketing, and communications—with a sprinkling of design on top.

Part of my learning curve has been understanding the way of talking about branding unique to Sametz Blackstone. The following is a cheat sheet to a few of my favorite phrases heard often in the office:

“First handshake”: Your first impression of a brand. What is the look / feel / emotional affect of this brand?

“Messages have to live somewhere”: Branding messages aren’t just words that exist in a vacuum. How those messages are brought to life in printed materials or on a website is inextricably tied to design. You could have the most compelling brand message in the world, but if your fonts, imagery, and colors are inconsistent across different messaging vehicles, your brand will still not pack its maximum punch.

“Cups of Tea”: Qualitative research is a key tool to be used in understanding and articulating a meaningful, authentic brand message. Having metaphorical—or real!—cups of tea with different constituents across a brand (the brand managers, the brand users, etc.) is at the heart of what SBA does to really get to know a brand from the inside out and communicate its value most effectively.

“Ways In”: Different audiences connect with the same brand differently. An individual donor interested in educational policy issues shouldn’t be spoken to in the same way as the corporate foundation who needs to fulfill both a philanthropic and a marketing goal. Understand the different ways into your brand—and the brand values that resonate most closely with diverse key constituent groups—allows an organization to nimbly shift its messaging accordingly.

“Mosaic branding”: Fundamental to Sametz Blackstone’s work is the view that a brand is like a mosaic. It’s made up of pieces that we can control (for example, the words, fonts, and colors we use) and that we can’t control (your consumers’ conversations), which all come together to communicate the meaning integral to the dynamic organism that is a brand.

Casually drop one of these phrases into conversation at Sametz Blackstone and you’re sure to sound like an old pro.

Now, if only I could really become an old pro at the office’s archaic and rather terrifying phone system…