Comments on: What it means when a client says “Pop”

By: What it means when a client says “Pop” « iLab

What it means when a client says “Pop” « iLab — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 14:52:57 +0000

[...] it means when a client says “Pop” Posted on September 6, 2007 by Lab Technician What it means when a client says “Pop” I’ve come to rely on two design terms that really help in these situations. One term is [...]

By: plau

plau — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 15:30:38 +0000

@ drew m.
“I had a boss whose favorite design criticism was “It’s just not sexy enough.” ”

Thats is exactly what my boss sometimes said :-).
In other words he had no idea how to make better.

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 19:18:10 +0000

Great point, pepelicious. It’s a two-way street, and those designers who navigate it easiest will be the ones who can frame design ideas in terms of business goals. Well put!

By: pepelicious

pepelicious — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 19:13:29 +0000

On the other side of this coin, I feel it’s just as important for designers to learn the language of business.

It’s pretty easy for a creative person to translate words like “pop” or “web 2.0″ in to a design. However I imagine it’s a little more difficult for a business person to translate things like “We did this because it’s more readable” in to revenue projections.

It’s really helpful for a designer to also present the same information as a business case: “Tests have shown that if we do X you’ll retain Y% more users and potentially increase revenue by Z becasue users will have a better experience.”
Bring print outs from the many resources on the Web that back up your claims.

Designers need to understand that this extra work makes the clients life a lot easier because a) they understand what you mean and b) they can make a better case to their boss why they should continue to fund the project.

By: What It Means When A Client Says “Pop” - Linkosphere [ Ectio.us ]

What It Means When A Client Says “Pop” - Linkosphere [ Ectio.us ] — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 11:41:10 +0000

[...] From bokardo.com [...]

By: California for Barack Obama

California for Barack Obama — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 08:03:18 +0000

I used to think web 2.0 meant shiny(and cheesy) graphics that the ceo-level people loved but recently, I’m seeing more of what it was meant to be.. simple and easy to use pages that do what they’re meant to do instead of losing and confusing the user. To me, simple and bold pages are that “pop” you mention.

That’s something the “2.0″ look doesn’t bring with it, but only a truly talented UI designer.

By: Christina Wodtke

Christina Wodtke — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 15:48:42 +0000

Actually you should be grateful. “Make it pop” is nebulous enough you can come up with multiple solutions– typesize, color, etc. When a client says “make it bigger” they may mean pop, but they’ve stuck you with a crappy solution.

Read Paula Sher’s terrific “Make it bigger” for more….

By: xoxoANP! » links for 2007-09-06

xoxoANP! » links for 2007-09-06 — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 10:23:36 +0000

[...] What it means when a client says “Pop” - Bokardo Oh lord, how many times have I heard this? I even used this phrase mockingly in a recent essay. (tags: onlinemarketing) [...]

By: Julian

Julian — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 02:23:59 +0000

Great post. I always have trouble when trying to design a 2.0 look. Who makes the rules? Like you say in the end, when someone says “2.0″ it sounds like a magic word, and it actually means a specific font, with “x” spacing, etc.

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 01:09:24 +0000

Heri, Sarah…yeah they are closely related. The only distinction is perhaps the level at which we talk about them…when people say “pop”, they’re usually talking about a single element and when they say “cluttered” they’re usually talking about the whole page.

But certainly the top level element in the visual hierarchy has the most visual weight. I use both all the time in that way.

By: Sarah Cooper

Sarah Cooper — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:46:26 +0000

Awesome post. Heri - I was thinking the same thing though - Can something that has the greatest visual weight not also be the highest in visual hierarchy? That is, doesn’t hierarchy determine weight?

By: heri

heri — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 19:51:33 +0000

i might be dumb but “visual weight” and “visual hierarchy” are the same thing for me, ie making important elements stand out. or at least they are strongly inter-related. or am i wrong on that one?

By: What’s the Buzz All About? « Bold Words

What’s the Buzz All About? « Bold Words — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 17:45:04 +0000

[...] even when they aren’t applicable or hold little meaning. For example, Josh Porter on Bokardo highlights the words some clients use to provide feedback: I was in a meeting the other day when someone said “I think [...]

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:42:13 +0000

That’s funny, just last week I had a client say “we need a brighter blue to make the site pop.” I understood what she meant, but didn’t necessarily agree. But of course, I did what any responsible designer would do, made my case and then did what the client wanted.

By: Jason DeFontes

Jason DeFontes — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:17:43 +0000

Needs more pizzazz.