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Interesting musings from us to you
Free Social Sign In Buttons And Icons
5
Jan0
Posted by: FHOKE on 5th January 2012, 8:15 am
We love website design. We spend hours of our time designing, styling and re-working everyday buttons and icons to add sparkle and polish to our work. Recently we created a few Social Sign In Buttons and Icons that we thought you might like, each one has been lovingly created in Photoshop for you to use in your own designs.
3Live Shop. Minority Report Salesperson.
5
Apr0
Posted by: FHOKE on 5th April 2011, 9:20 am
We read a short article today on a piece of technology and some interesting interface design we felt should be shared. A new service from 3 mobile in Sweden, 3Live Shop, is like its name sake, a live online shop where customers of 3 can interact with a real salesperson. Putting it simply, a video call but with an almost futuristic twist. The twist being a customised multi-touch experience that allows the salesperson to interact with products on the display while it’s all recreated on the customer’s screen. Think Tom Cruise goes phone salesperson in Minority Report.
Categories: News & Articles, Interface Design
Targeted Banner Advertising Campaigns
11
Feb1
Posted by: FHOKE on 11th February 2011, 2:55 pm
With a wealth of knowledge working with online shops and stores it's becoming more apparent in today's market that you need to be offering something different. You might have great products at a great price but if you've not got a unique selling point (USP) or it's not instantly apparent to the user what offers you've got going on then your missing one of the many tricks in making your store successful.
Categories: Interface Design, Marketing & Communication
1140 Fluid CSS Grid System
20
Dec4
Posted by: FHOKE on 20th December 2010, 11:40 am
A couple months back we offered up a FREE PSD download of the newer 978 Grid System that was orginally talked about in depth from @NickLa of Web Designer Wall fame. But just a few weeks later we became very aware that maybe there was a better alternative. Welcome to the world of the 1140px Grid System.
10 Lab Inspired Sites
31
Oct1
Posted by: FHOKE on 31st October 2009, 1:55 pm
There seems to be a trend of late using the idea of a scientific lab or test tubes to the design of a site. A lot of these ideas probably do stem from name generation but its an interesting one to see emerging and is quite the opposite to the shiny apple trend of other web design styles. Here are some good examples of this pretty cool illustrative effect put into practice.
Categories: Trends, Interface Design
15 More Inspirational Sites
20
Aug0
Posted by: FHOKE on 20th August 2009, 4:51 pm
Continuing the look for inspirational website design we stumbled on a few more gems that we thought was only right to share with everyone.
Once again we've put together a list of 15 websites that inspire, some you may have seen some that might be new to you and as always if you have any inspirational sites that you’d like to share please post a comment and start a discussion.
15 Inspirational Websites
17
Jul4
Posted by: FHOKE on 17th July 2009, 11:14 am
We spend a lot of time researching the web, trying to find websites that inspire - not only by the way they look but in the way they work and what they say.
There are many things that make up a great website; design, content, branding, layout, wording, clarity and many other things besides. We have put together a list of 15 websites that inspire, some new and some slightly older favorites.
The Disappearing Home Button
6
Jul2
Posted by: FHOKE on 6th July 2009, 11:34 am
During a recent web project we decided to drop the usual home button from the main navigation which proved to be highly controversial. After much debate we ended up adding it back in.
Since this project the same dilemma has cropped up on a number of occasions, the dilemma is this: Do we stick to what we've been doing for many years now or do we make the change and ditch the home button? After all, is it really needed?
Categories: Trends, Interface Design
Breadcrumbs in Web Design
29
Apr2
Posted by: FHOKE on 29th April 2009, 2:53 pm
A type of secondary navigation, "breadcrumbs" (or "breadcrumb trails") are a user friendly way of showing where the user is within a site. Breadcrumbs are normally found within sites that have more than 2 levels of navigational links. You'll also see them in applications that have more than one step ("signposting"), for example on a checkout or booking system where a progress bar is needed.
Categories: Interface Design
4 Tips For Making Headers Stand Out
27
Apr0
Posted by: FHOKE on 27th April 2009, 8:01 am
Here's some tips to help users find the content they are looking for. These tips show how to make headers more effective and easier to identify and apply to both page headers and content sub-headers. Although they aren't the gospel they will definitely help and are things to consider when designing a site.
Categories: Interface Design
Tabbed Navigation Is Useful
22
Apr0
Posted by: FHOKE on 22nd April 2009, 12:49 pm
As in the real world browsing using a clearly labeled system on the web just works. Think about it, any shop such as a music store clearly labels rack space either by product or genre and it's quick to find what you are after. Supermarkets do this great as well by hanging large signs above the aisles so you know where to go and if it's not quite right just look up again and you know where to go next.
