The Web Project Guide: Develop the Graphic and Interface Design | Know Your Integrations

A quick book update as we get closer to the holidays.

Writing on the book has moved from mostly Corey to mostly Deane, but I will continue to post all chapter updates here on Eating Elephant because, while the more technical chapters of the Web Project Guide are in Deane’s court, we’re collaborating on editing in order to confirm that content is relatable to everyone — from the director of marketing to someone in customer service.

These chapters were interesting to me from a content strategy point because while both of them feel disconnected from the content industry, in reality they’re deeply connected. A deep understanding of graphic and UI design — and a solid understanding of how integrated content and technologies affect your mix of platform managed content — is necessary not just to improve site content, but to plan for that content in the first place.

The design chapter was fun to write, but fraught with insecurities, so I had the always great Sam Otis walk through it and confirm (and fix) some issues. Meanwhile, dealing with integrations is 100% Deane’s baby, but I really appreciated the “integrations as group school project” metaphor and felt it deep in my soul.

Anyway, go read these chapters, please.

CHAPTER 13: Develop the Graphic and Interface Design
With knowledge of the content and how it’s organized, along with your organization’s marketing assets, you can visually plan the site from wireframes to fully rendered design.

CHAPTER 14: Know Your Integrations
A website will often need to communicate with some external system. These situations can be fraught with peril. The key is to know what they are early, and to plan for the unknown.

As always, to keep up to date with chapter launches, sign up for our emails.