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Bad websites. Links that don’t work. Pixilated American Flags shimmering next to the company name. Scroll bars that go on for miles. Unintelligible code symbols dotting text. Layouts you have to dig through with a backhoe.
Increasingly, the web and digital media are becoming the first point of contact between consumers and brands. First impressions are critical.
Take the name Razorfish. Short, punchy. Intriguing. Dripping with coolness. So, what is it? A designer clothing line? Nope. A counter-culture website? Nope. An indie-rock band? Nope. Razorfish is part of Avenue A, one of the leading web design and digital media firms in the country. The Atlanta office of Avenue A/Razorfish serves clients such as the New York Times Online and Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division. I sat down with several members of Razorfish to learn more about the digital media revolution.
When designing a website, do you start with aesthetics first, or do you plan out the structure/architecture to make it easy to use?
Conor Brady (visual design): We definitely start with research first and figure out who we’re designing for. And after that I think it really depends on the client. From the conversations we’ve been having lately, I think we’re seeing trends within the space going to a much more conceptually driven experience as opposed to an ‘I get from A to B-type experience.’ And if that’s how the trend’s going, then creative will have to be much more involved upfront, so we can come up with those types of experiences. The user experience is still very relevant as in how you get around the site because there’s no point in designing sites that look good but don’t work. So we have to make sure we address both.
Your firm champions user experience. Do you see spam and pop-up ads as thing of the past because they detract from that experience?
Kari Niles (copywriter): For our clients, that’s absolutely gone. Certain direct marketing folks are going to continue to use it, but, for instance on the Kodak stuff that I work on, we’re decreasing the number of emails we’re sending and those are actually opted in. People want this information. But now, instead of four messages a month, we’re going to send one that’s really super-meaningful. So we’re decreasing our numbers of contacts with the consumer and making sure it’s really relevant. Mason Poe (web designer): I think that plays back to the paradigm shift that’s going on right now. Old media was about turning this big blow-horn on and spraying out everywhere, “this is our message, this is our message.” And the new paradigm is to turn that on its side and listen to what people want and deliver content based on that. Jane Friesen (client partner): We have the types of clients who don’t want any part of their brand experience to feel invasive and unwelcome. That’s a really important consideration.
In your experience, are companies willing to give more creative freedom in non-traditional media than in traditional media?
Conor: I think so. It’s hard to reinvent the print ad, it’s hard to reinvent a TV commercial because it tends to rely on a clever idea or a clever picture, whereas I think we can see our spaces as it’s changing so quickly; we can do so many different things. And because of that I think people are a little more encouraged to take risks because they have a lot more area to play in, they have a lot more freedom, a lot more power of expression than they would do in other of the mediums for advertising. Because the space is evolving so quickly people are having to take risks because they’re having to see what works. Kari: And also, unlike all the other mediums, you can test. Test on a minute-by-minute basis, day by day basis. You can go back to a client and say, “Short version wasn’t working. Let’s run the long version.” Conor: It’s also about value. Somebody spends $250, 000 on a TV commercial and then they have to pay to put it into 30 second spots. The investment upfront for that amount of exposure is huge. The investment online has been able to do a lot of other things, like sell directly from your advert. You can’t sell directly from a TV commercial because you’re relying on someone to make another connection. They’re either going to go to a shop, they’re going to go to a website, they’re going to go somewhere else to buy the product. Whereas within the ad the online, you’re not only advertising it, you’re selling it. From one click you can have them in an online buying experience where they can buy the product as well.
For jobs in digital media, what work samples should writers show? Designers?
Kari: Any and all. I think people try to tailor their books too much when they come to see us. “Oh, they do websites, I’ll just show my web pages.” Great creative speaks volumes. You know a good thing when you see it, whether it’s an ad or even somebody’s personal journal. I love to see what people work on in their own lives. I have a novel in the drawer. I don’t want to read a novel but I do want to read some short samples, some editorial style. I love to see some headlines, but I don’t need to see a finished website. I think the more the better for writers.
Jane: I think about [PC grad] Katie [Kosma]’s portfolio. Katie did not have one piece that was interactive or digital. What she had was high-concept, exquisitely rendered work that was all about ideas. And she was able articulate her ideas really well when she presented the work to us so that you understood the product or the visual result. I think that’s what we look for more than anything in a writer or designer. Great design is fueled by great ideas.
Mason: I think a lot of this revolves around the storytelling aspect of it. That’s ultimately what this is all about. Design and copywriting are tools of storytelling and if I was to say one thing other than high-concept, I want to see a push to publish. I want to see a person that has that—I think you get so much out of publishing. Publishing online is readily available. I want to see someone who has embraced that and has done something different with it.
Jane: More than a Myspace page.
Mason: And more than just a blog. Like right now my buddies and I have Mustache May. I’m not participating anymore, I’m retired. But there are all sorts of things you can do in an online space which bring people together and you can do it in sort of an indie rock way.
Even if Razorfish isn’t an indie rock band, it’s amusing to think about their impact on clients—because somewhere, there’s an investment banker driving his AMG coupe home from the dealership, head-banging to Ben Folds.
Portfolio Center students share a strong desire to communicate ideas, the willingness to let go of preconceived notions, and the compulsion to learn new ways of thinking. These qualities are fostered by the school’s constant stream of industry bigwigs, who bring their varied and colorful perspectives from all over the country. These creatives, who are always generous with their time and energy, tend to hang out with students, conducting informal workshops and continuing the day’s discussions over dinner. Often, what results are provocative interviews—written, shot, and designed by PC students.
