Cullmann Design Blog

Google Wave, the strange, neither here nor there Google app is turning over it’s first year. Recently at the Google I/O Conference, some new life has been breathed into the application and there seems to be a renewed buzz in the online community. The pre-release version lacked some functionality and a clear purpose. It actually had, and now still has, a tremendous amount of potential. In the last year, improvements in the stability and development of extensions have allowed the benefit of such a “real-time” oriented application to become evident. If you are not familiar with Wave, it’s a hybrid employing the length and editing tools you would find in an email client, with the “real-time” content delivery instant messaging offers. Additionally, you can now “publish” waves to any webpage and also review the collective work as via a playback feature and see how a given “wave” has formed.

The most recent release is a maturing application that can be used immediately for sharing, distributing, editing and publishing a collaborative workflow to a group of any size. I can see now what had driven Google to create such a unique tool. Like many other great idea that have launched, user adoption is going to be key in the success of Google Wave. It’s ideal for groups that work remote from one another or instances where seeing a linear progression in a conversation is required. If you haven’t had a chance to try it, wave.google.com is open to anyone with a Google ID. If you want to get a strong grasp as to what Wave is capable of, I recommend Gina Trapani’s book The Complete Guide To Google Wave. Google also has a dedicated Wave Blog and there is technical documentation for the Wave protocol as well. A Wave to accompany this post is also available.

A new short file, Up There, by Director, Malcolm Murray showcases the few remaining craftsmen who are painting large outdoor ads in New York City. The photography is fantastic and the story touching. The director chooses close, intimate shots as the artist work on these multi-story, large scale hand-painted advertisements.

UP THERE – trailer from The Ritual Project on Vimeo.

The short film, in its entirety, can been seen on Vimeo

The design of web interfaces are based on the mouse and keyboard model of user interaction. That model is based on the presumption that a user is engaged with your content primarily with the use of a keyboard for text input and a mouse (or similar pointing device) controlling an ever-present on-screen cursor. With a touch-enabled interface, the user interaction model is different. Designers need to define exactly what a “click” will yield without the act of discovery that is part of some modern website designs. Equally important is the directive copy. No longer can the user rely on a “tool-tip” or similar device to nudge users along an interactive path to engage their content.

In the past few weeks, there has been a tremendous amount written about touch-interface and specifically Flash. Flash is not the culprit in this evolution, but it is a primary offender. In Steve Job’s public denouncement of Abobe Flash, he points towards it’s reliance on mouse driven interaction. This is not so much a Flash issue (although many Flash sites rely on rollover as a primary state of user interaction) as it’s a design issue that carries over from the popular operating systems including Mac OS X (the hidden doc and spring-loaded folders for instance). There are many instances of non-flash interfaces taking advantage of rollovers to expose content, change state or even reveal entirely new content areas. As a general rule, this is probably a bad design decision. If your design lacks a concise call to action for exposing content or leading the user to commit to an action, then there is a chance that the user may not discover that content (rollover or not).

How do designers and content creators fix this? The marketer’s tool: Call To Action. Anything that requires the user to interact with for content or to discover something should clearly announce “I am what you are looking for! Click on me”. In some cases the button should be this obvious, in other cases, subtlety may be in order. Either way, assume that a use must be committed enough to retrieving content that they click and commit to the action. This is good user interface design AND works for any and all methods for user input.

One cans make a case that AJAX and hidden content on a page can provide a good and responsive user interface. I agree. I myself make use of some content that is hidden for the user when they first visit my site. What is important, and the intent for my post, is to provide a good user experience regardless of the user’s device or if it supports a mouse, a touch-screen or even javascript. This is good for the user and also good for the designer/developer. Adhering to these practices future-proofs your designs regardless of what emerges in the market-place.

Conceptually “Brand Loyalty” presents itself as the foundation of good business practices. Whether you are a consumer focused enterprise or professionally oriented, the idea of your customers standing behind you is a pretty ideal position. The newest string of marketing buzz and social media marketing is rooted in brand loyalty: Having your customers interact with you in an open dialogue and connecting their own “brands” with those your provide by way of Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn or the myriad of other channels that present opportunity to engage your audience.

FastForward, a partnership channel shared by Google and the Wharton School presents Jean-Philippe Maheu, Worldwide Chief Executive Officer, Publicis Modem and his perspective on Brand Loyalty. His perspective is practical, direct and falls short of over-promising what consumer engagement can provide. Mr. Maheu’s perspective reinforces the idea that consumer loyalty is the result of a relationship and like any relationship requires attention and respect for the life of the bond.

FastForward offers a dedicated channel for marketing, business and consumer though-leaders. A dedicated YouTube channel can be found at: www.youtube.com/user/FastForward