Taliana Design > whiteSpace

As websites are now the “front end” of most businesses, what exactly does your image and website project to your clientele? Assess your site, does it portray a trustworthy company that customers are happy to invest their money in or is it screaming out that you’re a dodgy tight-arse, who is not user friendly. Sound harsh?

Too often, potential clients come to me wanting a website and the first thing they say…
I really need a website, I don’t have anything up at the moment, I need it up yesterday, I don’t want to spend a lot of money, but I need something that is really slick, then once it makes me money, I will spend more and get a bigger and better site. Can you help me?

At this point, I want to run a mile, or is that 1.06 kilometres in the metric world!

If you can’t see the value in having a website that is well designed and constructed then why should others see the value in your product and why should they spend their money with your business?

Having said this, you do not need the advertising budget of Coca-Cola to get a really well designed and competitive website, that targets your audience. It just needs to be planned and well thought out.

Think of the websites you’ve come across, that accept on-line orders.
•    Were you confident in handing over your credit card details or were you unsure?
•    Was there sufficient contact information or an FAQ section to answer questions?
•    Have you heard of the company or website before?
•    How did you find this website?
•    Was it easy to navigate?
•    Could you find their products?
•    Was the site secure? Could you tell if it was secure?
•    Did the design reflect the product or service you’re providing?

The list of questions could go on…

Just as you have assessed a site, consumers are doing it every day when they visit yours. So what exactly are you projecting and what type of clientele are you attracting?

Consumers these days are time poor, but computer savvy. So before anyone hops in their car to see if your particular business has what they want, more likely than not, they’ll hop on the net to research your business, products, who your competitors are, in case you don’t have what they want. In doing so, you could potentially lose sales to someone, who is not too far from you because they can provide them with the information they need. They might even pay more just because they look more reputable. Nobody likes to get ripped off.

Here are some questions and you should consider, when implementing a website:

Does your site reflect my current branding /corporate ID?
Make sure your logo, corporate style, fonts, and colouring are reflected in your website. It is important to remain consistent so your clients can identify you and your products.

What is the purpose of your website?
Have a clear plan of what the structure of your site should be. Create a stylised site plan, which you can take to a web designer to give them direction. The more information you have about the direction of your site, the better advice a designer can provide. Look at other websites and see which features you like and add them to your wish list.

Who is your target audience?
Establish who you’re targeting and make sure the design and your branding reflects your audience. If you’re a mechanic, there is no point in using Cursive fonts, love hearts and tacky graphics, just because you think it looks great. At the same time, try not to be cliched.

Do I need forms on my site?
Make it easier for clients to contact you. Create forms that enable you to collect information from end-users in order to assist them in their enquiry.

How do you choose a web designer?
If you don’t have a company or designer in mind, of course search the internet, ask friends, colleagues if they can recommend anyone. Design is subjective, so if a designer is recommended, always visit their website and check out their folio.

Not all designers are the same and not all designers have the same style. If you like their work, then make an appointment to see them. If you get along, then it’s a good sign. If you don’t get a good feeling or the designer doesn’t appear to be confident about what you require, then choose another designer. I believe having a good rapport with your designer is paramount, it makes the process enjoyable rather than a chore and your designer will be able to interpret what you after.

Try to avoid choosing a “friend of a friend” or someone who just bought a copy of Dreamweaver and thinks they’re an expert. Everyone thinks they can do a designers job, but remember I can’t do yours, so that’s why I get someone else to do the other stuff. Besides what will take you weeks to do, would easily take a web designer a lot less time, function a lot easier and look a lot more professional, which of course is what you want to ultimately achieve.

Taliana Design was one of 18 design studios in Melbourne that opened its doors on Friday 25th July for “Studio Open” as part of the Melbourne International Design Festival. Studio Open was an opportunity for Taliana Design to give its peers, students, business owners and those with a general interest in design an insight into how our design studio runs, what type of work we do, and who we are.

On arrival all attendees were greeted with a fortune cookie and our rather impressive goodie bags (if we do say so ourselves!) Our goodie bags contained the latest issue of Desktop magazine (thanks Niche Media), a trial invitation to check out Desktop mag, Cristina Re’s designer stationery and product catalogue, our ever popular lollipops with words of wisdom about design and lots more!

The day was filled with watchful eyes, eager ears and lots of questions, which of course we were more than happy to answer! By then end of the day our little studio here at Taliana Design contained evidence of a hard days work — crushed fortune cookies and forgotten fortunes, lollipop wrappers, and left over goodie bags. All in the name of design, of course.

Thanks to all those who attended.

Check out some pictures from day!

VOTE 1: TALIANA DESIGN BEST WEBSITE DESIGN

Taliana Design has been short listed for Desktop Mag’s 2008 Create Award for the Best Website! We’re thrilled!

