I have been looking over some websites for elegant look and ease of use. I happened onto Klar Design, owned by Gil Gildner. After looking at Gil’s website and his portfolio I asked Gil if he would interview for Web Templates Blog.

How did you get into web design?
“I have always been interested in graphic design and art. Web design was a natural next step to take since it offered an outlet for creativity and an inlet for income.”

You are doing a lot of web design for small businesses. Is this a specialization for you?
“Yes, it is. My focus is on small, entrepreneurial companies. I think that I will keep my focus on such companies because they know what they want and are willing to explore new ways of displaying their products or services.”

Where do you get your art for these webpages?
“Usually my customers have photos of their projects or products that they want me to incorporate - if not, I take them myself. For all other graphics I use a combination of Photoshop and Flash.”

What will be the next big development in webpage design?
“I think that CSS will continue to be the focus of new designs as far as the layout of pages goes. It would be nice to see websites break out of the design groove they seem to have gotten into. That is hard to do, however, because designers are constrained within certain limits.”

Have you ever worked with website templates?
“No, I have never used templates. My focus is on companies that want personalised designs, so I haven’t ever had the need to use them. That doesn’t make me opposed to them. In fact, I think that templates enable a customer on a budget to buy a website as cutting-edge and useful as a custom design - though not, of course, as unique. I think that uniqueness is very important in a website. That is what you lose when you go with a template.”

What do you think about Flash technology?
“Flash is a very useful tool for enhancing the aesthetic appeal of websites, and for displaying web-based video. Other than that, I think that it has seen its prime. Very few sites are suitable to be completely based in Flash. I generally use Flash only to add a motion factor to my sites. I think that it will always be prominent in multimedia-based websites, but unless Adobe comes out with an incredibly innovative new feature in Flash, it won’t keep growing.”

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Flash?
“It’s common knowledge that Flash sites aren’t picked up well, if at all, by search engines. That’s the largest shortcoming. Another disadvantage is the load time - though this isn’t as serious as it used to be, with broadband connections becoming more common. But the advantages are numerous too: a designer is less limited as to how he can lay out the page, nearly every browser has it installed, and it gives web-based video a way to be served without the end user having to install a new plugin.”

What are your sources of inspiration?
“My sources are probably less influenced by other websites than the graphic design in everyday life - book covers, print ads, etc. It is fairly easy to know what the current trend is in graphic design - there’s always some design element that is ‘the thing’.”

What are your favorite website designs that you did NOT design yourself?
“That’s a very hard question to answer: there are a lot of well-designed websites out there - as well as a lot of poor ones. I would have to say that my favorites would be either http://porsche.com/usa/ or http://www.wever-ducre.com.”

What was the toughest project or customer situation you’ve encountered?
“The most difficult situation that has come my way is the language barrier while working with a Swedish company. Since they don’t speak perfect English and I speak no Swedish, it’s sometimes challenging to get communication across and know that you are conversing on the same wavelength.”

What are your interests and dislikes in webpage design?
“I make it a point for all of my sites to be XHTML compliant. This is sometimes difficult to accomplish while still building a website that looks nice, but it is an important factor so browsers display it correctly. My style is crisp and clean with as little clutter as possible - in other words, minimalist. My dislikes are serifed fonts, unclear navigation, and poorly chosen color schemes.”

Thanks for your viewpoints on design Gil - especially on uniqueness and simplicity in design.

Staying the Course,
Arthur Browning

The NEW generation of websites will have a very different way of communicating information to visitors. They will be actual communication platforms that will use multimedia capabilities with the Internet’s broadband ability.

The New Website model will have the look and sound of your very own television channel. These New Websites will have audio and video programming as well as on-site programmable personalities to narrate and visually guide audiences through all of your content. But, unlike television, this New Webpage will allow site visitors to make their own programming choices.

Business owners will want to see better results; and will see better results with new programming. Web-based internet marketing communication will improve as Search Engines begin to recognize the best content in the most attractive multi-media formats.

In regard to current SEO, Search Engines can only place one webpage into a #1 spot. It is impossible for every website that is interested in Internet Marketing to pay enough for placement in even the top 10 spots. As a consequence many businesses will focus on delivering more effective content to a select but truly interested group of visitors who respond to your direct marketing efforts. Search Engines will have to place more emphasis on how long visitors stay on a website, and possibly how many different internal links are used per visit.

More and more internet marketing effort will be devoted to niche cultivation rather than to high volume impulse respondents.

High traffic volume will still be the goal of sites that make their money by delivering traffic to advertising clients. But if you are selling a product/service it’s all about the quality of the traffic, not volume.

Humans prefer to hear and see their learning experiences. Reading is okay but less attractive, and usually less information is retained. A narrative, as in a motion picture or infomercial delivers real voices, real people (characters) in motion, acting out the very memorable scenarios of peak experiences. Evidence: A good infomercial or movie is paid for by the viewer who watches it several times, can quote it years later, shares it with friends - all this much more than with paragraphs of text.

If your information is not presented in a high quality, entrancing format then visitors can click out of your page just like they change the channel of their television. If your site only presents reams of keyword rich text you will be as interesting as yesterday’s newspaper. Visitors will move on to high quality presentations of concise information.

Advertising is more competitive than many endeavors - internet marketing will catch up to and surpass television advertising strategies. People around the globe learn quickly how to opt away from ads that are repetitive, boring, loud, idiotic. New webpages will get their message across with quality content that is entertaining, varied, riveting, subtle, sophisticated - all the traits that will make it memorable.

The New Webpage will make Internet Marketing very successful - offering audio-visual format - plus text and/or pics for printing to hard copy.

Glimpsing the Future,
Arthur Browning

Women have been the object of poetry, art and now advertising and internet marketing. Personal Flash template webpages are available for women who want to project their images - to men, women, and the media. The three examples of Flash Templates below are excellent for personal pages or internet marketing.

Flash Template #12531

Flash Template #12440

Flash Template #10680

It is easier than ever for women to get their images out there. Modelling agencies need new people locally and regionally for many events. Introduction services can set up real websites or list personal websites for interested women. You don’t have to be confined to a tiny, uninspired MySpace or blog unless that is what you want. Flash Templates with music take your images to the next level in Internet Marketing.

Check Out All of WOMENS’ WEEK Posts,

Arthur Browning

Not every WordPress Theme has to be for Internet Marketing.  Some are just for personal interest.  Pet lovers, especially cat owners and enthusiasts, love to talk about and show off their cats.  Wordpress Themes are the easiest, least expensive way to do this.  If the cat lover also wants to do some internet marketing for kittens once in awhile, so  be it.

“All About Cats”  Wordpress Theme #11583

What?!?  “Only women like cats?” - no I didn’t say that, but if a girl wants to show off her cat now and then - then Wordpress Themes are the best way.

Don’t be Jealous,

Arthur Browning