Marketing and Management Thoughts

I came across this today and thought it was worth posting/sharing with all of you.

Unsure of what that restaurant is? Its a McDonald’s in Tokyo (website) that is one of a small few design to introduce the Japanese to the Quarter Pounder. So often in marketing we hear about branding and image recognition being the important purpose of our brand. That is the reason companies spend so much money on television and magazine advertisements.

I love the minimal design, simply a red line around the black framed windows, one photo, and some nice brushed steel.

(via @nedwright, Core77)

I realize this post will interrupt the series we just announced on Sunday (which I will write the first installment shortly) it is warranted.

Part of my daily reading includes a number of top design blogs which point their readers to portfolios of their peers on a regular basis. I have long loved art and design on the digital platform.

Check out I Am Always Hungry. The design is brilliant, and the work is very impressive. My only complaint is the clock on their site that reminded me I spent 35 minutes looking at everything they had posted.

If you have a few minutes check it out, beautiful.

If you are in the least bit responsible for design at/for your church make sure to check out this link.

30 Essential PDF Documents ever designer should download

You can never have enough references, resources, and samples to look to for help or inspiration.

The western world is undergoing a dramatic shift as we leave the era spurred on by the industrial revolution and we enter into a world spurred on by the microchip. Just as with every previous shift in eras we don’t leave behind the previous technologies, only adapt their uses and move into newer technologies.

This raises the question, How do we, as the church, stay relevant in the info age?

I understand some people have strong theological opposition to the Internet and the progression of technology. If that’s you, the rest of this post will just upset you. If not, keep reading.

First we have to embrace technology, and quickly. The church has gotten into the habit of letting technological things blow past us until its obvious we need to get on board with them.

So what does this embracing look like?

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It can happen in an instant, the whole world can know about you and your Church. Reading through the news yesterday reminded me of this reality as  I was read about a pastor that i had never met before. His name is Jeff Harlow and he’s the senior pastor at Crossroad Community Church in Kokomo, Indiana (whose website is overwhelmed with text and content).

I found his name because Sunday he broke his wrist after a sermon illustration went wrong involving a motorcycle. (sermon video here)

Many reasons propel churches into the spotlight, many not so innocent as Pastor Harlow’s. In the past year there have been multiple occasions where churches and/or pastors have made headlines (most notably Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity UCC in Chicago).

Anyone looking for information on your church will visit your website.

This, along with hoping to attract visitors, should be reason enough to be proactive about the content and design of your website. It is an opportunity to expose many people outside your traditional sphere of influance to your mission and purpose.

The more exposure you get the more likely someone who resonates with your mission/purpose will discover your Church and become a champion of your cause.

The information age is here and we need to be prepare for the expectations placed upon us by those we desire to serve.

Photo Credits: Harley Davidson by ** Maurice **

The first page of your website is the only page a vast majority of people visiting your website will ever see. It should receive the bulk of our attention as designers and site maintainers. While we like to believe that our visitors will spend a fraction of the time reading our content as we spend creating it (like the faith statement pages…), the truth is that they don’t.

While looking over some site statistics for clients this week I was reminded of a often forgotten web truth.

Most users spend under 10 seconds at your site.

This means we have only an instant to communicate our message to our end users.

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