C.R.A.P. (terrible name, infinitely useful) is an initialism which stands for contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity. The term was coined by Robin Williams (author of The Non-Designer’s Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice) and has become a basic principle of design. Utilizing the C.R.A.P. principles allows even the most inexperienced amateur designers to avoid the dreaded wall of text and instead create dynamic and attractive web content.

The basics of the C.R.A.P. principles are:

Contrast – Elements that aren’t supposed to be the same should be very different. Making the only slightly different confuses the eye and causes … Continue Reading

We get asked this question a lot. Do I really need a website? Why do I need it? When writing up a proposal for a potential client, I found myself answering that very question. Although this argument was for a service based company, it holds true for any industry from retail to industrial.

Dollar for dollar when you consider any other advertising money you spend, an effective website will return more on your investment, but you have to have a web strategy in order to achieve this return. We (NSNA) can help you develop and manage that strategy.

The web … Continue Reading

A question came in the other day as to why we did not have Macs in our offices so we could see the problems Mac users have when designing graphics for our application. After I got past the initial, knee jerk reaction of because we are an application development company not a graphic arts company; I then decided the question has real merit and should be respond to.

Our ProFusion Ultra IS and associated products … Continue Reading

I get asked questions like this all the time. The simple answer is: “Maybe you don’t.” If you are comfortable doing what you are doing and your business is meeting it’s growth projections, you may not. But, consider this; if you are not growing or you are tired of advertising that is becoming less and less productive and more and more expensive, then a website is your most effective least expensive marketing vehicle next to a business card.

Let’s face it. If you do not have a business card and a business phone today. How serious are you really, about being … Continue Reading

What do users see when they see your website?

According to a study conducted last year by the Nielsen Norman Group, they see a big F. The study, which used special eyetracking equipment to measure how much users looked as specific parts of a web page, showed users tended to view sites in a pattern that looks roughly like an “F,” scanning across the top and down the left-hand side. In addition, they spent almost no time looking at large images, banner ads, or other graphic content. In fact, they often skipped over meaningful content if it looked too much like … Continue Reading

If your website is not producing it is not your fault. Blame Kevin Costner. Websites are not like “Field of Dreams”. Just because you built it does not mean “they will come”. A website is the single most powerful arrow in a quiver full of marketing weapons, but it will not do any good – no matter how creative or informative it is – if it cannot be found.

As a marketer, I often have the opportunity to discuss promotion ideas with clients. It still amazes me at how many otherwise intelligent business people do not see much value in … Continue Reading

We’ve all marveled at spectacularly ugly logos, or unbelievably stupid movies, or completely inexplicable web sites. And when we see these things, we wonder – who came up with that? Who thought that was a good idea?

Often, the answer is: nobody.

It was a committee.

It might seem odd that a group of people working together should be able to come up with something that not one of them actually likes, yet, in my experience as a designer, it happens all the time. A company rebrands, only to revert to the previous branding a few months later. A company goes through an … Continue Reading

Creating a contact us page is essential when building an online presence through a website or a blog. It tends to be the page on your website with the least content, but is one of the most highly visited by your clients. Internet users have become accustomed to looking for a contact us page when searching for contact details like a phone number or address. Many website owners don’t give a second thought to the contact us page after it’s built. We ask you to give your contact us page a second glance with these best practices in mind.

What should … Continue Reading

One of the challenges of graphic design is that it can be very difficult to express visual concepts precisely in words. It’s hard enough for designers to talk to each other, when they already have a shared background of terminology and concepts – for designers and non-designers, trying to communicate can be incredibly frustrating.

Number one tip: Use a standard color reference Continue Reading

"I hate it."

The words every designer dreads hearing.

When you hate your first (or second or third) website design, it’s easy to assume that somebody must have done something wrong. Maybe the designer was lazy, or your sales representative is an idiot, or maybe it’s you, maybe you didn’t "ask right." But there’s really no "right" and "wrong" when it comes to designs. You probably didn’t do anything "wrong" and your sales rep and designer probably didn’t either. You just don’t like your first design. The question is not, "what went wrong?", the question is "where do we go from … Continue Reading