1. Digital Teams: Just out today is this one from Jason Mogus’s company Communicopia. They did some timely original research to understand how non-profit leaders manage digital & online initiatives in their organizations. The topline summary is laid out in this bright infographic.

2. Nonprofits & Social Media: Another recent infographic showed up from Allyson Kapin of Rad Campaigns & Frogloop, who  teamed up with Craig Newmark and cragiconnects to take a look at how the top 50 nonprofits by net income do social media.

3. Nonprofit Benchmarks: M+R  and NTEN’s 2011 eNonprofit Benchmark study also resulted in an infographic full of interesting info.

These provide just a taste of what the full reports include, and I encourage you to go ahead and download and read all of them.

In case you’ve been bitten by the infographic bug too, here are links to even more:

• Good.is has become a bit famous for their infographics, and with good reason – check them out.
• 5 Good Nonprofit Infographics from NPTrends
• Advice for Good’s infographic archives

One of the site in this 12 Creative Design Elements Inspiring the Next Generation of UX post from  SEOmoz caught my eye. The entire post is full of inspiration and eye-candy for designers but the Maersk interactive infographic hooked me and as I kept playing with it I started thinking about why.

The answer was simple: because its fun! Just really fun to be surprised by the results when you compare their ships to landmarks and whales.

And although I’m not really clear on how this benefits their sales or business goals, I’m glad it’s there. It tells a very simple story (our boats are really big) intuitively and with impact. I’ll keep this in mind for future brainstorms for clients. The subject matter here isn’t in itself super interesting (think of the yawns a table full of measurements would bring) No, the fun part lies in the clever interface & interaction.

Neat.

Here’s a bonus example of fun that my social network pals have been playing with – Draw a Stickman. Try it, and think how engaging such a bare bones technique could be paired with real world issues & actions.

Like I mentioned, I’ll be writing more on this soon.

I definitely went to the big city, both literally and figuratively. San Francisco and the Nielsen Norman Group seminar respectively – both a bit like Oz. They were exhausting and exhilarating in equal measure.

While I was already a bit intimidated by the vast sea of things to learn about designing for mobile/tablet sites and apps, I found things are even more complicated than I knew. So much for a quick one day learning experience. As usual, I have been sucked into researching and reading everything I can get my hands on about this new (to me) area of design.

The presenters (Kara McCain, NNG & Rob Abbott, Egg Haus) were great – well informed, good communicators, with a clear understanding of what it was we had all showed up to learn.  Our printed workbooks were the only real disappointment – as a design nerd and internet geek I just don’t see why this wasn’t online, or at least printed well. Printed out resource URLS are so last century. But I’ve included some of the links here, so at least you can click right through.

With so many devices, each with their own peculiarities, they compared designing for mobile to the early wild-west days of web design during the browser wars (Netscape!) of the 90′s and early 00′s. What works on one breaks on another and none of them can agree to a standard.  I’d have to say though that the challenges remind me more of the headaches and learning curve to be overcome in the design of (good) HTML emails, which also have to accommodate so many different methods of access and display.

Some of the general guidelines sound just like best practices for a good donation form – less is more, – make it easy – get them to do the next thing quickly and without distraction. That applies to any mobile screen and is ten times as important for forms on mobile.

Some  Key Take-Aways:

Icons are King

• Your App Icon *is* your brand on the store and launcher screens
• Unless you have a good reason, stick with the standard look for Tab bar & Menu icons (top and bottom bars)
• Don’t use any unneeded icons for list views, they just add noise.

Don’t Add Anything (you don’t need)

• As in – think twice about big images and graphics, users don’t have patience and connections can flake out
• Same goes for fancy fonts. Use what’s native.
• And content too. Fight back internally to keep things streamlined. Only top priority items on the screen (its small)

Tap Area (links & buttons) Design is Critical

• Make tap areas as big as you can (especially if they are important)
• Don’t put tap areas close together, which leads to accidents. More padding is better.
• Placement is crucial to avoid accidents too (Big actions like Send need to be away from the space bar for example)

Motion is More Important on Mobile

• People not only will horizontal swipe to navigate, they expect it
• Good transitions reinforce user confidence, bad ones make them avoid your app
• Remember user Feedback (visual changes that show actions or states) -  test to make sure its still visible from under the user’s finger

Design & Details Do Matter

• People *do* notice good and bad design on mobile
• Never put text in images, they look like crap
• Always check your design on real devices in the real world

It really all came down to KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid. Sadly, simple is not easy.

Some links:

HIG (Human Interface Guidelines – handy!)

