Interesting concept for usability testing from Australia. So much of design is about first impressions and that seems to be the idea here...
An interesting case study outlining the importance of usability testing. The company highlighted was able to increase customer purchasing by 45%, resulting in an annual $300 million revenue increase, by simply changing a button.
TypeNeu - A cool blog packed with a seemingly endless supply of typographic sources, links and inspiration.
A nice little archive of flash pre-loaders, www.prettyloaded.com/ some nice stuff.
As the economy continues to slide many brands are turning to digital to provide truly quantifiable campaigns. The growth of the cost per acquisition model across online media is just one example of this and reflects the increasingly competitive market in which online spend seems to be standing up well against more traditional forms of advertising.
We are also seeing brands utilising digital to measure conversion and add a direct response element to traditional campaigns. This approach not only allows brands to measure and optimise their offline activity, it also allows them to extend the life of a campaign, with the potential for providing better value for money. Perhaps most importantly; by driving consumer registration companies can start a dialogue with their consumers and learn more about the people buying their products and services.
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Now you can see (in the sidebar) what we're listening to in the office! Courtesy of our LastFM station. Enjoy!
In an attempt to get a head start on the new year health drive I spent a few mornings over the Christmas break having rings ran round me by my Royal Marine brother. Having left my trusty GPS watch up in Leeds I reverted to one of my favourite sites www.mapmyrun.com to confirm my general lack of fitness and track my return to athletic prowess. The site uses Google Maps to allow you to plot your route, ensuring you can see how far you are going and where the mile markers are. It’s a useful tool for a wide variety of sports and this hasn’t been lost on the site owners who have launched a variety of re-skinned spin offs like MapMyRide and MapMyHike.
On top of this simple but highly effective tool the site is building a social network which provides users with a profile and training log in order to share routes, add friends and keep a track of their fitness. This is where Facebook connect comes in; I can now log in to the site using my Facebook credentials and find out if any of my Facebook friends are using the site. My activities on the site are then posted back to my Facebook profile (after adding the site's Facebook App) and the activities of any of my friends who use MapMyRun will appear in my newsfeed.
