Using the branding elements we established during the redesign of the Paper Shower web site we have just created a print ad which will run in a West coast outdoorsy type magazine.
The print ad is another piece of the marketing strategy for this innovative body wipe product which included comprehensive SEO, Google Ads and Amazon Ads.
Earlier this year I shared a post about the design of a car graphic for client Janet Summerfelt.
I followed up with her recently and was delighted to hear she was thrilled to bits with her rear window graphic. She sent me this photo
It is always tricky to render a design that is going to be applied to a 3d surface, but as you can see from the proofing mockup I prepared prior to printing, it was spot on.
Thanks for sharing this photo Janet!
I can’t tell you how sad I am to see this on my home page
iGoogle will be shutting down in 30 days
I have done the research and there doesn’t seem anything else that compares.
We have work with businesses all over the country on web and graphic design projects, but it is especially rewarding working with businesses based in our local vicinity. Our newest client, Paper Shower, is located right here in Lincolnshire IL .
Launched yesterday was a redesigned version of their web site papershower.com
Paper Shower offers a range of unique body wipes which combine a large wet wipe with a dry towelette and are great for active people who are looking to freshen up on the go – bikers, runners, while camping, hiking and traveling or even on the golf course.
There are several reasons for the need to redesign a web site and the old Paper Shower site fulfilled quite a few.
Firstly the site was making the visitors work too hard to understand the product, it was only after clicking through from the home page that the concept of the product having both a wet and dry towelette became obvious.
Secondly, almost no consideration had been made as to who the product was being marketed towards – it was too generic.
Lastly the site was not at all optimized for the search engines, the home page itself was a collection of images and as a whole had very little keyword rich copy. Ranking in the search engines was poor and traffic was minimal despite great PR coverage the product has had over the last few years.
Understanding the issues facing the old site helped us create a strategy for the re-design and re-launch of the new site.
Competitive Analysis
Any SEO project needs to kick off with a through understanding of the online competition. We took an in depth look at other body wipe websites and our analysis resulted in the compilation a list of favorable key phrases.
Web Content
We wanted to address several things with the web content
We started with the creation of a set of web banners that incorporated the product and an outdoor scenario or an occasion where the product would be useful. Each banner also carried the phrase Wash > Dry > Done, which was elaborated on with keyword rich copy underneath which quickly and easily explained the product.
The home page was updated to include more details of the product range and examples of who may find the product useful. We used video and client testimonials throughout the site for easily digestible communication.
For better engagement with the target audience we created a set of landing pages
and also added a blog
We are in the process of completing the internet marketing of the site but are confident that the re design and optimization will result in increased traffic and sales.
Read more about Paper Shower in our web design portfolio.
© 2013 Chicago web designer
If you are a small business owner are you getting as much bang for your buck from your brand image elements as you would like?
Confused by what your brand image elements actually are?
Think logo, color palette, type faces and imagery. If your marketing materials are using a hodge-podge of colors and the look and feel of any printed materials don’t match the look and feel of your website, you are missing out on the chance of building that all important factor of “recognition” which is such a big part of branding.
Not quite sure if you are achieving this? Pull up your website, dig out your brochure, business card, an invoice, flyer, newspaper ad, etc. Do all of these materials look like they came from the same company?
Using your brand image elements effectively is not rocket science, the secret is defining them and then using them consistently.
Take a look at this lawn sign we have just created for Chicago small business, Heinzen Smith Properties
and compare it to their web site
It is quite obvious with just a cursory glance that these two marketing pieces are from the same company, the logo is the same, they share a color palette and both use similar design elements.
If you would like help building a comprehensive collection of brand image elements we are happy to help, learn more about our branding services or contact us today
I came across this stunning animated gif yesterday. The planet is literally breathing. It speaks for itself but to learn more from it’s creator visit at http://uxblog.idvsolutions.com/2013/07/a-breathing-earth.html
Client Margaret Smith, of Heinzen Smith Properties, has a 150 year family history of building homes just north of Chicago. Each house is custom designed and blends beautifully with existing homes in the Wilmette area.
