BOOK DETAILS
All copy written by Stephanie Horn. Cover handmade and hardbound by Stephanie Horn. Photos provided by the United States Army. Printed by D&L Press in Phoenix, AZ.

EXHIBIT DETAILS
All type lasercut, set by hand and spray-mounted to board. Items from Army Surplus in Mesa, AZ.

View three 15-second Public Service Announcements  created for the Engage: Tell Your Story campaign.

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At first look on the homepage, OVO just looks… classy. The portfolio slideshow present on most of the pages showcases some wonderful images of their work and is a great dynamic element on their site. Each case study I read has an appropriate amount of content and concisely explains their designs. It’s nice to hear the reasoning behind their solutions when you don’t get to see photos of the process. While I enjoy seeing how identities and collateral are made, it’s just as fun to read about it.

What I really appreciate are the tags to the right of their case studies under the “Services Rendered” heading. It’s an easy way to see what they did for each company and the tags link to pages that fully compare the services they offer. Most potential clients wouldn’t know the difference between “visual identity” and “brand management,” so it’s nice to know that OVO took unfamiliarity into consideration.

One of my only critiques of the website is that it’s kind of… faceless. I understand that it may not be OVO’s M.O., as their site is pretty tranquil, clean, and portfolio-focused, but their philosophy stresses that they build relationships with their clients. Some clients would like to know a little something more about the personality of the company, partners or employees if they’re going to ally with them. Clearly this hasn’t been very detrimental to OVO because they’re flourishing and opening a new office… but I wonder if adding a more accessible page about the team dynamic could make OVO more emotionally engaging to potential clients. It took me a little while, but I finally found a couple photos of Kyle and Ryan (the principal partners) on the website — I was being pretty intentional in my search, though. If I were a potential client I’d appreciate having something telling of the team dynamic, or at least Ryan and Kyle’s bios, more accessible. They almost seem hidden. But I’m thinking this is an area of preference. Do you think that having photos of the partners more accessible could actually be considered pretentious?

Moving on, I really enjoy the lovely floating footer at the bottom of the browser. It’s available as you peruse the entire website, so you can sign up for the OVO newsletter or get their contact info without having to backtrack to the “contact us” page. Nice touch!

All in all, I think the new website is a great upgrade from the previous iteration. It’s an elegant, content-rich solution. What do you think of the new OVO site? Feel free to post your critiques in the comment section below. Start the discussion!

This last week, Forty, a local branding/design/marketing guru-collective, launched it’s new website. I have a lot to say, as I think it’s a great improvement over their old site. Forty’s previous site had character, but no work clearly presented. Their new website preserves their dynamic personality, but introduces their professional portfolio and case studies. I’m glad they stuck with the Forty green (though I think it’s a different shade than it was), and I’m even happier that they bulked up their online identity with lovely woodgrain icons and felt details.

Their old website seemed like more of a landing page than their new online home. It’s now content-rich with wonderful copywriting that just makes me smile. With lines like “Forty is a Swiss army knife with five amazingly useful blades. And probably a corkscrew.” you have to assume that Forty would just be fun to hire.

I’m always a fan of case studies on websites, and I’m glad that Forty included a breakdown of their projects. I’m disappointed, however, that there isn’t a standard for their case studies. What I mean is that not all of their case studies show the sketch process or design comps. Some include mind maps, while others only show the finished product. I’d like to see their case studies more uniformly presented to give the viewer a deeper understanding of their design process. They don’t need to include exhaustive collections of process photos, but I think each study should include at least a couple mindmaps, wireframes, or hand sketches. If they’re included in one, it almost sets a precedent that they should be included in the others. Also, it would be great if they included the results of their designs/redesigns. Did that new website increase viewership? How did that identity focus company X’s direction or demographic? Seeing good design is great, but knowing how it tangibly helped a client is even better.

I did notice a nice detail at the bottom of their case studies — a “Wish this were you?” button. I’m not even a potential client and I clicked it! It sends you to their contact section, which includes a nice email form and simple ways to get in touch. Each page includes the “inside Forty” section on the right-hand side of the screen. It’s a nice sidebar with Flickr photos of the collective and Vimeo videos that show off the team. Again, personality.

My last critique is that the links on the bottom of the website open up in the same window. I know it might be all about personal preference on this issue… but when I click on a link to Twitter or Flickr, I prefer that it launch in a separate tab. I enjoy having the site available when I’m checking out their social media pages. But check it out for yourself! Feel free to leave a comment here about your experience with the new Forty website. What do you like about it, and how is it lacking? Start the discussion below!