We don’t create taxonomies, layouts, content strategies and templates as a one-time deal, so the client’s content and design can be frozen in amber. We create them so the client has a framework for continuing to evolve their website into the future, with or without our help. Good clients know this. And they also know that, regardless of time and budget, we can’t do everything for them.

They know that it’s better to concentrate on getting a few things right than to try to cram every conceivable wish and feature into their time with us. Trying to do everything is a way to achieve nothing. Focus, concentration and form are what’s important. Consistency is what’s important. It’s all about the process.

— Jeffery Zeldman

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• The headline is strong. This is a traditional discipline that isn’t going anywhere. A good headline will engage the reader’s mind and imagination, creating an intellectual payoff. The Kaiser headline actually starts the playback of the “thighbone’s connected to the…” song in my head, tying in nicely to the musical context.
• The overall theme reinforces their positioning. I’m still a bit cynical about Kaiser’s attempt to create the perception that they are investing not only in their customers’ medical care, but also in their overall well being, while combating poor fitness habits in the culture at large. But, over time, with consistent repetition of messages like these, they may actually succeed.
• It just fits. At no point in my interaction with this promotion do I think “hmm, that’s a stretch”. In terms of how music relates to fitness, and fitness to well-being, Kaiser doesn’t overstep thematic boundaries, just because they felt the venue was right. Be cautious of forcing a concept that ultimately isn’t believable for your brand.
• It promotes an extended engagement. We always want to maximize the amount of “face time” or interactivity we have with potential customers. The best promotions are crafted to accomplish this, through offering involvement in something useful or fun (such as a game or iPhone app). Having a sponsored radio station with a fitness theme is a huge win, because it is indeed useful and it continues to reinforce the ideological connection between being active and fit, and being a Kaiser patient.

Firebug

Firebug is like a magic wand capable of peeling back the layers of a webpage to reveal its inner workings. First, it is a great learning tool when browsing the internet to investigate how other developers build great websites. Second, it speeds up debugging those pesky css and javascript issues that pop up during normal website development.

Web Developer

This is my go-to tool for testing. With just a click, I can view the site with css, javascript, and/or images turned off. These are all important benchmarks to evaluate the website under varying browser conditions.

I also take advantage of the handy one-click html and css validation options. Validation is great for catching typos in your code and for ensuring our sites are compliant with modern standards.

FireFtp

There are many great ftp client software out there, but I prefer FireFtp. First, I like the simple intuitive interface. Second, I like the convenience of loading it into one of my Firefox browser tabs. I can upload a file in the FireFtp tab, then quickly switch to the webpage tab to check its progress.