A 100-Year View of User Experience

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There has been quite a bit of buzz lately about User Experience (UX). The majority of people still don't quite understand what that means, how it affects them or how important it is to the development of successful websites or quality products.

When applied to web design, it's referred to as User Experience Design (UXD). In a nutshell, UXD is the process of enhancing user satisfaction by providing tailor-made solutions that meet their specific needs. So when websites are built around how someone will use it — rather than forcing them into a different method of interaction — this results in a much higher user satisfaction level and measures of success and enjoyment as well as how easy it is to use. What does all that mean? For starters, it results in increased time on site, more sales, and ultimately more revenue for the company. In the end, isn't that what websites should be doing for your business?

The future of web design continues to move in this direction with the implementation of engaging characteristics built into the strategy and design of the sites. This will only continue to grow as the UX/UXD profession expands and changes in the coming years.

For the profession of UX, it has come a very long way since 1950; still even since 1990. Check out this fascinating article by the Nielsen Norman Group which discusses a long-view approach to the anticipated growth of UX.

Welcome to the new: Bauhaus Redefined

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Have you noticed something different about us lately? We have been undergoing a brilliant rebrand this summer to better align our name with the scope of services we now provide. As brand specialists, what better way to illustrate this than with the transformation of our own brand. 

Since the launch, we've been getting a lot of questions about the meaning behind the name, and curiosity about why we named it 'Bauhaus Redefined.' To understand this, let's take a peek to the past for insight.

 

Bauhaus in Design History

Since the beginning of the 20th century, there has been no other style in design and architecture that has dramatically influenced the modern style quite like the Bauhaus movement – both in the classical modern and avant-garde styles. In fact, we can still see its resonance effectively in today's contemporary culture, which continues to inspire artists, architects and designers around the globe to fill the Bauhaus belief of "less is more" with new life and purpose.

In 1919, the German architect Walter Gropius founded Bauhaus as a school of arts in Weimar. It turned out to become one of the most significant schools for design and architecture of all times. His concept of combining of a variety of arts – architecture, sculpture and painting – with crafts and engineering lead the way to create a visionary and utopian craft guild that would combine beauty with usefulness.

The Bauhaus existed from 1919 to 1933 and today is still considered to be the genesis of the avant-guard of classical modern style as seen in all industries where artists, architects and designers define their craft. 

 

Bauhaus Redefined

For many of us, the Bauhaus is an ideology and a conviction, it's wasn't just a school of arts and architecture. Today, designers and artists alike experiment with new materials and forms to push the limits of contemporary design in our culture to create online experiences.

In modern culture, brands must become a digital experience. Consumers want to know your story behind your brand to feel connected in a world full of digital dominance. At 829 DESIGN, our vision is to convey this sphere of the Bauhaus culture from the past, which still sets trends today, in such a way to create an exceptional digital experience for our clients. Our core competencies of creating brand experiences and creating sustainable brand identities is based on many years of experience with proven strategic processes in place.


A Nod to the Past

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Admittedly, our old logo was outdated, a bit antiquated and obsolete when compared and contrasted to the more contemporary styles of design today. We used the traditional De Stijl font for '829 Design' along with those primary colors so typically seen in many original Bauhaus creations of the early 20th century. Piet Mondrian comes to mind when you look at our old logo, even though his style was more neoplasticism in form and function.

For the love of all things Bauhaus, it was time we brought our early 20th century inspired identity back in vogue with a fresh, modern and contemporary aesthetic. We just love it!

Let us know what you think! Comments and feedback are encouraged and welcomed.

 

Let us help you design a fresh new identity for your business. 

View our gallery of work, and let's create some awesomeness.

Design with Greenery

Ahh... Greenery! You can almost smell the freshness; so uplifting. It's Pantone's new Color of the Year for 2017. Just like the first days of Spring, Greenery is symbolic of new beginnings. It's a fresh, bright green that evokes nature, hope and fresh beginnings. 

Leatrice Eiseman, the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, states that "greenery bursts forth in 2017 to provide us with the reassurance we yearn for amid a tumultuous social and political environment. Satisfying our growing desire to rejuvenate and revitalize, Greenery symbolizes the reconnection we seek with nature, one another and a larger purpose." It reminds us of bamboo or green smoothies, plants in our garden and it certainly makes us cogitate on bright ideas for the new year. 

WHAT IS THE COLOR OF THE YEAR?

