The best examples of illustrations in web design do more than add a unique, creative touch to the website: they bring together the brand and company behind the website with the site's users to communicate better. In other words, the best illustrations help to convey the purpose the website more effectively.
Depending on the style of the site, many times the best illustrations aren't the largest or the loudest; instead, many excellent web illustrations shine in the details. Likewise, as illustrations are part of the design, their style and mood can (and should) vary with that of the site; so we've included a variety that achieve this effectively. No matter the style, when used appropriately, illustrated elements add personality and flair than can help your audience remember you (see how neatly branding and web design overlap?).
Below, we're focusing on ten well-executed illustrations that add that authentic, personal touch well. Each of these elements have been used to bring out an aspect of their site's experience that would have otherwise gone amiss.
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This week we bring to you the final chapter in our User Experience for Corporate Websites series. Be sure you're caught up on Part I (Content Structure and Conversions), Part II (Navigation Matters), and Part III (Multiple Media and ROI).
One of the most important--and valuable--aspects of a corporate website is the abiliity to extend and fortify your sales force. When your website is created (and reviewed) with the perspective that it should be in sync with your sales team, the result is a more effective website on the whole. This plays a tremendous role in user experience; by focusing on a consistent user experience between the boardroom and your online presence, you allow your website to take up some of the work for you--all while strengthening your corporate identity and message.
How you approach this aspect of your user experience is largely dependant on your business and sales processes. In general, the following guidelines will help you carry over those processes to your website, even if certain elements aren't applicable (for instance, you might not make use of sales sheets). At any rate, here are four pillars of creating a corporate website that reinforces your sales team.
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Last week we covered Part II in our series on User Experience for Corporate Websites. This week we're tackling Part III, in which we're discussing how a corporate website's ROI can be affected by responsive design.
ROI can be a tricky thing to measure, especially when you increase the number of hard-to-quantify variables or variables that return at different times. Most websites are considered mandatory expenses for companies, so we pay extra attention to developing websites that exceed expectations. It's a good feeling when clients come back to report that their website was an excellent investment--and we're seeing responsive design play an increasing role in positive ROI.
Responsive design is becoming an integral feature for good user experience. Although it may not be the right direction for every project--there might be instances in which a mobile-first approach would suit the project better--it can serve an important role in your web initiative's ROI. The key? Your user interaction.
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Corporate websites face an interesting challenge: how can you render your products, your services, your people into a succinct, suitable website that doesn't lose your essential company spirit, fading into the background with the millions of other beige corporate websites? And how do you use that website's traffic and create navigation that drives them to convert?
Much of web design and development, especially corporate website development, comes down to user experience. As the second part in our four-part series on user experience for corporate websites, we're diving into how navigation matters: what to watch, consider, and plan for. After running through how content structure affects conversions, we'll show how the same principles apply to increasing how effective your navigation for your bottom line.
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