I Took the 2007 Web Design Survey

If you are involved in web development or design then get over and take the survey. It should only take about 10 minutes.

Vale Neil Barlow

Things have been a little quiet for the last few days as I have been helping design something that is very personal and close to home – a funeral for my uncle, Neil.

Like many self-employed consultants he left his home office 3 weeks ago to visit with a client.  The meeting went well and the client, as always, left the meeting with inspiration and ideas.  Unfortunately due to an accident on the stairs when he was leaving Neil didn’t go home but to hospital instead.  He didn’t make it out of hospital and this week we will mark his passing and celebrate his life.

The world is short one very inspirational and hard-working solopreneur this week.

I am sure that you will excuse me if I am little quiet for the next few days.  I might actually open the mic to you the Working Solo readers to share stories about some of the people that have inspired you on your journey as a solopreneur.

Take care out there.

Design is Not Just Looking Pretty

Good [tag]design[/tag] is not just about how something looks! Let me repeat for you one of my favourite design philsophies -

Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.

Everyday I use what I consider to be some very well designed [tag]time and activity management tools[/tag]. These tools are designed by [tag]David Seah[/tag] and have been very interestingly titled The Printable CEO Series.

I know that some of you will be surprised that I use paper and pencil to manage my daily workload but it presents me with the most functional and practical way for me to manage my day.

My favourites are the :

• [tag]Concrete Goals Tracker[/tag]
• [tag]Emergent Tasks Tracker[/tag]

If you are looking for some design that is practical, well laid out and a great example of good informational design then give The Printable CEO Series a try.

PowerPoint – Has its death been greatly exagerated?

The Sydney Morning Herald this week published a story that some people have been touting for sometime – the death of the PowerPoint presentation.

If you have ever had a brush with the corporate world then you would have experienced “death by PowerPoint”. Your death not that of PowerPoint; your heartbeat and breathing stopping while the PowerPoint presentation (and the presenter) continued to roll on oblivious to your nodding head.

Are you brave enough to own up to having been the perpetrator of PowerPoint paralysis? Are you still rolling out those wordy presentations, crammed with so much information that you don’t have to remember your script, you just read off the slide of course?!?

The researchers quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald article have actually identified why PowerPoint presentations aren’t effective (and you just thought it was the bad design).

If you have ever wondered why your eyes start glazing over as you read those dot points on the screen, as the same words are being spoken, take heart in knowing there is a scientific explanation.

It is more difficult to process information if it is coming at you in the written and spoken form at the same time.

Ah! Now that poses many interesting questions.

It also questions the wisdom of centuries-old habits, such as reading along with Bible passages, at the same time they are being read aloud in church. More of the passages would be understood and retained, the researchers suggest, if heard or read separately.The findings show there are limits on the brain’s capacity to process and retain information in short-term memory.

Interested in the research?

I must have swallowed a little too much of the Microsoft mouthwash (sorry, brainwash) because I still see there’s a part to be played by PowerPoint. BUT (and that is a big but) only if it is done well.

One of my philosophies when it comes to design is :

Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.

And in my book the same goes for PowerPoint presentations.

• Don’t use PowerPoint as an Autocue
• Don’t cram everything you are going to say on the slides
• Don’t write in full sentences
• Do use images, graphs and diagrams to convey your message
• Do learn how to use PowerPoint from people that know how to do it well
• Do use the “less is more” philosophy
• Definitely let the PowerPoint go if it/you are putting you audience to sleep

There are many resources available to you to design and deliver wonderful presentations that are supported by PowerPoint. These are just a few.

Presentation Zen – www.presentationzen.com
Garr Reynolds – Top 10 Slide Tips – www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/slides.html
Manager Smarter – Presentations – www.presentations.com
PresenationPro – www.presentationpro.com

Furthering the conversation!

What questions do you have about how to make your PowerPoint presentation better? What do and don’t tips do you have?

Related Posts -

Want An Online Video? but only know how to use PowerPoint

Technology and the Power of Influence

100 Keys to Solo Success – #17 Have Great Presentation Skills

Image by Gapingvoid

Music and Design

There is a movie around at the moment called Music and Lyrics – romantic comedy, with all the usual leading characters, and just the way many people would enjoy spending a quite evening with popcorn and soft drink.

BUT that’s not what I am talking about here! Music and Lyrics may not inspire all that much but Music and Design can produce outstanding outcomes and inspire people to great levels of creativity.

For me music plays a large role in my process of creativity and allows me to get focused, shift moods and quiet my mind of distracting to-do’s and “day dramas”.

A recent post by Derek Featherstone at A Box of Chocolates reminded me how much music plays a part in my workday. Derek reflected that 2 of his favourite moments at the SXSW conference this year were actually to do with music – particularly the panel presentation on The Influence of Art on Design.

Here is where I found it got really interesting. They almost all discussed music and how it influences their design work: choosing the right tunes/mix to evoke emotions that fit with the tone of the piece in which they were immersing themselves.

The iTunes folder on my laptop (I still haven’t seen the need to be an portable mp3 player yet) contains a large array of music that can get me in almost any mood required. From AC/DC to Joss Stone, Jon Stevens, Santana, Paul Mac, James Morrison, Ella Fitzgerald, Cold Chisel, Jack Johnson …. and the list goes on.

And just like Derek it made me start thinking about where else in the workday music could help me and you to be more focused and more creative. I have clients and friends who specialise in providing training and consultancy into the corporate workplace and wonder how music could help them create better programs for their clients. And for those people who work one-on-one with individuals to create better personal successes, how music might allow them to design better tools. And again the list goes on …

Do you use music to help you in your business? I would love to know what type of music helps you achieve the difference types of design that occur everyday in your business.

Image from flickr by Megan

[tags] Music and Lyrics, design, music, focus, business [/tags]

April is Design Month

Ah April ….. I love this time of year. The nights are cooler, the days are full of big blue skies that go on forever and the leaves are starting to get a tinge of colour. And for me it is one of the most creative times of year. In honour of all this I am going to focus the blogs this month on design!

The posts will be full of tips on better design (both online and in general business areas), colour, blog designs, highlighting examples of great design, tips on how to get the most from your digital photography, organising images and taping into the creative side of the business owner in you.

The posts will also be a little more regular in April thanks to some blogtipping from Carolyn Manning .

The first round of design posts will be with you tomorrow. Until then enjoy your day!