General Website Development Information

Graphic Design
Website design commences with the graphic design of each of your website pages. In order to determine how many pages you require we must plan the website out and produce what is called a website map.  The map provides a visual guide as to how the site will link together, how many pages (screens) your site will contain and what content is to appear on each page. We also discuss the look and feel of your site and what messages you want your site to communicate to your customers. At this stage is it useful if you have a list of websites that you like and even don’t like. This will help guide the design process.
POMO then supplies you with two design concepts. You choose one concept and we then refine it further. Once you are happy with it we then start the construction phase.
Website Construction
POMO then commences construction of your site. This means we create the templates for each one of your website pages and apply the chosen design to each page. We also upload all the content for each page. All content is to be supplied to POMO edited and proofread and ready for use. POMO can create your site in just about any language – HTML, PHP, FLASH etc. If you have a preference we can discuss this.  POMO can also incorporate any kind of functionality that you might require such as shopping carts and content management processes. Content Management System (CMS) POMO is an authorised re-seller of the FLUX content management system. FLUX provides total control over the content for your site. FLUX is a high quality product that can power virtually any website from the small to the large.  A content management system like FLUX means that you can update your site yourself or you can let POMO take care of your updates.

 
Further information on this product can be viewed at the Flux web site http://www.fluxcms.com.au/

 
In most cases, customers have only occasional site updates. In those circumstances POMO provides you with an administrator-licensed version of FLUX. This means that updates to the site are done by POMO using the FLUX product. POMO does not charge you for the FLUX product in this case but updates to the site are charged as required.
 

If you require a high volume of updates to your website (such as a website with products and shopping cart functionality) then POMO can provide you with a user license and training in the FLUX content management system.  This means you can manage the content of your site
yourself.

 
Website Hosting and Domain
Name Registration
POMO will organise your website hosting and domain name registration as part of the site development process. POMO is an authorised re-seller of Webcentral and Blue Central. Both offer competitive hosting and domain name registration packages. Email address with your domain are included in these packages e.g yourname@yourdomain.com or .com.au POMO will host your site with either of these companies and you then receive an annual charge from them directly.  The first 12 months hosting and domain registration is included in the development costs charged by POMO.
 

If you already have hosting and/or domain registration POMO will work with your current provider. 

Timeframes
Website development involves a lot of separate processes from planning to graphic design through to construction and final testing. A small website generally takes approximately two weeks to create from start to finish, larger sites can take many months.
 

POMO is happy to work in with your timeframes and your budget.
 

For Further Information please feel free to contact me anytime:
Stephen Burton
Creative Director
POMO
Tel: 07 5441 6605
Email: stephen@pomo.com.au

Creativity and innovation

In searching for a solution, it is sometimes necessary to have the courage to be creative.

WHAT WE DO
Since 1998 POMO has worked alongside some of Queensland’s leading organisations to help them produce a number of niche audience magazines.  POMO’s role in these projects has primarily been to assist the organisation to improve the quality of their publication and thereby expand its readership and advertising potential.

This has involved POMO lending assistance in:
• Improving the graphic design and layout
• Streamlining the media supply process from advertisers
• Setting up production schedules
• Advising on appropriate advertising rates and sizes
• Assessing competitors
• Advising on Australia Post distribution options
• Managing printing and distribution

RECENT PUBLISHING WORK
POMO has over ten years experiencein magazine publishing and currently designs, prints and distributes a nationally circulating magazine for the Master Electrician’s Association.  POMO has worked with this organisation to build the magazine from a readership of Queensland only into what is now the most successful electrotechnology industry magazine in Australia. The magazine has increased distribution from six thousand to nearly thirty thousand in less than 12 months and is now received by every licensed electrical contractor in the country. The magazine is also now backed by long-term advertising support.

During this time the magazine has undergone two substantial design overhauls both of which were successfully completed by POMO. POMO has also worked with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland and was engaged to improve their magazine “Leading Business”. POMO completed an overhaul of the magazine in late 2008 and helped establish the magazine as one the leading magazines of its kind in Queensland. POMO continued to work on the magazine until mid 2009 at which time it was sold to Fairfax.

OTHER PUBLISHING WORK
POMO worked with the Fraser Coast Tourism Board to publish their annual tourism magazine in 2009. POMO worked with the Master Plumber’s Association to overhaul and improve their industry magazine “The Master Plumber”. POMO worked with the Communications Electrical and Plumber’s Union to overhaul and improve their industry magazine “The Plumber’s Pipeline”.

