Loving the Problem, Not Your Solution

Great designers remember to fall in love with the problems they want to solve. Yet far too often we find ourselves longing to keep the solution we created. So many times we see interesting solutions and work backward to a problem we can solve with it. Occasionally that method can produce results, but not as consistently as focusing on your problems. Be a better designer and love your problems.

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When to Create High- vs Low-Fidelity Prototypes

What kind of prototype works best in which situations? When should you create high-fidelity mockups? When will a low-fidelity wireframe suffice? Does your team know the difference and what the benefits of each are? Read more to better understand this essential UI/UX tool and how to use it well.

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My Formula for Homepage Redesigns

I will go ahead and say it. Homepage redesigns are the worst! They are the central focus point for any church. Everyone wants representation there. Every event demands attention. Each of your personas has the possibility of landing here. How do you do the impossible task of designing for everyone? My suggestion is to proceed with patience and planning. Here are my tips on the dreaded homepage update.

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What Church Communications Can Learn from Comics

The stories in comic books have evolved over the past few decades. They started as short books for young kids. Now they are the most popular movie franchises. This art form has grown and gained new levels of respect. See what helped it gain popularity and what makes it unique. Also, discover what church communications can learn from it.

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Making Readable Text for your Church

Imagine that your sound system did not work. Your pastor could deliver an amazing sermon. But few people would hear it. The same applies to printed words. Text is the primary method you convey information. Thus, it makes sense to use it in ways that are most effective. The concepts in this article will make your physical and digital text easier to read.
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When Your Church Should Use Animation

Animations are often thought of as a trend of the early web. This is because many developers discovered animation techniques. But few bothered to learn when and why to use them. Yet in many situations, animation is still helpful. This is true in church websites, social media and mobile applications. Here are situations where you should consider using animations.
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Moving Beyond Responsive Design

We all should know about responsive design. Yet design techniques continued to evolve. Adaptive design is one of the latest buzzwords in the mobile web community. In this article I will describe the difference between responsive and adaptive design, and when each should be used.
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Steps to Fix a Broken Website

This article has no tricks or shortcuts to fix a broken website. What it has is a method for fixing the most common problems over the coming months. You will still need to publish and update content. These steps make great side projects. So with regular effort, you will overcome your looming challenge and have a fantastic church website!
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Why Website Redesigns Fail

Redesigning a website will not fix many aspects your digital ministries. Yet it is a go-to answer for many churches. We think that starting over from scratch will fix everything. A modern looking website is not always an effective one. Proper direction, effective processes, great writing, and regular updates are essential parts of a good website. This article digs into each of these areas and encourages you to fix them before overhauling your entire site.
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Designing Experiences With Fewer Obstacles

Just because something must be functional does not mean it cannot be well designed. Design comes in many forms, and can be applied where and when you least expect it. Often it is just a small tweak to an existing design that can improve the ease of use. Seek out opportunities to better design an experience for your congregation and visitors. Here is an observation of two trash bins at fast food restaurants and how we can apply those lessons to a church website.
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Style Guides and your Church

A style guide is an essential tool for unifying your church’s website, social media presence, and email campaigns. It establishes all the small pieces of your church brand. It not only helps you understand everything your have, it informs all future web projects. You can even use it for design elements in your physical spaces!
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