Too True

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Interface Matters

This is a great article about how today brands are defined by their interface. Rather than summarize (because it's currently very late), I've pulled some of my favorite quotes.

"The superficialists might say, that brands create identity through consistency, which creates trust. Sounds logical, but brands are not logical, they’re emotional. If you see a brand as an interface it allows you to explore the notion of brand experience being user experience. People don’t analyze usability, they enjoy it. For the customer usability is a matter of well being, while using. And being well means not needing to think in order to act..."

"Usually strong usability, simplicity and a clear focus automatically lead to a strong identity... Craigslist and delicious with their standard link colors are not pretty, they’re strong, and as they’re interactive products, they’re strong through functionality. Facebook, maybe is an example of a very usable website that might go for a more audacious interface/brand identity..."

"That branding doesn’t equal to creating a logo, is an simple truth that brand consultants have been fighting for a long time. Yet it’s never been so clear until recently: Brand equals interface not surface..."

http://informationarchitects.jp/the-interface-of-a-cheeseburger/

I knew I was not as crazy as I thought to be obsessing about the interface of the New Athenian - I want to approach all aspects of this project as a brand building exercise and getting the navigation right felt like it should be an important part of that and now I know why.

Inspiration

I've been unhappy with the magazine section of the site for a while now, but unable to devote the time to redesigning it, and hesitant to add content until that is taken care of. However, I believe I have found inspiration.

From the beginning Adam and I have wanted to magazine to be innovative in more than just its content, and the look and feel has been a very important aspect for both of us. And, while the wallpaper was a great source of inspiration for us, and continues to be a great aesthetic, well Victorian Paisley has its limits...

I grabbed this menu from a cafe in Rochester, N.Y. this fall when I visited my friend Julie and this is what we're going to jump off from in terms of the site's table of contents and organization. The look and feel of the design is great, and I like that it is at once both clean, clear and logically organized, but also busy and visually very interesting. And, just somehow it feels like it fits with what we have thus far.

Moreover, I recently got some business cards made with the New Athenian's website included at the top, so that I'd be forced to make this idea into a reality sooner rather than later.

I won't give a time line, because I'm just not comfortable doing that. If I did that the terrorists would know just when to check back here (haha such an outdated joke). But, our time horizon is within the next couple weeks.

I will concurrently be working to build my online portfolio for advertising and such, so hopefully we'll have a big launch party for everything! Though, that's much easier said than done.