What a big week for social media! Google+ made its public launch. Facebook made all kinds of drastic changes to its user interface. I think I saw more status updates bashing Facebook for messing with people’s comfort zone than angry Colts posts from the season opener game! The way I see it, Facebook is an incredible technology that keeps me connected with my family, friends and organizations that I love…for free!

So what about Google+? Some are saying that it will change the world of social networking (see article here). I mean, after all, it is a Google product. I wouldn’t expect anything less!

So what do you think about all of the recent changes in social media? What would you like to see change next?

One of the most difficult things to deal with is saying goodbye and letting go. Recently it seems as if there have been quite a few goodbyes going around. Goodbye to beloved Summer, goodbye to my dear flip-flops and finally goodbye to two spirited Willow shrubs who have recently moved on to new opportunities. (Spain isn’t that great… okay, maybe it is.) Same thing goes for trends, they come and they go. (I state this as I eaves drop a conversation at the coffee bar about the hyped up “planking” and the little paper clip helper, Clippy, in Windows ‘98.)

This leads me to the thought that there is a time and a place for a brand overhaul. My question to you is when? What determines when to scratch the existing material, say goodbye and move on?

An article found on Ragan.com stated what they thought. If you have the time to read up on it, do you agree/disagree? Do any of the points hit home? Let us know your thoughts. If you want, you can also throw in some things that you’ve been saying goodbye to and we’ll offer a hug, if you’d like.

It occurred to me recently that the hyperlink is the foundation of the Internet. There would be no Internet if the pages or items weren’t linked together.  Consequently the navigation on any site is easily the most important factor! A site can be the most innovative design ever created, but without threads to tie the pages together, it’s worthless.

When we start a web project here at Willow, one of the very first things we do, even before the designers create beautiful pages, is to create the site information architecture. Utilizing sitemap tools, we create a list of all the pages that will be included in the site. These pages are carefully sorted into categories and the logic of the navigation system is carefully thought through.

Once we have the basic structure figured out, it is up to the designers to make it visually interesting. There are a plethora of sites that have navigation showcases. And when you look through these, it will become clear that the sky is the limit when it comes to navigation design.

Vertical navigation

Horizontal navigation


“Unconventional” navigation

Navigation can add a lot of work to the design and development process. But with solid pre-planning and good organization, the work can be fairly easy and you end up with a website that is remarkable and outstanding.

Google. Do you even remember when this word was not a part of your vocabulary? Whether it’s used as a verb (Did you Google that topic?) or a noun (I found it on Google), it’s part of our everyday lives and there’s just no ignoring it.

So how does Google do it? How does it constantly stay in front of us and not get old? One of the fun ways that I’m always reminded of it is through Google doodles. According to Doodle 4 Google, Google doodles are “the drawings that are designed on, around and through the Google logo on [their] home page.” These doodles were started in 1998 by Google founders Larry and Sergey to celebrate their attendance at the Burning Man festival. The idea was then handed off in 2000 to then intern, now Goolge Webmaster, Dennis Hwang to celebrate and mark worldwide events and holidays. You may recall the Mars Rover landing doodle or the more recent and one of my favorites Les Paul 96th Birthday doodle.

Since the Google doodle’s birth, over 300 doodles have been created in the U.S. and over 700 have been designed worldwide. There is a doodle team at Google dedicated to to deciding which events and holidays that will receive recognition via the Google logo and a team of designers create the doodles. However, the idea room for these doodles does not have a closed-door policy. The team is very open to outside ideas from Google users and the public and welcome submissions from them.

Now to what I think is absolutely amazing about the Google doodle concept. Being a marketing professional and a brand manager for various clients here at Willow, I find it crucial that brands and logos stay true to their original form in order to maintain their brand recognition. (You can read more about my thoughts on this in this post.) So you would think that this idea of changing Google’s logo every time an important event is recognized would make me cringe, but it doesn’t. And the reason for that is because Google doodles have become a part the the Google brand’s DNA. Users expect it to happen. In fact, there are crazy people (like me) who will go to Google’s home page first thing in the morning just to see what today’s doodle is.

An article by Google on this topic says, “having a little bit of fun with the corporate logo by redesigning it from time to time is unheard of at many companies but at Google, it is part of the brand. While the doodle is primarily a fun way for the company to recognize events and notable people, it also illustrates the creative and innovative personality of the company itself.”

So what’s your favorite Google doodle of all time? Or what is a corporate brand that you’ve found that does a great job of having fun with their logo while still maintaining it’s true identity?

Sources:
http://www.google.com/doodle4google/history.html
http://www.google.com/doodle4google/doodler.html
http://www.google.com/logos/