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James Archer
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Agile design: what we’ve learned
*This article was originally published on Forty.co. Forty is now Crowd Favorite. This is the story of what Agile is really all about, why it’s so dang hard to implement well, and why (with a little soul-searching) it works beautifully for design. The birth of Agile In February of 2001, seventeen software developers…
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How cognitive bias skews design reviews
Being human means we’re not always logical. Our brains have developed certain ways of thinking that help us understand and simplify the complex world around us in simple ways, but unfortunately, those mental shortcuts can often cause problems for us as well. Psychologists refers to these mental patterns as “cognitive biases”: individual beliefs and tendencies…
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Software design mistakes that just won’t die
(This article is a recap of a lightning talk I recently delivered at the Business of Software conference.) As the Chief Creative Officer here at Crowd Favorite, I spend pretty much all day obsessing about how to improve user experiences. I’ve observed a number of recurring software design problems over the years, and I thought I’d share a…
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Behind the scenes of a modern website
*This article was originally published on Forty.co. Forty is now Crowd Favorite. We recently redesigned our own website (on which you’re probably reading this article right now), and thought you might be interested in hearing about some of the technology elements running the background that help shape the overall user experience. Ultra advanced front-end…
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Crowdsourcing your brand design: the math just doesn’t work out
*This article was originally published on Forty.co. Forty is now Crowd Favorite. I’m still a numbers guy at heart, That’s why I get so frustrated every time I hear someone recommending crowdsourced design services like 99designs. The math just doesn’t work out for business owners, but it looks like such a compelling solution on the surface…
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Does “It’s all about you” really work?
*This article was originally published on Forty.co. Forty is now Crowd Favorite. We’re naturally attracted to people and brands that stand for something, and we’re suspicious of those that try to mold themselves around our preferences. Imagine this. You’re on a blind date. You: “So, where do you want to go?” Date: “Wherever you…
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Why successful companies keep investing in ongoing marketing
*This article was originally published on Forty.co. Forty is now Crowd Favorite. Seasoned Fortune 500 companies have a deep understanding and appreciation for marketing. Coca-Cola may already be one of the most recognized brands in the world, but they nevertheless spend billions of dollars every year on their marketing efforts. (And you can bet…
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Inside the Inc. 5000: what it takes to be a high-growth company
*This article was originally published on Forty.co. Forty is now Crowd Favorite. Every year, Inc. magazine ranks the 5,000 fastest-growing companies (privately held) in the United States. When they released their 2011 list, providing a fresh set of data on the movers and shakers across all industries, we compiled and analyzed this data, comparing it against general business…
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How to keep your SEO juice while overhauling your website
*This article was originally published on Forty.co. Forty is now Crowd Favorite. The biggest mistake people make with website redesigns is thinking that it’s just a website redesign. They see the new site, everything seems to work, and they call it done. Meanwhile, their SEO juice is leaking all over the floor. Their rankings are going…
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Tribal design: sacred things
*This article was originally published on Forty.co. Forty is now Crowd Favorite. Every brand tribe has sacred things that help its members relate to the abstract concepts of the archetypes and the doctrine. They can be symbolic representations, memory triggers, evocative themes, or components of the brand tribe’s mythology. Icons Icons are the symbolic…
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Metric-lust: how well can you really measure marketing ROI?
*This article was originally published on Forty.co. Forty is now Crowd Favorite. As technology has given our industry the ability to measure more things faster than ever, there’s been a steady trend towards having metrics serve as the basis for design and creative work, with the idea that this will ensure return on investment…
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The truth about truth: why honesty builds stronger bonds
*This article was originally published on Forty.co. Forty is now Crowd Favorite. Great advertising is exceptional truth-telling. In 1912, Harry McCann and four partners launched the advertising agency that would later become McCann Erickson. Their founding motto was “Truth Well Told,” which beautifully expresses one of the most fundamental (and often misunderstood) principles behind advertising…
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