Media: New Thinking lays into the Incomprehension of Branding on the Web

In his latest column, Gerry McGovern makes explicit a problem that doesn't seem to be going away: that ad agencies interfere with good web design. What we've all been thinking for years as we wait for the 'creatives' to catch up:

'Whenever I talk about the need for simple, clean web design, there is nearly always someone in the audience who raises an objection. I am informed that I don’t understand branding.

'Branding. I don't know how many times branding has been used as an excuse for awful web design. What's the biggest global brand that has emerged in the last five years? Google. And it's because of its multicolored logo? Or perhaps because it’s a great search engine?

'Branding on the Web is about successful task completion, not fancy images, or heaven forbid, Flash. I ask my audiences: "What do you do when you see a Flash intro?" Almost in unison, they chant: "Skip Intro!" (Why, there's even a website called skipintro.com.) What is a Flash intro except a fourth rate TV ad by someone who knows that they will never get the chance to do a real TV ad?'

Hurrah! He promises that next week we will find out why ad agencies don't understand the Web, and what we can do to avoid making their mistakes.

Associated Link: Web design: never let an ad agency near your website

Study: Mobile Web sites need Improvement
Source: CNET, 13 October 2008
 
A new study suggests that the usability of many mobile Web sites still needs improvement.

Better Usability makes Online Backup more Appealing
Source: UN, 11 October 2008
 
Repeat after me: "Backup via the Internet is for everybody."

IBM Task Modeler version 6 now Available
Source: Unknown, 10 October 2008
 
The latest release of IBM Task Modeler is now available for download. This includes many new features to support efficient and collaborative task analysis and synthesis.

Caroline's Corner: Design to Read - Designing for People who do not Read easily
Source: Caroline Jarrett, 9 October 2008
 
Reading is a skill many of us take for granted. Chances are that if you’re reading this, you’re one of the lucky ones who read easily.

Bill Buxton to change Microsoft from within
Source: The Register, 8 October 2008
 
"Last year Steve Ballmer said to 85,000 employees 'If you don’t change and you don’t go in this direction, we’re dead, and I don’t want to die.' I wanted to go hug him when he said that."

New Report: Innovative Marketing in the Digital World
Source: E-consultancy, 7 October 2008
 
A new report from E-consultancy provides a distillation of ideas and suggestions provided by digital marketing experts.

Linking Industry with Academia
Source: unknown, 6 October 2008
 
Customer experience research consultancy, fhios, based in London, has just launched an innovative internship programme, aimed primarily at postgraduate students.

Online Travel Booking: What influences Consumers?
Source: Webcredible, 4 October 2008
 
What influences consumers when booking a holiday? How can travel companies offer the best user experience?

Getting the Word out
Source: UN, 3 October 2008
 
I SAID, I'M ON THE TRAIN... Voice recognition technology can now translate all those pesky garbled voicemails into manageable text messages.

Mobile hardware outpaces Software and User Capabilities
Source: ComputerWorld, 2 October 2008
 
The main issue dissuading users from employing all the capabilities of their mobile devices is the complexity involved in operating them.