Categories: Interface Design
Avoiding Functionality Overkill
12
Feb0
Posted by: FHOKE on 12th February 2009, 12:56 pm
All to often we find ourselves talking to a client who loves the BBC's website, and why wouldn't they? The BBC have done a lovely job on it, it looks great, has many amazing functions and obviously works extremely well for them. The problem is that the people asking for their site to be "like the BBC's" are not the BBC.
Categories: Interface Design
The Humble Shopping Basket
9
Dec2
Posted by: FHOKE on 9th December 2008, 2:59 pm
At FHOKE we have had years of experience in creating shopping baskets (carts for the US) and we are working on some great new projects at the moment for several eCommerce sites. The basket is probably the most important aspect of any eCommerce site. It functions as the checkout for an online retailer and as such, needs to be capable of displaying products in the best possible light. It can instill confidence and increase online purchases, or it can put potential customers off using a site altogether.
Categories: Interface Design
A Simple Detail Often Overlooked
5
Dec0
Posted by: FHOKE on 5th December 2008, 10:59 am
Providing your company's contact details is possibly the most important section of your website. It is essential that your contact information is easily found on your website with the obvious Contact link, visible at all times.
Simple, concise and easy to understand information on your contact page is vitally important, whilst some companies will go the extra mile and provide multiple language versions for foreign visitors, as well as items like travel information (by train, parking, from the airport etc.), and print friendly map of how to find you the contact form remains King of these pages.
Categories: Interface Design
Information Heavy Sites A Blessing & A Curse
4
Dec0
Posted by: FHOKE on 4th December 2008, 11:41 am
Creating a site that delivers a large amount of content is both a blessing and a curse. As an interface designer you must be careful not to overwhelm the layout and keep a clear path to help steer users to the information they are most interested in. Having a lot of content can be a good thing though. It gives you assets to keep the site interesting and creates that stickiness so people will repeat visit.
Categories: Design, Interface Design
Interaction Online
3
Dec0
Posted by: FHOKE on 3rd December 2008, 3:03 pm
The interactive quality of the web is one of the main features that sets it apart from other mediums. Interaction means allowing the users to actively engage with the world you have created on your site, with text, images, sounds and animations. It can be everything from simple feedback when they move their mouse over a link, to a complex interactive story.
Categories: Design, Interface Design
Interface Design - Navigation Part III
28
Nov0
Posted by: FHOKE on 28th November 2008, 9:29 am
Animated Navigation
Back in the day (the late 90's to be precise) it was quite easy for a web designer to get his audience salivating with a few simple mouseover effects on his menu items. A bit of JavaScript did the trick nicely!
Those hey days of early web sorcery are over since Flash stepped into the ring. Nowadays a wide variety of visual effects can be achieved by the means of the "timeline" and programmed transitions that can even include audio and video. Smart mathematics allow us to create complex navigational systems. There are hardly any technical boundaries. The only limitation is the web designer's own imagination.
Categories: Interface Design
Interface Design - Navigation Part II
27
Nov1
Posted by: FHOKE on 27th November 2008, 10:00 am
Horizontal Naigation
Navigation can singularly make or break a site. It is responsible for the success of the user's interaction; if they enjoy using it they will keep coming back. If they don't, you will never see them again. It should form the backbone to any content-rich site and the starting point for the organisation and architecture of your build.
Categories: Interface Design
Interface Design - Navigation Part I
26
Nov0
Posted by: FHOKE on 26th November 2008, 3:52 pm
Vertical Naigation
Being one of the most common and oldest navigation types on the Web, you might overlook the potential, effectiveness and impact of vertical navigation.
Redefined in the modern web vertical navigation is now accessible and super-sexy at the same time. If designed with the right shape, behaviour dynamics and filled with the right content, vertical navigation may result in a enhanced user interaction and user experience.
Categories: Interface Design
Web Design by Grids
7
Aug0
Posted by: FHOKE on 7th August 2008, 12:22 pm
Trends in 2008 for web design are still emerging. What seems to be consistent though is that the layouts are improving. Content is being presented far more clearly than ever before. As in the print world, it’s through the use of rigid grids. Yes you read that right: grids are making a comeback. Grid-oriented pages makes reading text and navigating a page much easier for the user and creates a more enjoyable experience. Designing to grids is not new and has always been a trusted tool in any traditional designers kit and improves the usability, especially on information-rich sites where delivering a large quantity of information is very important.
Categories: Interface Design
