As Emphasize’s creative manager, I am in charge of conceptualizing your web design ideas into reality. I build websites, which means I am online for a living. And I also work from home. So, not only do I have to avoid online distractions like social media, the never-ending news cycle, and my email, I also…
When building a website, it’s a great idea to take inspiration from the most successful, user-friendly websites you can find, which is what I do often when helping clients put together their new sites. But it’s also smart to spend some time looking at what doesn’t work, and there are no shortage of examples. The…
Even by the usual standards, 2016 has been a busy, eventful year, for Alberta and for our team at Emphasize Design. While reflecting about all that has happened in the world of web design and online marketing, I find that it’s vital to always keep one eye on the future. And I’d like to help…
The homepage of your website is your first big chance with your customer. It’s where people who know nothing about you will usually land on your site, so you need to make a positive impression…and fast. Getting attention is about a lot more than pretty colours and an eye-catching logo. Those things matter, of course,…
Your favourite websites are finished products. The content, design features, and navigation on each page (should) fit together neatly, and your experience visiting a positive one. that doesn’t happen by accident. It’s easy to forget that every website starts out as a blank canvas, which is filled in step by step. As it turns out,…
Social media is open to anyone with access to a browsing device and an Internet connection, which is great news… most of the time. Without such an interesting and vibrant cast of characters, social media wouldn’t provide the same kind of value and entertainment, but the downside is that, on occasion, you’re likely to run…
What is the first thing you should have to think about when you land on a new website? Ideally, nothing. A well-designed website should offer menu and navigation options that allow you to find what you’re looking for with as little effort as possible. Menus are less flashy than other elements of website design, and…
As Emphasize’s creative and conceptualization artist, I’ve seen a lot of online design blunders, and learned from those I have committed myself. There are a few web design mistakes that seem to happen more often than others, though, but thankfully they’re easily avoidable. Your website – and the strategic aspects behind it – is a…
Your website is the digital face of your business. Potential customers form impressions of your business based on the quality of your website, just as they’d analyze your brick-and-mortar location when visiting it for the first time. If you want that impression to be positive, you need to update your site regularly. Broken links and…
Compelling content is an excellent marketing tool, but it can only reach its potential if your readers know where to find it. Newspaper readers will likely be familiar with the “above the fold” concept. If you look at a broadsheet-style newspaper on a store shelf, it will be folded in half. The portion of the…
Linking has been an important part of web design and digital marketing, pretty much from the start. A well-placed link to a quality source is a welcome sight for your site visitors. It’s a way to build credibility, connect with other sites, increase the reach of your content, and deliver maximum value to your readers.…
Creativity is a funny thing. It’s tough to define, but vital to success in almost any field. It can be found in the most vivid, colorful work of art, and in the most complex, impenetrable mathematical equation. Inspiration, of course, also takes many forms. One person sees an apple falling from a tree, and is…
Do you remember what connecting to the Internet was like in the early days? It wasn’t that long ago, even though it feels that way, that first you had to sit down at your desktop computer or nominally portable laptop, and make sure it was connected to a phone line. Then you had to make…
Hiring new employees is a high-stakes challenge for any business. Even the biggest, most profitable corporations, with huge HR departments and massive resources, swing and miss on their share of hires. So if you want to make the perfect hire for your small or midsize business, you need a quality game-plan. Hiring and training a…
Are you feeling pulled in too many directions? Stretched too thin? Have you found yourself thinking there just aren’t enough hours in your day to get everything done? There’s no escaping the fact that we lead busy lives, but busy does not have to mean over-committed and chaotic. Saying yes to every request from your…
Take a quick look at your favourite social media site, and you’ll see just how much people love images. From cute kittens to catchy quotes over a pretty background, they are everywhere. And we pay attention to them. They aren’t just a way to break up the text on a page. When used wisely, the images on…