Taking inspiration from this photo we found this morning, it brought up the reality that many of us are holding our breath as we’re visiting websites.
What I mean by this is that there’s expectation, hurried, shallow breathing that happens when we search the web or visit a website. Our brains are one step ahead of where we are, looking for the answer to the question that seems so important.
This isn’t a bad thing. Please hear me.
We have questions and the web is about answering those. Where is this new Italian restaurant? What are the Oscar Nominees for this year?
And so on.
But it becomes bad when it becomes habitual. When we’re overlooking the aesthetics of the web.
But whose fault is it? Is it ours or have we just learned to use the web in this old and tiring way?
Apex says a well-designed website will get people to unlearn these habits. To slow their breath rather than hold it as they scroll through a page.
There’s a massive difference between these two experiences: holding your breath in anticipation and slowing your breath through awe.
Apex creates awe on the web through well-designed websites.
A website that slows your breath is one clients and businesses will remember.
It’s one you want to share, it’s a website people will return to in order to see more of what the site has to offer. It adds a human touch to what can be a very dry experience of browsing.
Also, knowing when to hold someone’s breath with the design and when to slow it can be crucial in getting conversions on a webpage.
This great post from Smashing Magazine (btw Smashing Magazine is a must-stop site for any web design that wants an healthy, in-depth look at both web development and design, particularly with WordPress. Their posts are infrequent, but oh boy when they do post something, it’s always enlightening and remarkable.
They cleverly compare an innovation in music originating with Bach with the recent emphasis on mobile web browsing and an interesting point arises, I’d say the biggest point between the two, and it’s probably not one people would expect.
It would seem that the older medium (traditional browsers on a desktop/laptop) would be more direct, simpler, and have more of the excess fat trimmed, but that’s not the case.
What we’ve noticed is that mobile browsing is far more direct and focused on a single goal, and far far less tolerant of fluff than traditional web browsing.
Think about it, people don’t surf the web on their phones.
They have a very specific agenda when they get on their phone browser.
The reasons for this are obvious:
People are usually in the middle of something when they browse on their phone. This could them waiting in line, or in the middle of a conversation to settle a dispute (we’ve all been in one of those I’m sure).
Mobile broswing is far less comfortable than desktop browsing. The screen is smaller, usually the wait is longer, etc.
So, what’s the designer lesson in this?
Make a mobile website about one thing. They’re not interested in pop up ads, side games, anything that would take their attention away from their goal. If you ever doubted the fact that a website should be about a single call to action or theme, then leave that doubt far behind you when you’re designing for a mobile website.
Think about the mentality of a user when they’re logging on to a site you designed. This is probably a user that’s more rushed, more distracted, and wants the bottom line, always.
We can thank Jay Mug for the wonderful image that began this post.
With today being the first day of fall- I find it appropriate to talk about the exciting changes of the season. Yes, we are all excited about the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte (with soy – hold the foam) but many other things are changing as well. In the world of Social Media that is.
Myspace.com is (trying) to revamp the site to excite users and turn ‘em back to our old social media obsession. The new site will feel more like Facebook with a cleaner interface and more white space, and will focus on an individualized activity stream according to TechCrunch. If you look at Tom’s page (nostalgic, right?) you can get a glimpse of what the changes will be. The official drop date is October 15th.
The new, better Twitter has slowly started to take form. On the site the familiar timeline will see be there- but underneath the tweets there will be a lot more content revealed. The video better explains the changes but we are excited to see what they got!
Although Facebook is rather busy counting down the days till they get to see themselves on the big screen- they have realized the annoyance of games in newsfeeds and are working on fixing it up. Because honestly, does anyone really care that your imaginary cow ran out of food in Farmville?
So! This week was as eventful as any other! We had a bit of a crazy start! As Alli, our new addition, had troubles getting back from her vacation! Apparently, some crazy thought it would be a great idea to go around the runways, un-authorized…great! She did make it safe and sound the next day!
