Have you looked back at your prom pictures recently? Can you tell exactly what year it was taken just by the clothes? You may have been a victim of a trend. What about your website? Is it also a victim of a trend? In fashion and web design, you should follow a trend only if it’s appropriate for you or your company, and fits in with your look.

Let’s take a look at three of the current website trends to see if any will work for your website.

Illustrations Definition: pictorial design used to explain or accompany text.
	Pros Can make your company seem fun, easy-going. Addition of a mascot to the company brand. Can be a great focal point of the design
	Cons Can make your company seem childish, unprofessional. Can be difficult to find a cohesive design between different illustrations. Expensive if stock illustrations aren’t used.
Skeuomorphic Definition: a design copied from a physical form of the object. For example: website looking like a desk.
	Pros Gives a tactile feeling to the website. Adds depth/ 3D look. Imitates the Apple design for Apps.
	Cons Can make your company feel small, unprofessional. Can look too much like the Web 2.0 special offer callouts. Looks homemade if not done well.
Circles Definition: I’m sure you know what this is.
	Pros Stands out from the crowd of squares and rectangles. Can make the website seem cutting edge. Are smooth and encourage eye contact.
	Cons Can be hard to manage from a cropping standpoint. Distracts from the content when overused. Offers no visual direct of eye flow

Wrap Up

It all comes down to what your company is about. Are you using this trend because it’s “cool” or because it will benefit your company? Does it fit in with your brand? If you’re unsure of the answer, ask your friendly neighborhood designer. (Though if your designer can’t answer, you might want to find another one. And if you are in the market to replace your designer, have you considered eMagine for your next B2B website?)

Jessica Costa, eMagine Senior Interactive Designer 

Many people find designers to be strange. Clients don’t understand how designers work, and believe that they will never understand. While designers DO think about things a bit differently, it is possible to communicate in a way that brings results everyone can be happy with.

Trust

Trust is fundamental to any relationship. However, many people just don’t trust their designers. A good designer should always make the client part of the process, but a great designer should go a step further, and put a client’s business goals before any design decisions.

Ask yourself: Do you trust your designer? Why did you pick this particular designer? Is it because they do “pretty” work? Or is because they show an understanding of business goals balanced with design?

Full Disclosure

Unfortunately, designers are not Jedi masters. They cannot read minds (as much as they’d like to). Any information relevant to the project should be shared, even if it’s just to show what hasn’t worked. Designers need to see the bigger picture to produce the best design possible for you.

Ask yourself: Have you sent your designer any and all information relevant to the project?

Keep Asking Questions

Designers should not be scary at all. In fact, most designers love their work, and want to create something that the client is happy with. Designers want you to be part of the process. So feel free to ask them: What if … ? Why did you … ? How does this work?

Ask yourself: Are you afraid to ask your designer questions?

Present Problems, Not Solutions

Clients try to be helpful by suggesting specific solutions for design issues. Designers often get feedback like “Change all the boxes to pink,” instead of feedback like “The design feels like it has too much blue. What can we do to break that up?” See the difference? Instead of leveraging all the experience and talent that the designer has, the client is trying to do the designer’s job. This goes back to trusting the designer to know what they are doing.

Ask yourself: Are you leveraging the designer’s experience to your advantage?

Wrap Up

With these few simple tips, it is possible to have the communication needed to achieve a design that works for everyone. (Though if your designer doesn’t respond to these techniques, you might want to find another one. And if you are in the market to replace your designer, have you considered eMagine for your next B2B website?)

Jessica Costa, eMagine Senior Interactive Designer