aquent site redesign-spec work
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- Lt_Jack_Hammer0
One final thing...a tip (a wee bit of advice for you)...you're not going to outsmart or trick the peeps on this site...so, I wouldn't waste anymore of your time trying...we're too smart for you.
- slappy0
Just caught up with this thread and wow, feels so good to know QBN is still so full of people that are passionate about design. So many intelligent measured responses. I think Aquent have gotten off lightly but at least they got the message. They should be thinking pretty carefully about their communication for a while now.
+1
- Another given, leave the marketing and design to the marketing and design people...meffid
- omgitsacamera0
can someone give me cliff's notes?
- ********0
Jesus, another Aquent person screwing up their PR? Really? I can see it now... [pan around boardroom]
Matt: Dammit! These young designers have dismantled the spin I'm putting on this! Even labeling it an "experiment" and arbitrating polls to appear innocently naive aren't working.
Judi: Let me step up to the plate! Pseudo-anonymous QBN account... ENERGIZE!
Matt: Report back when you have some results... I'll man the "designer dispatch radio"... JR DZNR 10423 come in! Report to the Ogilvy One office stat! we have a banner ad resizing situation, over!
Matt and Judi: Hourly rate markup here we come.. mu-Ha-HA-HAAAAAAA *cough*
- ********0
Dear Aquent,
Maybe I was a bit harsh with my last posting. I meant it in jest. I know you want a new website and all, and I'm not about to do any real work for you ever, but since I'm an insomniac and jetlagged at my grandma's house I thought I'd toss you a bone with a littl ebit of a site audit.
1) Like a real estate agent finds people homes, you are finding people livelihoods. Take a look at some of the better real estate sites out there. They have pictures of homes. You should have pictures too! Like say... pictures of places people work at through you guys!
2) People looking for talent might come to your site from time to time. Your services section is comparatively tiny and on the bottom right of the site... right next to "industry experts videos" leading me to think... what the hell do these people do? (and in a bad way)
3) No one's reading your blog right now except disgruntled designers and maybe some pals. Collapse that into the navigation. Having that list there means you have to keep updating it with innane rambling to look like you are doing stuff.
4) Throw your talent some props. Feature them on the home page. Champion them. Maybe each person in your database can design a "skin" for the home page, and featured designers will have their designs take over the home page (or as much of it as you like). This creates incentive for people to properly fill out their profile (and please stop asking me how often I use software in the profile).
5) If you want to "crowdsource" properly, cross-reference and link that database of designer profiles into a community. I don't mean give each designer a blog and an itunes playlist. Make the functionality around careers. Places for feedback. Other designers might like to work with each other, and agencies like hiring teams. Track how easy it is for designers to get to a job. Its a potential for tons of data that you can mine for later use. I don't need to tell you that.
6) Axe the dot com orange. It's cliche. If your brand manager insists on keeping it then fire him. He's cliche.
7) "Rate this page" Get rid of this, no one cares.
8) Maybe make.. I dunno... 2 sites? One for hiring agencies, and one for the talent? Why muddy up the communication by mashing it all together like you have it now
9) Training? I though you were staffing talent. You mean they still need training through AGI? Put this somewhere else.
10) Greet me. I get to the site and I feel like I'm in a lobby. I should feel like I'm having my hand shook by someone who knows me.
There, I'll stop at 10. There's probably a lot more but I'm gonna play some tetris.
- trooper0
Re cannonballs post above - ive quite a bit of experience in designing recruitment sites so...
4. sounds great but to be honesy many recruitment firms dont care about candidates once theyre placed so sounds good but in the industry theres just no incencive as the fees been paid by then
8. 99.9% of people visiting the site will be candidates so i think the site should be focused thus (check krop) - unfortunately 99.9% of recruitment firms still think theyre trying to attract new clients - a thing websites just dont do (except krop lol)
- Dont the best recruiters have returning talent? I'd wanna milk that cash cow for as long as possible.********
- one difference here is that many of these placements are temp/freelance gigs so recruiters do care about returnmonkeyshine
- Dont the best recruiters have returning talent? I'd wanna milk that cash cow for as long as possible.
- monkeyshine0
Nic, your response is spot on and I get it. You said "Where is the formal apology from John Chuang?" which gave me an idea. Maybe the best way to engage in this dialog with Aquent is to go right to John Chuang. What if we draft a letter from designers to John Chuang and encourage him to address our concerns and step into this discussion?
- Dancer0
Wonder if Mark Sinclair of Creative Review sometimes posts on here. I wonder if he has seen this thread?
- Josev0
I wonder what Aquent's clients would think about this?
- Josev0
It's interesting to note that while the call for web designs may have been an "experiment", the use of the 99designs site is something that Aquent is familiar with. From a post on No-spec.com:
Brochure Design: http://99designs.com/contests/25…
Website them design: http://99designs.com/contests/37…- Typo, should be "theme"Josev
- oh no. ...here we go. :/monkeyshine
- unbelievable.********
- ukit0
I'm still bewildered by their explanation that it was just so they could give a young designer some face time. By letting them design your corporate homepage? REALLY?
- ********0
its hilarious that not only are people still harping on about this, but now people are offering consultancy and site audits for free and getting all kinds of applause.
crazy people
- Lt_Jack_Hammer0
@ max_prophet: I think people are offering "consultancy and site audits" as a way to show the people at Aquent just how ridiculously stupid their idea was to have that contest...because of all of the thought that needs to go into a redesign...again, it's not just about making something look pretty. It also shows we are a group with ideas and offer more than just mudslinging and name calling...even though the latter is MUCH more fun.
Also, we are back on all of this bullshit because of Judi (from Aquent) being the Captain of U.S.S. Horrible Timing.