Lastly, our fearless leader (Josh) will be out of town for a couple of days to enjoy the sights and sounds of Germany’s Oktoberfest! Of course, he will be only observing the festivities and would never partake in the insane amounts of drinking that occur every year. We all hope that you enjoy all the sights and sounds of Oktoberfest, Josh! We also await your safe return anxiously!
Cementing my role of “resident videogame connoisseur,” I’m pretty pumped to hear about the newly-announced LoveSac Speedrun Classic this October. LoveSac make some really awesome furniture, and now they’ve letting you play some really great games… while sitting in really awesome furniture.
To commemorate the momentous occasion, LoveSac are creating a limited-edition Pwnage PillowSac, which sports a retro-themed color scheme and logo, plus a certain code that’s well-familiar to any child of the 80s. Winners from the events will receive tons of awesome LoveSac swag, as well as a custom Powerglove trophy – yes… it is so bad.
An excuse to take a trip to Boston, sit in some ridiculously comfy chairs and play a lot of Nintendo? Count me in. Head over to Destructoid.com for more details and a poll to pick the games that’ll be played during the events.
This week! Amazing as ever! It was a four day week due to Labor Day and it went by fast! Davis had a HUGE BBQ blow-out to christen his new home, Josh rode his hog down to D.C., Gabo hung around town and Alli partied it up over at Jerz.
The big news this week is the beginning of Fashion Week, making it a very busy time for us. Our clients, Beth Shak and Walter Steiger definitely have full schedules for this occasion. They’ll be attending various events and living it up in style (be sure to follow what they’re up to on Twitter at @bethshak and @waltersteiger to check out what they’re up to).
In other news, classic-rockers and our clients, Heart partnered-up with Etsy.com to give away a bunch of stuff from their new album, Red Velvet Car, through Etsy.com’s “Treasury Contest”. If you don’t know what a Treasury is (I sure didn’t), go check them out at Etsy.com.
Finally, and this is unrelated to anything else, we bring you a small piece of internet geekery, courtesy of our resident geek, Davis. He brought to our attention the YouTube Time Machine; an interesting contraption that helps you see videos from as early as the first sound recordings of the 1860’s to the car commercials we know and love today. Check it out at YTTM (which stands for You Tube Time Machine…clever).
And for the last, last thing we’ll bug you with (promise); in the spirit of fashion week (and, I guess, videos) we’ll leave you with a clip of a bunch of models falling and tripping (HILARIOUS!) during their runway walk.
In what is possibly the best app demo video I’ve seen, the guys behind Birdhouse explain why you, An Important Businessperson, need to purchase their app.
Described as a “notepad for Twitter,” Birdhouse is designed to let you jot down your ideas whenever, and then publish it later. You know, it’s perfect for those times when creepy people approach you on the subway platform, and you can’t tweet about it due to the lack of cell service. I’m considering it, only so I can be filled with the inner joy that comes with being fave’d. It’s available for $4 on the iTunes app store.
I’ve probably heard about the new Terminator movie at least once a week since it’s been announced, courtesy our Fearless Leader, Josh. I sent him a link to TerminateYourself.com with a note saying “your next twenty minutes are gone.” I was right.
I could pretend to tell you how we had an in-depth discussion about how great of an online marketing tool this was, and how it was a really smart use of the brand. But really, Apex just got terminated.
The fantastic folks at Quirk Books were kind enough to send a copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies our way, and while I haven’t gotten a chance to finish it, I can certainly say it’s everything I’d hoped it could be. I hate to use such a cliche line, but in this case, you really can judge a book by its cover. The scenes of Victorian English romance and social drama mesh surprisingly well with vicious attacks by the decomposing undead.
I’ll admit I’m not crazy about Jane Austen, but how can you not love passages like this:
His brother-in-law, Mr. Hurst, merely looked the gentleman; but his friend Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien – and the report which was in circulation within five minutes of his entrance, of his having slaughtered more than a thousand unmentionables since the fall of Cambridge.
The book’s currently sold out on Quirk Book’s page, but Amazon’s still got it.