HOW WE DO IT
POMO initially meets with you to discuss your magazine. This involves POMO’s Creative Director
Stephen Burton discussing aspects of your publication such as:
• your vision for your publication
• the current production and distribution arrangements
• challenges and areas you wish to see improved

We will then prepare the following:-
1. a critique of the magazine - This document outlines areas where POMO has assessed that changes could be made to your magazine and outlines how POMO would go about making such changes. The focus here is often on improving the functionality of the magazine, that is, making it more appealing to readers and to advertisers. In most cases this relates to the magazine design, however advice can also be provided at this stage concerning any other area of the magazine production.
2. visual concepts - How would your magazine look if the changes that POMO recommends are implemented? In order to answer this question we present visual concepts. Once the visual concepts have been refined, the final step is for POMO to work with you to prepare a costing for producing your magazine that fits within your budget.

The design brief demystified!

In these economic times, a carefully crafted strategic design brief can save businesses a great deal of time and money while also guaranteeing highly effective design results in the marketplace.

Once considered a simple set of directions that were handed to the designer by a business owner/manager, the brief has evolved into a multilateral, strategic business tool. It serves as a frame of reference for a project, acting as a constant reminder to the involved parties of the parameters and objectives.

Many businesses still view graphic design as merely a decorative service function and overlook its vast potential as a core, strategic, business resource. The strategic design brief is a critical tool, which will help designers, and managers change that perception by making each stakeholder part of the development process. Thus avoiding unnecessary time and money being spent on inappropriate concepts for the project.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN:
Think about the message. Offer guidance to help the designer marry the “look” of the item with the “voice” of the copy.

Don’t prescribe solutions. Designers have access to a large pool of resources, training and experience. You are paying for creativity so avoid the temptation to tell the creative team what to do. Instead, be clear about what the item needs to achieve, so we can explore ideas and come back to you with concepts.

Do your scheduling. Make sure you schedule the whole project before you brief a designer, incorporating appropriate feedback and incubation stages. Ask POMO in advance to inform you if deadlines are unrealistic. Remember that a rushed project is already compromised. Quality takes time.

Allow enough time. To maximise your design investment, we suggest you allow substantial time for the creative and the production process. The focus should be on ensuring the text, design and artwork collaborate as a team. If you face strict time constraints, please discuss appropriate solutions.

Forget what you like. It is hard, but try not to let personal taste influence your opinion of a creative concept. Think in terms of the target market at all times. Remember that your project will only be successful if it appeals to THEM not necessarily to you.

Be Constructive. Criticisms or suggestions should be specified as clearly as possible and should be constructive rather than destructive. Everybody is working towards the same goal of producing a successful project

THE CREATIVE BRIEF
Providing as much information as possible prior to the commencement of a project enables the designer to develop a more effective outcome. Include in your brief the following:

The need - What bought about the decision to engage a graphic designer? Is the company launching a new website, new product, or attending an exhibition for example?

PART A - BACKGROUND
Company Profile/values and market standing - An outline of what your company does – one or two short paragraphs should suffice, including a history of your company’s growth. Create an honest appraisal of your company, it’s products or services, compared to the most prominent competition. This should be brutally honest – what you say here stays between us! Also what are the core values of your organisation?

Target market Describe your general target audience i.e. occupation, income, gender ratio, average age, location, psychological demographic, lifestyle preferences. The targeted demographic of the project – age, gender, lifestyle/social class, income, geography. Anything you can tell us about the people you want to reach is valuable.

Previous communications - Can you provide examples of present and previous advertising and marketing materials, including any press releases, PR or other instances where your company has interacted with the big wide world.

PART B - PRO JECT SPECIFICS
Contacts - Please provide the contact details of the project co-ordinator including telephone, mobile, fax, email, web/street/postal and delivery addresses. Please list any other relevant project stakeholders.

The message - What are the key messages of the project? What is the context of specific message in relation to your business’ overall plans? What is the objective of the message? i.e. desired response from audience. What are we trying to say through this project, and how does it relate to your business plan? Provide notes on essential phrases or straplines, and include any images/photos and logos that would need to form part of the project.

Project Aims and objectives - Please list the aims and objectives of the project. What do you expect to achieve – do you want people to take an interest in your company in general, or do you want to focus on a particular product or service?

Timetable - Provide time frames for the following:
• Consultation (research, strategy, brief
development)
• Creative (concept and design development)
• Production (approvals, artwork, printing and other production)
• Final supply or delivery/distribution dates.
Be realistic about the amount of time you can allow for the project. For example, a 12 page brochure might take a few days to produce. In this perfect world, the client has all of the text, photographs, and other assets ready, and can meet at a moments notice to answer any questions – oh, and the client will NEVER change his/her mind!
Meanwhile, back on planet earth, we have to go through a number of steps, including consultation, creative conceptualisation, development and repetitive incorporation of amendments, approval, signing off and production, shipping and delivery – and this, coupled with key contacts not being available from time to time, and having to wait on third parties for other artwork or assets can make that same job stretch to a month or more. So please allow enough time for your project.
I hope this gives you some food for thought – if you take anything away from this, then consider that if you cannot readily answer any of the above, then you probably aren’t ready to engage a designer in the most economical manner.

