Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
type. Tech-nos are your biggest
challenge simply because they don
The third type is the
“
tech-no
”
t seem interested in the tech-
nology realm at all. Either they are intimidated by it or they just
don
'
tseemtocare
too much for it. A tech-no client will actually create reasons to
avoid moving their advertising dollars online and you may hear
something along the lines of,
'
t have the time to learn about it, and they don
'
The results of offline advertising are
always measured the same way, so I think we
“
'
ll just stick with that
for now.
tgive
up on them right away. Remember, there was a time when even
you didn
”
Even though this type of client is a challenge, don
'
'
t understand advertising or technology.
TIP
Whether you are talking to a tech-savvy client or a client who isn
tsure
how to attach a file to an e-mail, you should always explain everything
and explain it in a step-by-step fashion. Use simple terms that are easy
for anyone to understand while being very careful to avoid sounding
patronizing. The last thing you want is for your client to feel like you
'
re
talkingdowntothembecauseyoufeellikeyou
'
re smarter than they are.
Judge their knowledge level of the subject carefully and decide if you
should act like you
'
re explaining it to your grandmother or a coworker
who is well practiced in technology.
'
Know the Brand
Knowing your client is not necessarily the same as knowing their
brand because, as I mentioned earlier, you
ll want to know your
client on a bit of a personal level. However, their individual person-
ality may very likely differ from that of the brand itself. Although
your client may be a very relaxed, fun-loving, easygoing person who
likes participating in activities like skydiving and snowboarding, the
brand may be more refined and formal (or vice versa).
Knowing the brand will help you determine how you will design
everything from where the logo will be placed to what will happen
when users roll their mouse over the banner. If you
'
'
re dealing with
the refined brand, you
ll probably want to have a nice, clean design
with crisp lines and nice fonts. If you were dealing with an edgy
brand, you would want the design to reflect that as well.
Although the ideas for your banner concepts can come from
many different places, a good place to start is the site that the ban-
ners will drive users to visit. From that destination, you should be
able to get plenty of ideas based on the look and feel, the motion,
and if at all possible, you may even want to use some of the actual
graphic elements from the site itself. The design of the site com-
bined with the brand standards will give you items like colors,
fonts, logo treatments, and so on. And while you need to stay
'
