Less Everything Blog - Design Comments

Comment on 'It's Always Easier Looking In.' by Kevin Webber

2010-08-07T23:58:46Z

Applications are a lot like icebergs (I used my Forrest Gump voice there). Only a fraction of the iceberg is actually visible above water, so it looks tiny at first glance, but go below the depths and you realize how enormous it really is. Google immediately comes to mind; most people experience a two page site, basically a text box and a list of results.

Comment on 'It's Always Easier Looking In.' by Michael

2010-07-30T03:51:31Z

I actually think that the simpliest apps can be hardest to design. I takes a lot of thinking and trying to come up with something almost perfect :)

Comment on 'It's Always Easier Looking In.' by Aaron Deckler

2010-07-29T18:04:05Z

The same is true for design. It’s very easy to look at a finished work and say “I could reproduce that.” The real struggle is in the maturation process of the concept/design. A successful project typically has a good chunk of time devoted to failed ideas.

Comment on 'It's Always Easier Looking In.' by Eric Anderson

2010-07-29T16:17:40Z

Good thoughts.

I think that is why people are so bad at estimating. They think about the finished product and say “that will be easy to build”. They don’t think about the fact that the finished product will end up being a good bit different than first envisioned and the steps that will be necessary to take it from a vision to a final product that make sense in the real word. Not to mention all the other thing you have to do besides actually building it (marketing, support, etc.).

Comment on 'It's Always Easier Looking In.' by Eric Fleming

2010-07-29T16:13:24Z

Very well said, I am also experiencing this with my app as I try to build out the next big feature. Seems easy, but it is really really hard. The revisions take time, the design takes time, the infrastructure takes time, and the marketing takes a crazy amount of time.

Comment on 'It's Always Easier Looking In.' by Adam Cantrell

2010-07-29T15:48:17Z

Very true! No one ever truely knows the “behind the scenes” work that goes into any production.

Comment on 'It's Always Easier Looking In.' by Brad Stephens

2010-07-29T15:43:16Z

very well said Sir. Now time to rearrange the shop for the 1,000,000th time to make it flow a bit better.

Comment on 'You need eyeballs first' by Landy Bruce

2010-07-28T15:26:39Z

I think this is a funny post. I have to check this site first before anything else so that I will understand what this post is trying to tell.

Comment on 'Static Screen Captures Suck' by Joanne

2010-07-26T22:06:03Z

Well, these are similar questions I have in my mind which require clear answers. Whether screen capture really help sell the web page etc. Thanks for sharing this video. It surely is very slick.

Comment on 'Static Screen Captures Suck' by Francine

2010-07-26T21:49:09Z

These are similar questions I have in my mind which require clear answers. Whether screen capture really help sell the web page etc. Thanks for sharing this video. It surely is very slick.

Comment on '#10 Rules for Bootstrapped Web App Startups ' by Diabetes log

2010-07-23T20:15:23Z

I agree with most of the list. We’ve taken much the same approach to our application. Over 3000 users (free tho) and growing strongly!

Comment on 'Jason Fried of 37Signals at LessConf 2009' by Renalyn Subaybay

2010-07-22T02:17:01Z

I like this interview. It really helps me to clear up about my business. Thanks Jason!

Comment on 'Jason Fried of 37Signals at LessConf 2009' by Brix Baldo

2010-07-20T10:04:12Z

Jason your the man. Highly skilled entertain man, thanks for the info about the features of signal 37.

Comment on 'Brand is the aftermath of your actions' by Glenn Friesen

2010-06-28T23:55:54Z

Absolutely spot on, though unfortunately, not universally accepted.

Many of those I’ve met at the C-level focus on “branding” to motivate those beneath them to convey a uniform message. A brand identity.

Without this established brand identity, I think most employees would convey whatever their interpretation of the brand is. And I know from experience, it really sucks for a business when all the business-people do their own thing, rather than maintain a uniform message or uniform vision.

Ultimately, though, your point is that actions speak louder than words and all we’re hearing nowadays is silence. That – believe me – I can absolutely jive with.

- Glenn

Comment on 'Brand is the aftermath of your actions' by alex

2010-06-17T04:43:32Z

I think this post is dead-on, but I would point out that the visual and textual elements that the customer interacts with are part of the brand along with service, product, etc.

IMO branding is: making sure that everything the consumer touches that is identifiable as part of your business comes together to create a coherent and consistent mental model of your business (i.e. Brand Image) that works to increase the success of your business.

A brand as I define it is a set of expectations and beliefs held by your customers and potential customers, which can be manipulated in a wide variety of ways. These ways include service, product, time to delivery, price, channel, etc. They also include your graphic design elements and any copy you present to the consumer.

That is a long way of saying that I think design is important too, although it would, as you note, be a grievous mistake to take a logotype or webpage to be “the brand”.