Dangerous Phrases: “Wouldn’t it be cool if…”

Now, we at Helen Marie think the web is very cool. That’s why we’re in this business.  We get excited on a daily basis about all manner of new design and interface ideas and technology.  (Personally, I discover a new way to love jQuery almost every day, and that’s exciting.)  It’s this constant fascination that energizes each one of our projects, and that we hope to find reflected in our clients.

Part of our job is to focus this enthusiasm into disciplined decisions about how best to serve a particular client and a particular project.  We have a lot of healthy arguments that start with, “Wouldn’t it be cool if…?”  The question is often followed by, “I agree, but we shouldn’t do that in this case because….”  Or, just as often: “That’s great — but let’s consider that for phase 2.”

We go through this in order to avoid three big pitfalls: building more than the client needs or can immediately use, rejecting new approaches or techniques because we’re unfamiliar, and committing to unreliable approaches or techniques because the coolness factor affects our judgment.  We wrestle with these issues so you don’t have to.

(There are a lot of interactive technologies that are the equivalent of a two-seat Lotus Exige: extremely cool, but maybe not what you need.)

You may have done your own research before you even found us, however, and decided that your new site absolutely has to include X, or be built on Y.  We often meet with potential clients who say, “We want our new site to be built on [insert trendy platform or poorly-understood technology here].”  Why, we ask? “We’ve read about it, and it looks like the best new technology for us.”

This is an ideal point to ask us what we think of the idea, and whether we have other recommendations.  That’s the beginning of a great conversation that will help you to educate yourself about your options, learn something about us and our experience, and save money in the long-haul by making the right decisions when you have the most flexibility – i.e., before you start down any road.

You’ll be able to meet the overwhelming majority of your project’s critical strategic needs with proven, industry-standard design and interface practices.  Your agency, if they’re up to snuff, will have a toolbox of information design, user interface, and technology solutions that apply in some manner to almost everything that can come up.

Your first contact with an agency should be a great learning experience.  I know that I love talking to potential and new clients about the broad strokes of planning and building a web application.  I call it Everything You Always Wanted To Know About The Web But Were Afraid To Ask.  For you, the client, it’s free advice; for us, it’s a chance to show you how we think and work.