I’m as skeptical of concepts like branding as you are. If not implemented properly, branding becomes a blithe marketing strategy more closely aimed at consumer perception than experience. But when I sat down last month to sketch out my 2008 content goals, clarifying our branding elements and better integrating them into our web site’s content was high on the list. (more…)

In Jake Bunger’s great post, he discussed the challenges of trying to create Web sites when we need the talents and cooperation of people from vastly different worlds:  the left-brained, logical IT experts and the right-brained, creative communications and marketing folks.  The lively comments to that post indicate that most of us have faced this dilemma.  I have also likened it to serving as an interpreter and translator between different worlds and even between slightly different species. (more…)

Ringing in the new year with a resolution to improve the user experience of the Web, one site at a time …

One of the great challenges in building a Web site to meet the needs of many different types of users — for example, patients who could have any of a thousand or so potential needs — lies in the information architecture. Where do you put the key piece of information that a user is coming to your site for, when each user approaches the site differently? (more…)