Did you know FaceySpacey is the creator of Redux-First Router and Universal?
The Startup Incubator.
Your one stop social media shop
1. Speccing
2. Branding
3. Coding
4. Marketing
Branding
At FaceySpacey, branding could almost be considered part of the speccing phase. We put design first. We put the user interface your users will use first. Many development shops will produce so called “wire frames.” If you’re familiar with them, you probably are seeing in your head layouts with little black square lined boxes representing elements on a page, e.g. a rectangle in the top left for a video player, and more rectangles in a column down the right column representing related users or other users. What we’ve determined is that these specs will be completely different if you have the opportunity to design them. Something theoretically sound in black and white lined wireframes might be a completely boring idea once designed. We allow the specs to change entirely throughout the speccing phase--because we do the branding phase simultaneously! The result is usually that we invent completely unique and innovative interfaces never before seen.
For instance, a simple form with a bunch of fields stacked vertically on top of each other may become a several step process where you swipe from one field to the next on a tablet (or click a next button on a desktop). That’s a simple example, but should help you understand why the design and branding can completely change the specs for the product. Often you may end up with totally different (and better features). Another point we’d like to describe is the way address this combined speccing/branding: we borrow many aspects from other sites. We use other sites as overall branding influences. And more specifically we’ll copy/paste entire components from other sites--and then of course re-design it in our own style.
LEARN FROM INFLUENCES:
We maximize efficiency by not hiding from the fact that most of what we know is learned from other sources. So that means we cut the BS and say to ourselves: “we’re going to have a comment wall widget exactly like Facebook’s.” Though we may end up making some tweaks to it, the point is we don’t waste any time pretending like we have to imagine such components from scratch. And we’ll share with you precisely where each component is influenced from, and thereby engage you in the process in picking and choosing already-existing components already out there on successful web & mobile applications. In short, we don’t think we have to make a Miles Davis or John Coltrane album to innovate where it counts. We believe the goal is to focus on what is unique about your application, and for everything else find efficiency in what has already been done, and do so very directly through a copy/paste process. But don’t worry, our designers will soup it up and make it your own in the end. Finding precise influences at the component level is one of our key ingredients to success.
MAKE IT YOUR OWN:
However, the overall branding is slightly different than the many individual components that make up your site. For the overall branding, we’ll pick 3-5 other applications, and very closely mimic their best textures, placement of navigation/logos, etc. We reach a stage where it looks fantastic, but a little too close to the design of other apps. Then from there we make it our goal to make it your own, and completely unique. The result is that there is no designer taking stabs in the dark secretly throwing in whatever influences are ruminating in his head. We go through tens and even hundreds of influences, and share with you exactly what possibilities we think work best. And that means you’re not sitting waiting for a designer to come up with who knows what over a few days. Instead over a few hours, we’ve pin-pointed tons of apps we should borrow from. This is something other shops may want to pretend doesn’t happen or something like that. But we believe that by confronting this important aspect of learning from the greats that came before us, we can find great efficiency and keep you in the loop and contributing the entire time.
