I upgraded to WordPress 2.7 via a remote connection successfully!
Good times!
To read more about WordPress 2.7, please check out the changelog, download 2.7 here and read more about upgrading your WordPress installation here.
Information Architecture for Game Publisher websites (part 1)
It has been a couple of weeks since I last wrote about Information Architecture, be it IA and user testing or designing for the mobile web in mind, and I want to talk about a topic today which relates somewhat to a somewhat new-ish step in Information Architecture, namely the integration of user retention and user interaction.
It is not news to anyone that I – like so many – enjoy video games, come on, it is a multi-million pounds industry. Game publishers have sought to expand their marketing influence in a number of new ways, some of them have started using social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Digg, etc to promote their games either via their own channels, or via publicity stunts (Wii Fit girl anyone?). The message is clear – generate interest, generate sales. Since the company I work for has just signed a deal with a UK-based games publisher with Japanese roots and a European charm I have been looking more into the information architecture of this (still rapidly growing) market, which in turn has opened another door or two for additional potential clients.
Melon Design & Marketing’s new website is live!
I am happy to announce that the new site of Melon Design & Marketing has gone live today!!
Melon Design & Marketing is a creative communication agency based near Milton Keynes, between Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire, specialising in a number of sectors such as branding & corporate identity, graphic design, website design & development, advertising and e-marketing, print management, photography and copywriting.
You can read more about all their services here, and about their in-house CMS Engine on this page.
A small update – it has been a while…
A lot has happened in the world of information architecture, usability and Flash development…and I have been really slow updating the blog with useful information. For that I apologise. I changed jobs in August and am now a Web Services Development Manager at a lovely company called Melon Design & Marketing (our new website will go live soon!). Obviously, a new job requires new challenges, and these have taken a lot of my personal time to get used to the new climate and to effectively make a difference.
So, a quick update on this blog (thought it might be quite interesting, it certainly is for me!):
- The blog was set up on February 19th 2008
- Since then it has attracted over 26,000 views
- The biggest referrers at the moment are Ubisoft’s forum, Gearbox software forum, WebForumz.com a few magazine sites (due to the BiA post) and Facebook
- The RSS feed has attracted 67 readers (hey, its a start considering I never expected the blog to take off anyway!)
- Spam Karma has caught 712 spam messages since February (in your face, spammers!!)
Additionally, I have now joined Twitter, why not say “hi”, I would appreciate it 😉
Thanks and best wishes to all my readers, I’ll continue about IA, Usability and Flash Development soon!
Brothers in Arms – Hell’s Highway: biahh.exe has stopped working – here is how to fix it (updated)
Brothers in Arms – Hell’s Highway is a wonderful game, it received an overall 82 score on Metacritic and is generally a wonderful game – if you are one of the lucky ones to get it to run from the word “Go” that is. Like some users I was greeted with the following message after installing it on my Vista machine:
biahh.exe has stopped working
…followed by a lengthy error message indicating a “General protection fault”. Not sure how to fix it? Read more on how to fix the problem…
How to invoice for design work – a quick guide
So you have finally done it, you are a freelancer or have set up your own little design agency and you have your first clients with jobs coming in. And now comes the time that a project comes to the point where money is involved, be it just before the first 1/3 of the project is done or towards the end of the project. But what do you need to look out for? Where to go for resources if anything goes wrong?
Continue reading after the break for some strategies on how to invoice for your web design or web development work…
On Google Chrome – the new browser on the block
Google just launched its beta of Google Chrome, the in-house browser that is said to “combine a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier.” The browser comes with a lot of interesting features such as a new tab look, a neat address bar giving you the options to search for keywords or auto-completing (even partial) web addresses, anonymus web surfing, web application shortcuts and the ability to isolate browser tabs in case anything goes wrong.
So let’s have a closer look at the browser compared to the competition…
On link usability – the art of keeping call to actions consistent
Not so long ago I was asked by a client, if it was possible to change a couple of sections within their site as they just updated their product structure: the client was expanding their products to list two more categories. To make them stand out, their marketing team was thinking of using different colours throughout the main content area so that is looks much more consistent, which included changing all link colours and buttons to these new colours.
As a designer you have probably faced a similar situation before – can I or can I not change the link colours on certain pages to keep a consistent look and feel?