Archive for September, 2008

The 5-Step Web Design Process

Over the past 13 years, I’ve designed numerous websites. I’ve read many books, attended tons of web conferences and have consulted with many web designers along the way. One of the many things I’ve learned was that there isn’t just one way to design a website. In fact, there are many different processes that work for various reasons.

In this article, I’ll explain my process and what works for me. I call it the 5-step web design process. Let’s get right to it:

Step 1: The Kick-Off (1 Day)

Whether you’re working one-on-one with a client, or working for a large company – the start of every web design project involves a kick-off meeting with the project manager. This should be a straight forward meeting where the main purpose is for you to listen.
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Visual Thinking: The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam

I’ve always considered myself a visual person. Meaning, it’s always easier for me to understand what someone is saying when there is something visual to represent what the person is talking about. I take it I’m not the only self-proclaimed “visual person” in this world. In fact, whether we admit it or not, drawings, diagrams and pictures always make it easier to understand complex situations.

As a Web Designer, visual problem solving is what we do. We solve business problems through well designed user interfaces, icons, stock photos, colors etc. But visual problem solving doesn’t only apply to the design world. Anyone in the business world could learn to use visual drawings to solve any type of complex business problem.
 
I recently picked up a great book “The Back of the Napkin” by Dan Roam (highly recommended for managers and business leaders). The author does a great job laying out what visual thinking is all about and how anyone in the business world could benefit from solving and explaining complex business ideas with simple visuals.

Visit the website for more details on the book:

http://www.thebackofthenapkin.com/

I love how the website is well branded and fits the book perfectly.

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Welcome to ML Web Consulting

Hello and welcome to my personal/professional blog. My name is Michael Locke and my profession is designing, consulting, strategizing, building businesses and sharing my thoughts and ideas. Feel free to read my profile to learn more about who I am and what I’m currently up to.

I’m not a writer by any stretch, but I am a huge proponent of blogging. I think it’s the most valuable tool to hit the internet in some time. To be honest, I’ve been guilty of not practicing what I preach. Meaning, I’ve talked about the value of blogging so much over the past year to colleagues and clients that you would think I would have been an expert blogger and have written hundreds of articles. But that’s not the case. Although I’ve written a few articles on my VigorFish website, I haven’t maintained a personal blog of my own until now.

The ML Web Consulting site will be an all-purpose site showcasing my capabilities, my entire portfolio and recent projects. In addition, the blog portion of the site will consist of all my personal thoughts on many topics including Web Design, Business and Technology.

Thanks for stopping by. Browse the site and shoot me an email if you would like to discuss possibly working on your next project.

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