• Android HIG
• Apple iOS HIG

General Reference

• Click Z interview with Jakob Nielsen about mobile usability
• NNG’s Summary of the 10 best app winners
• Mobile best practices website

And Some Questions:

• Do you have a mobile device?
• What do you do with it?
• Any great sites and Apps you love or examples of really craptacular ones?
• Know of any resources I shouldn’t miss?

I really hope you’ll leave some new trails for me to follow in the comments.

Update: Just got an email about New Use It article on writing for mobile that has some really good guidelines that reinforce the Don’t Add Anything ( you don’t need) theme.

So what’s different about designing for these little screens? That’s what I’ll be finding out next week in a full-day training on Visual Design for Mobile Devices and Tablets during the Nielsen Norman Group Usability Week in San Francisco. I’ll report back.

(originally posted on the Idealware Blog)

South by Southwest is everything they say it is and probably a whole lot more. This being my first year, I was dutifully overwhelmed with the sheer number of options for learning, inspiration and fun. I had planned to report back on the nonprofit oriented sessions I attended and their take-aways, but something else has struck me as even more important to highlight.

I did go to some good sessions (and missed many more that sounded great) and was on a panel full of smart people “Money for Nothing and Your Software for Free”  audio (slides & resources) about free and open source software, led by Idealware Board president Jeff Herron and targeted at nonprofits. But what really resonated with me is how much more impact in person idea exchanges seems to have than finding the same information online.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love to seek out and read great resources online, but the energy and excitement of finding a great new idea or validation of something I was already thinking just isn’t the same as when it is shared in a conversation. Or presented by a terrific passionate speaker. And as connective as social media is, there is just no comparison to debating email subject lines, Open Source or the best CRM over a beer. And the swell of activity around raising funds for Japan disaster relief created a unique tenor in the halls and rooms that is difficult to describe.

It got me thinking about the way we interact with supporters, donors and clients and I just wanted to make a pitch that while nonprofits are busy building their online presence, to appreciate the real world opportunities and keep in person events and workshops in the mix. And to enjoy all the opportunities a conference like this (or NTC going on now!) as to offer.

And now some session highlights. The links take you to the schedule pages where you can hear the audio for most of the sessions. Very cool, but not exactly like being there…

“Let’s Hook Up: Brands, Celebs and Nonprofits”  which contained useful information and some great examples of how to find the right match for your organization.  Hint: They should know and actually care about your mission.

“Why would we think Social Media is Revolutionary?”  with Clay Shirky was fantastic and thought provoking, and I particularly loved it when he said “And this is where I had it all wrong” and went on to explain the importance of long term efforts and laying the groundwork before activating your social network in a crisis mode.

“Apps, APIs & Syndication: Creativity in the Post-Website Era“  which was interesting but mostly aimed at for profit retailers. I think a session like this focused on the creative ways nonprofits are doing this is something I’d want to see.

“Anatomy of a Design Decision“  This was a great breakdown of the different types of design approaches and when to use each by Jared Spool.

The Keynote by Tom’s Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie had some of us in tears describing the evolution from idea to successful venture.

And the closing presentation by Bruce Sterling sort of makes my point about the impact of real world interaction. Surprisingly political and passionate he had the audience’s full attention and the atmosphere in the room was intense.

When not in a session I spent time in the Beaconfire Lounge where nonprofit folks gathered to relax and network. Music and photography from local nonprofit organizations provided a wonderful atmosphere. I missed a LOT of sessions I really wanted to see including most of the big nonprofit ones because of life stuff getting in the way but I feel confident they will be well covered on the web.

Oh and the coolest thing about this years SXSWi? Old school, in person, hands on sketching on big pads that turned sessions into infographics – now posted on the web at Ogilvy Notes.  They are well worth checking out.

Advocacy Progress Planner launched
I had the opportunity to  re-architect and re-design the Advocacy Progress Planner for the Aspen Advocacy Planning and  Evaluation Program. After a few years of successful use and growing popularity this step by step planning tool needed to expand its abilities. I created the original design for the tool and were thrilled to have the opportunity to assist with its evolution into not only a means to create real actionable plans but to collaborate effectively in the process. The code wizardry behind the friendly interface is again the great work of  Dagwood Reeves. I’ll be writing up a case study for the site soon but for now you can try it out yourself at: http://planning.continuousprogress.org/ . The team at APEP couldn’t be happier with how it turned out and I’ll be helping them update and  re-align their branding over the next few months as well.

This site finally gets a little love
I am not a fan of the old stand-by “the shoemaker’s kids have no shoes” that web developers trot out when their own site is in disarray, but I have to admit  it happened to me after my site was hacked in the fall. I have finally made some improvements to the theme, cleaned up some of the code I threw together in an hurry and am actively adding to the portfolio to get it back where it was. Plus more changes and additions to come, so check back soon.