They have a People’s Choice category where you “THE PEOPLE” get an opportunity to vote. If you think our website is great, can you place a vote for us.

http://www.createawards.com.au/peoples-choice/website-design/156-best-website/

You are only allowed 1 online vote…so make it count. If you’re really keen, you can vote as many times as you like via SMS.

To enter via SMS, simply SMS

create 156

to 191918

You could win a 24″ Apple iMac. SMS cost 55c.

Help us get over the line. We busted our backsides for this one!

Thanks for your support.
Lisa
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In conjunction with the National Design Centre.

On Friday 25 July, Melbourne design studios lay out their welcome mats for everybody. Head to Taliana Design for a behind-the-scenes look at the practice of design.

It is open to clients, students or anyone interested in design.

Click to register your preferred session time at Taliana Design’s Studio Open Day as part of the Melbourne International Design Festival and see what we really get up to.

You’ve seen the symbols, so what do they all mean and when do you use them?

© - means Copyright. It applies to material that is original and includes music, design, multimedia and programs. It protects the expression of an idea the minute pen hits the paper, paint hits the canvas etc. Copyright work is not registered, it is automatic and lasts for about 70 years from the author’s death.

TM - means Trademark. Trademarks apply to letters, words, phrases, sounds, shapes even smells. Basically anything that distinguishes your product or service from one business to another.

In order to Trademark your logo, phrase or brand you need to register it with IP Australia, but recommend you do this through a trademark lawyer before you register. It saves a lot of heartache down the track, as there are many guidelines that need to be adhered to.

® - means Registered Trademark. A Registered Trademark provides you with the exclusive right to use, license or sell a product or service that you have trademarked.

Who can forget Nike’s ‘Just do it’ campaign? By trademarking ‘Just do it’ meant no-one could use these words in their advertising…and big trouble you would be in, if you did so.

Another example of a business or should I say empire that has benefited from trade marking is Disney. It has created the enviable position of licensing its products under the Disney® name which in turn charges businesses for the use of the Disney® brand or any other product that comes under the Disney name.

My point…consider trade marking your name, brand, words, etc. It could prove to be very valuable down the track, not to mention, it ultimately protects your name from other businesses trying to rip off your brand, hard work or mislead the public that you are one and the same.

Taliana Design has just launched their new website. Please visit www.talianadesign.com.au.

Comprising examples of print and web design work, it is executed in Flash and features a panning background of animals, such as a lion, panda, impala, zebra, gorilla, echidna, penguins, humming bird, peacock and giraffe.

Let us know what you think

We were rapt to have Ms Erin Dunne, a teacher at St Joseph’s Secondary College Echuca and her Year 12 students come and visit our studio on 15th April 2008. Ms Dunne, wanted to give her students an insight into what happens at real design studio and what graphic designers do.

Beginning with a brief introduction about Taliana Design, I explained how I started the business and where it was today. I asked the students what their idea of graphic design was. All a little shy to answer, I suggested that most, probably thought that graphic design was a glamorous job with lots of time to create masterpieces for clients (hence the bags under my eyes and colour treated hair to disguise the greys).

Without driving them away in droves (other designers will get this), I mentioned that design can mean a number of long hours, meeting more than one deadline, in fact several, and if you’re actually running a design business you’ve got more than just design to focus on. There’s the business side, especially if you’re just starting out, such as getting and keeping clients, meeting deadlines, getting quotes, being a bookkeeper, receptionist and an account manager, all the things that take you away from design but are necessary to run a business.

Andrea, our resident designer explained her perspective on making the transition from Year 12 to Uni, to getting a job. Andrea further explained that there is every chance that you may not get into university studying design, when finishing Year 12. It’s extremely competitive and you have to have a design folio that will blow your interviewers away. We both went onto explain that students will most likely do a TAFE course, which focuses on building your folio and it’s these students that you would be competing against for a uni place. So the competition is stiff.

We also showed the students our folio. Andrea commenced by showing her student folio, explaining her projects. I asked the students if any of them thought that their folios were just as good or better than Andrea’s. They all shook their heads, in a resounding no. I told them not to be discouraged, as people like Andrea have worked on their folios full time rather than the 1 or 2 hours a week that they would normally be exposed to, in Year 12.

I then showed the students the work undertaken by Taliana Design comprising, brochures, websites, packaging, etc. They were impressed with the designs, especially the brands they recognised. I explained that you don’t work on one project at a time and gave them examples of work clients came to us with and what work we produced based on their brief.

At the end of the discussion I was presented with a box of chocolates, which I am not too keen to share (come on it’s chocolate). I would like to thank the Year 12 students for their enthusiasm and for attending. I hope the Years 12’s at St Joseph’s Echuca, were inspired to choose a career in design and at the very least have a better understanding of what a graphic designer does.

If your school is interested in visiting Taliana Design and would like to know more about how a graphic design studio works, please contact me.