The Pantone Color Institute is the global authority on color. Each year, they assemble a panel of industry professionals to select a color of the year. This panel examines influencers from the design world — graphic design, textile, digital, fashion, etc. — and study what's been happening in the arts & entertainment fields, popular travel destinations, pop culture, and socio-economic conditions. The color of the year is a choice proposed to capture the mood of our times. And for those of us who are in the design world, it's a guide that may influence design projects of all kinds, from print to web and everything in between.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOUR BUSINESS?

Now may be a good time to reconsider your brand colors. Whether Greenery is a choice color for your business or not, every so often, it's a good idea to review your brand and consider a fresh approach. For example, Greenery would be a popular choice for food or spa companies. Brands that want to express strong environmental characteristics will also use colors like Greenery. On the contrary, it would be a more modern and bold choice for traditional corporate businesses — industries like financial or insurance type services — who quite often use hues of blues (say that 10x fast!). For those who work in those sectors and are looking to stand out, without losing any meaningful perceptions like trust or significance, Greenery would be a great choice for the new year.

FEELING INSPIRED?

Ready to make a fresh start and bring new life to your business? Let's explore how we can breathe new life into your brand and create some dynamic stuff! Call us at (916) 581-1777 and let's start a conversation.

Small Business Marketing Tools for Building Your Brand

Whether you own a catering business, a vintage clothing shop or a service business such as a spa salon, you cannot mail a simple postcard, have beautiful packaging or tweet your latest promotion and call it a day. Marketing a small business requires consistency and strategy. Your overall business and marketing—everything from your logo to website to how you advertise, and reach out on the social web—should all come together to send a consistent targeted message. This includes your choice of words, the nuances of design, layout or color schemes and basically your overall visual communications to the consumer. These are your basic ingredients for good design.

Well-planned approaches combined with proper channels of marketing will not only promote a rewarding outcome – more sales and customers – but also reinforces your brand in the eyes of the marketplace. Without this consistency, you will not get people emotionally attached to your brand and you’ll end up creating confusion in the consumer’s mind. So why is it important to create these emotional attachments to your brand? Well, just as in human relationships, brand relationships evolve over time.

Generally, these can be divided into three stages:

  1. Most potential customers do not know the company, product or service.
  2. Customers may know the name or logo of the company or product, but they don't really catch what the company or product can do for them. 
  3. Some customers may already know the company and what the product can do for them, but they have no emotional connection to the brand. 

So take into consideration and establish which stage of relationship your business is in with regard to your consumer audience. In order to build a successful brand, you'll want to define these three things:

  1. Brand personality: What are your business values, services, ideas, attitudes?
  2. The relationship with the consumer: Do you understand the needs and wants of your customers? 
  3. Icons: Symbols or other illustrative representations. 

Over time, with a consistent effort in your small business marketing, you will begin to build relationships with your market audience. In so doing reinforces and triggers recognition of your brand and sequentially creates customer loyalty. After all, your brand is the foundational piece in your marketing communication – a connection to a promise for your consumer. And this is something your small business does not want to be without!

LoCo Eats! An Annual Benefit Celebration of Food & Wine

This is certainly a cause for celebration for all foodies and wine aficionados. We are pleased to announce the launch of LoCo Eats! An Annual Benefit Celebration of Food & Wine!

The Restaurant at Patowmack Farms located in Lovettsville, Virginia approached us to help them with their marketing efforts for this inaugural event, LoCo Eats! A Celebration of Food & Wine.

Our design team had the honor of designing the event logo, website and set up all their social profiles for Twitter and Facebook. 

For more event information, you can view the site here:

LoCo Eats! An Annual Celebration of Food & Wine

LoCo Eats! was created to foster and promote the diverse culinary identity unique to the Loudoun county region. By bringing together chefs, farmers, and winemakers for a one-day celebration, offers the local community the opportunity to sample and enjoy the various cuisines and unique flavors of the many diverse regional restaurants. As a means to benefit and be able to give back to the community from this exclusive event, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to our sponsored charity, Mobile Hope.

Come out to show your support for local farmers, and Mobile Hope. Bring the entire family for a fun day filled with tasty activities for everyone. We promise it will be a feast to delight your senses and palates.  Enjoy exquisite cuisine prepared especially for you exclusively by the best chefs of the region – all perfectly paired to complement with a variety of wines.