SXSW is the conference of the year
This year I”ve been asked to speak on a panel at the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin March 12th. Sadly this means I had to cancel my plans to attend the always enjoyable Nonprofit Technology Conference in DC the following week. Just too much time to be traveling which is a real shame. Although I know I will miss the people and inspiration at NTC, I’m really psyched about the panel (Money for Nothing and Your Software for Free) since finding low cost but sustainable solutions is something I’m rather passionate about. And anyone that read my blog last year knows of the education that Sprout Builder provided on this topic. Also, I am very excited about the new people, ideas and inspiration that will come from changing up my routine. If you’re going to SXSW and want to meet up – let me know!

In the last week of the year you can count on at least  two things it seems: the ubiquitous  “last chance to give a tax deductible donation” emails from your favorite organizations and recap and top 10 lists from just about everyone online. A favorite way for bloggers to draw us in, lists can actually be very useful to pare down the vast amount of information out there into bite size chunks we can consume in one sitting.

And  it really has been an incredible year for insights and shared knowledge in our communty .  So compiling a list of lists that contain inspiration, good ideas, tips and resources for online nonprofits seemed like a fitting celebration of all the sharing and smart ideas that are out there. Below are a few (there are more than 10 ) that I’ll kick off with, but I know it’s just a start, so please leave more in the comments.

Nonprofit and Technology Lists from 2010

Some lists cull out their author’s favorite blogs…

Top 10 Nonprofit  Technology (NPTech) and Social Media for Social …

And books…

10 Nonprofit Books from 2010

And good examples of what is possible…

• Yes, another “favorite” list from 2010–but ours is THE BEST list of course which links to
• Top 10 Most Innovative Viral Video Ads of 2010
• 30 Great Podcasts for Nonprofits
• 7 Ways for Nonprofits to Use Mobile Phones to Rake in Cash

There are conference insights…

• 10 Take-Aways from SXSW for Nonprofits — Nonprofit Geekery
• Top Nonprofit Marketing Insights — 2010 NTC (Nonprofit Technology Conference)

And tools for nonprofits

• Non-Profit Top 10 Tech Tools Recommended by the Layla Grace Foundation
• Change-makers share 10 of their favorite tools
• Top Ten Technology and Social Media Resources for Nonprofits
• 6 Web Tools to Help Small Organizations Thrive

And what would year end be without some introspection and predictions?

• Reflecting On 2011 – The Year Online Organizers Got Real
• Ten for the next 10: 2010-2020
• Blackbaud’s predictions about trends in NPO tech ( from back in April – were they right?)

And some fun & inspriation

• 20 Celebs Gone Good In 2010
• 10 Cases of Appropriate Technology

The last link is from a site that is nothing but a list of lists – how meta.

Happy New Year!

So it comes as no surprise that I have been delighted to co-author the  2010 Comparing Open Source Content Management Systems: WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Plone report. It includes unbiased detailed reviews with a feature summary,  as well as a directory of consultants.

Comparing these 4 systems was a bit like comparing apples, oranges, lemons and kumquats, but overall I am just impressed with the fantastic tools nonprofits have available to build great websites. Which system is “best” depends on your specific needs and access to a trusted developer, so they are all winners in my book. Which isn’t to say any of them are without flaws. If you are thinking about a move to an open source CMS this is the place to start looking – so go read it now!

One neat little project that isn’t listed yet are the ads Shayna Englin engaged us to create for the Global Day of Jewish Learning. Pairing their Big Questions with popular celebrities in tiny ad spaces proved challenging and fun. You can see a couple of the ads that are now in circulation below.

For now it just has the most basic basics while I am busy updating things in the background. You can still see past blog posts, find out a little about the company, or get in touch in the meantime.

Some recent work that I’ll be adding to the new site include:

WildlifeSOS
This is not my design, I just provided the strategic advice, technology planning and a custom Drupal install for this great organization in India.

Great Oakland Public Schools & Great Oakland Public Schools Information Center
For this innovative community organization it was practically the whole enchilada (With implementation by Media Mezcla) strategy, branding, design & HTML/CSS for both organizations plus a suite of email newsletter templates.

Tools for Engaging Landowners (engaginglandowners.org)
Working with the smart folks at Center for Nonprofit Strategies and technology partner Free Flow Digital we provided creative strategy, design and user interface for the site and its interactive planning tool. One of my favorite parts are landowner profiles – visual easy to understand reports that can be generated based on multiple criteria.

We’ve also helped the Aspen Institute customize several sections of their website to better suite their content and needs, including the new multimedia section interfaces on their site – this was a fun design challenge!

And, I’m still blogging over at idealware.org

All that and more in the coming days will be added to the redesigned updated version of heathergm.com – stay tuned.