Margaret contacted us with lots of ideas for her web site and we have been able to translate those ideas into a site that perfectly captures what she wanted to achieve.
After developing a color palette inspired by a slate roof with weathered copper gutters, we designed a home page which gives site visitor a quick glimpse of some of their most eye catching homes and focuses attention to New Homes for Sale. We were spoiled for choice when it came time to select photographs as the client provided so many stunning homes to pick from. Not wanting waste an opportunity to showcase them further, we carried them through to the inner pages of the site and cropped them to center on doors as a “welcoming” gesture.
The site was also designed and coded as one that is fully responsive – see here for an explanation of responsive web design
Here it is on a desktop
On an ipad in portrait and landscape orientations
And finally an iphone
You can visit the site at heinzensmith.com
It is always fun working with clients who are as passionate about their small business as I am about mine – Janet Summerfelt , a health and wellness consultant and an independent distributor for Reliv, has such enthusiasm for her Chicago business. I have been working with her for about a year maintaining her web site and last month I gave a site a branding makeover. This month, I have taken the new branding elements and designed a graphic for the rear window of her car.
Being able to spread projects out on a month to month basis is often a real benefit for small business owners, enabling them to maintain a healthy cash flow.
How much traffic is my website getting from devices like ipads and smart phones?
While you may not know the answer, I can guarantee it is more than you were getting a few years ago. A quick look at the statistics for our own web site shows a 100% increase in the amount of traffic we are getting from mobile devices in just the last 12 months. A personal site I write, creativeinchicago.com, derives 40% of it’s 35k monthly traffic from mobile devices. Numbers like these are difficult to ignore and there is no doubt that mobile access is a growing trend that is here to stay.
What does my site look like on mobile devices?
There are quite a few online tools that have popped up that emulate how a site will look on a particular device and while they can’t guarantee how you site will behave on any given device they do provide a quick snap shot. You can test your site on a simple emulator HERE . It will show you what your site looks like in different window widths, which is a simple but effective simulation technique – to see which window size corresponds to which device click on the device sizes button.
A responsive website will adjust itself depending on the size of the window (or type of device) as shown with our site. This means that the site will be easy to use and offer the user an optimum experience regardless of what type of device they are using to visit from.
.
A site which is not responsive will not adjust as illustrated in the site below. The simulator will display horizontal scroll bars in this case.
Most tablets and smart phones will actually shrink the website down to fit their screen instead of making the user scroll horizontally so the simple simulator used above is not accurate in that respect.
A more rigorous simulator to try is Mobile phone simulator .
Here are the same two websites plugged in.
The responsive site has adjusted to offer the user and optimum viewing experience but the unresponsive site offers tiny text and unreadable navigation. These can be magnified of course but the site makes the user really have to work to see it.
Can my website be converted to a responsive web site?
To behave responsively a website needs to be coded in a unique way. In many cases the existing design can be used, as in the case of a recent responsive conversion we carried out for ruthellenhasser.com. We made almost no changes to the overall design of the site but completely revamped the code powering it
I am ready to move forward with a mobile friendly website
If you are looking to move forward either building a new website that is mobile friendly or converting an existing web site to behave responsively we are here to help. Call 847 607 8679 to get started today.
We are currently working with Janet Summerfelt, an independent Reliv Distributor here in Chicago, in the freshen up of her WordPress website.
In our kickoff meeting she came well prepared, having not only found a stock image she wanted to incorporate in a new header but also ideas for a color palette. While some clients need our complete creative input, others like Janet have a firm idea of exactly how they want their site to look and only require us to execute their ideas. We are happy to work either way.
With a few image changes and CSS tweaks we were able to give her WordPress web site a much cleaner fresher look much more in keeping with the nutritional supplements she promotes
This is the original look of the site. It is amazing what a few color and image updates can do.
Visit Janet at janetsummerfelt.com
