Goran Paunovic - Page 2 of 11 - Design • Branding • UX/UI

Why Magento?

Magento is an open-source platform and community version can be installed without any commitments or monthly fees. To match project requirements, we can modify the source code and add features and functionality by adding widely available and rather inexpensive add-ons and plug-ins. The best part in Magento web design is it’s flexibility and robustness. At my web design firm we build Magento sites constantly for variety of clients. Magento is actually one of the few platforms that we can honestly recommend without hesitation, as we believe it its longevity. We started using Magento framework about 5 years ago, and throughout that time we learned about flexibility and great robustness of the platform. We’ve also seen great improvements and evolution of it’s core code, now with framework in place it is the perfect platform for responsive web design, one of our favorite development methods. According to recent studies, Magento is one…

Using Influencer Marketing to Leverage Your Online Marketing Efforts

It can be an uphill battle trying to persuade new prospects to do business with new brand or company on social media, using PPC, or bringing in traffic through organic SEO. That’s why you should look to influencers to leverage your online marketing efforts. Influencers have a large audience that trust them for the latest news, information, and relevant advice. These influencers have built a deep trust with their audience which makes their message very influential. But the question is: how do you work with them? 1. Find the Right Influencers Rather than look at the subscriber count of an influencer, you should research if their audience is the right fit for your content, brand, and products and services. It pays to try to work with an influencer with the right audience because your message, content, and marketing will be relevant to their needs and interests. Trying to target an audience…

Designing for Web with UX in Mind

I’ll go little in a basics here so please bear with me. I received UI/UX questions from some folks another day on designing experiences so wanted to cover it in form of the post as well. What we are able to do today is: “Design User Experiences” on the web, just up ’til recently much of this was not possible because we had a lot of technological and browser related limitations. But today design of a website become complete experience design, controlling the pathways, user personas and funneling the users thru carefully crafted experiences. Improving a user’s satisfaction when interacting with a websites is part of the User Experience design, or UX design. There are a few standards that we follow to make a site visually appealing, easy to navigate, accessible and usable. Plenty of CSS frameworks have been created in the recant years to help make a website look clean but also accessible. We’ve…

Why Branding Through Graphics Is the Bigger Picture

The most obvious aspect of your brand is the visual presentation that you are portraying, so it’s only natural that you put a lot of thought in the graphics you use in all your communications. The logo is probably the first thing that comes into mind when companies think about their brand. However, branding with graphics goes beyond your logo as you can use graphics in a variety of ways to engage and make an impression with your target audience. You have to first come from the perspective that the brand is perceived image and emotional response that a company has with the audience. Once you understand that, it becomes clear that the logo and the brand message isn’t enough to communicate what needs to be said. By tying in images that represent what customers can expect from doing business with your company, the target audience will get a clearer…

How to Properly Market a Company on a Website

So you have a professionally designed website, but do you know how to properly market your company? For many companies, the focus is on creating a functioning website and writing about their products/services or even the history of the company. While your goal should indeed be to get the word out about your products/services and your brand, the approach has to be focused from the user’s perspective. You have to start by creating a web design that is relevant to the user and communicates some kind of value. For instance, if you’re selling gardening supplies, the website’s color and design theme should reflect that the user is in the right place. At the same time, you want your brand to come out in the web design and convey a unique benefit of purchasing from your company. The brand usually has its own color and design themes and if it doesn’t…

Is It Time for a Visual Brand Refresh?

As you know, a company’s visual presentation speaks volumes about the brand. It doesn’t convey everything about the brand but it’s obviously the first thing that a person recognizes. So if you feel like your visual presentation doesn’t seem to hit the mark as it used to, it might be time to go through a visual brand refresh. With that said, you probably want to make sure that you’re making the right decision. Here are some cues that indicate a revamping is needed. The Colors Seems Dull? If the colors in the logo and presentation seem dull, then it probably is. You want the colors to lift the eyes, not take the backseat on a website, catalog, print ad, etc. This doesn’t mean that you necessarily have to change the colors that you’ve been using in your visual brand identity. Sometimes it’s a matter of changing the shade of the…

What Are the Latest Trends In Web Design Today?

If you’re considering a web design project, you should start by getting a full perspective of all that you can do with your website and all the creative options that are available to you. There are many web designs trends that have been hitting the industry over the past few years. And while most people think that trends typically fade away after some time, many of these trends are here to stay for the long haul so they are worth paying attention to. So here are a few you should be aware of. Unique Fonts The big thing in the design industry is fonts and it’s clear why. Bigger and standout fonts result in increased engagement. Some companies use custom designed fonts which almost adds a branding element. The bottom line is that standard fonts are no longer cutting it. Users are too used to standard fonts and underestimate the…

Branding and Photography Mistakes Companies Make

Corporate photography has a huge role in helping companies create the right impression with their brand. Images are able to communicate on both an implicit and explicit level very quickly, so it’s a good idea to use them to support your brand message and identity. However, companies seem to make many mistakes when it comes to using photography in their branding efforts. Here are five common ones you should be aware of. Mistake #1: Choosing photos that are not aligned with your brand It’s not uncommon for designers to use a photo just because it seems to fit. You obviously should want a great looking photo but it needs to be aligned with your brand. A good example is a company selling fun educational toys for young children. While using a photo of a focused child wearing a college graduating cap may seem like a good fit, it is not…

Don’t Be So Literate With Your Logo Design

Trying to design a meaningful but strong logo can be challenging. It’s not unusual for companies go through multiple artists and renditions to find the right look. And when it comes to the right look, the common thought process is that the logo needs to clearly communicate what the company/brand does. That’s why the goal with logo design is often simplicity. More often than not, simplicity works wonders but it may be acceptable to make the logo it a bit more complex, subtle, and distinctive. Many companies are too literate with their logo. You want your logo to stand for something that makes your company unique. The key is to come up with characteristics that make your company or brand stand out from the competition and work with a designer to try to incorporate them into the look. Another common mistake is looking too much like your competition. What you…

The Link Between Marketing and Branding a Product

When it comes to promoting a product, most companies focus on marketing it under the umbrella of their main brand. However, it may be a better idea to brand the actual product and market behind new brand identity. The whole idea behind this is to engage the target audience through a design, presentation, and message that is relevant and emotionally appealing to them. Why should you consider creating a brand for your products? In many cases, your core company brand may not necessarily have the right presentation and message for new target audience. For instance, your main company brand could represent technology innovation, but you may have a product that’s designed for gamers. It would be better to build the product brand around outstanding performance rather than have it fall under the umbrella of the core brand of computer hardware innovation as performance would be more emotionally appealing to the…