Media Supply - In order to design an effective communication piece POMO will require information regarding the supply of media by your organization plus details as to how these graphic elements are to be utilised
These are the graphic elements to consider:-
• logos, symbols, trademarks
• copy - hierarchy of copy messages, treatment of headlines, body copy, visuals, product samples and calls-to-action.
• photographs and captions
• graphs, diagrams, maps
• illustrations

Other - What else do you want the creative team to know?

Discuss!
Of course, if you want advice – then drop us a line! Advice is free

Colour

Choosing the right color combination is vital for any design - web site layouts included. A good color combination can lead to success while a bad one spells doom.

Be sure to judiciously select a color combination that matches the theme or your site. Colors on your web site can be complementary to your logo colors or can be quite different which helps your logo standout helping in brand recall. Also remember that the effect of a single color changes, sometimes dramatically, when used in combination with other colors.

Your brand is only as strong as your last contact

One of the most common hesitations that I see with clients looking to engage in social media is the realisation that conversations are happening all around and that they have no control. This isn't a choice ("We should really let go of control") it's a fact and it's been the case for a long time. But, until now they have been largely undocumented, un-indexed by search engines and not in any way facilitated by the company itself. The conversationalists were only as influential as their personal network allowed.

Now Micro influencers have the power to reach millions of people around the world. Blogs and other social media outlets are indexed in search results right alongside company websites and portals. The truth hurts, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. Where social media shines brighter than any other marketing vehicle is leveraging the truth to create stronger customer relationships and convert bad experiences into great ones. Companies who don't listen to people in the first place have no place in social media. There are a lot of these companies out there. However, there are a handful of companies that see the value in customer input and take steps to make things better for them. They listen, when you call their 800 number you talk to a person and, even if they don't solve your problem, you walk away with a positive feeling.

Supporting customer service is a perfect fit for social media, but it takes planning and strategy to make it pay off. Here are steps that I see from listening through becoming a social customer service expert.

1. Listen - I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you do nothing else after reading this post, go to Google and set up alert emails with your company keyword, your name and your URL. Then go to Technorati and do a search there as well. Keep these searches fresh. Learn who is talking about you, what they're saying and create an action plan based on what you're reading. Once you are fully committed, start reaching out to customers (happy and, most importantly, not happy) and join in.

2. Analyze each medium - Every tool is different and this is another place where marketers can go wrong. Blogging is not Twitter is not Flickr is not Facebook. The rules change from one to the other and you have to know what they are before engaging. How do people get value in each network and how can you add to it?

3. Conduct mock trials - I am not talking about 8th grade government class, but there is benefit to walking through different scenarios before jumping in. Imagine you create a Twitter account. What would you say each day? How will you add friends? How will you stay on top of replies and direct messages? How will you add value? How will you respond to criticism? How will you communicate in a crisis? These are all points that need to be discussed and can be done sitting around a table and talking.

4. Start slow - Do NOT go out and sign up for a Facebook page, Twitter account, blog, flickr profile and MySpace page all in one day. Social media burnout is for content creators as well as content consumers. Pick the most strategic medium to belong to and start slow. As you become more comfortable you can ramp up and add networks into the fold. Any additions should compliment your effort and be on strategy.

5. Be transparent - This is a no-brainer, but it's surprisingly tricky. You need to decide where your conflicts occur, how you'll deal with them and how you introduce yourself. I think the mom test works well here. If you wouldn't tell your mom what you're doing, it's not transparent. You cannot be too transparent here. More is better.

6. Don't stop - This is the killer. It's worse than not having started at all. How many companies have you seen start using a tool and later abandon it. How many dead blogs and Twitter accounts litter the information superhighway? Just don't let it be you.
   

Customer service is becoming more and more crucial in this highly networked, searchable world. I've heard a saying that rings true to me in that "your brand is only as strong as your last contact". How many times have you gone in to a store that you love with products you adore and had such a bad experience that you are enraged and swear them off for life? It happens with me quite often.

Thanks Matt Dickman for the insite from Techno//marketer

Why should I pay $110 an hour when I can get a friend to do it for $30?

While your friend charges $30 per hour and it may take them four hours over the course of three weeks to fit your job in, an experienced designer may take just one hour, and turn the job around in a day or two. In fact, many design projects started (and not finished) by friends end up being handed over to get the job done. Currently the industry standard for graphic design starts at around $130 per hour, but because we love working with small businesses and not-for-profits, we aim to provide quality design at a more affordable price. When you engage our services you don't just get quality design performed by industry professionals with years of experience, you also get fantastic service and maximum efficiency.