A selection of things we are talking about - or have talked about in the past - that have interested us enough to write about.

Creating design for sales pitches

Things we are talking about Posted by Darragh on 19 October 2011

There are so many reasons that creating designs as part of a pitch is a bad idea; and it isn't just a bad idea for us as the potential supplier (we prefer 'partner'). It's also a bad idea for potential clients, a bad idea for other companies in our industry, and a bad idea for companies in any industry where design might be required as part of a pitch. Here are just a few of the reasons why.Read more.

Decorating the 1minus1 office

Things we are talking about Posted by Sarah on 13 June 2011

We've been decorating at our Farnham, Surrey HQ. Since we have been here a good few months now, we felt it was about time to get stuck in and get creative. Especially since we have all this illustration and graphics skills ... why not show it off? Read more.

Choice as a differentiator

Offering client’s choice can be a really powerful differentiator. It can turn you from being a software house into a true consultancy.

There are plenty of examples of companies that do fantastically well by offering one product, and no other choice. In this way the choice is the product you have to offer, or choose another company. Some people would say this is a more practical and careful use of resource and it allows you to do one thing, and do it really, really well. In many ways, those views are true. It can be a lot harder to offer choice. Read more.

Measuring the success of design and usability

Design and Usability is one of my favourite subjects. No question. Given the choice to talk about code, design or business, I’ll always choose … well, I will choose business. But design and usability comes a close second.

During my time in the web design industry, I have seen focusing on design and usability make a very significant difference to a number of clients, and I remain convinced that a number of companies make real mistakes in ignoring this element of system design. Read more.

Sometimes cheap can be really expensive

It is a sensible strategy in business – as it is in any part of our lives – to consider the cost of choosing one web design company over another. Not doing this would mean that you or your company either do not care enough about your project, or are having such an amazing financial year that money is no longer an object. We hope it is the latter. Read more.

Web solutions: Custom vs. out of the box

Choosing whether to use a pre-existing off the shelf product to build your web solution often seems like an easy decision. Surely it is the case that if a solution out there already exists that does something like what you want to achieve you should build on that?

Well, this is not always the case. Whilst we have carried out work just like this on a number of occasions, taking a Joomla CMS, a Sharepoint system … whatever it is, has to be carefully considered. Read more.