Unit Interactive

If Only Deadlines Were This Entertaining

by Andy on 6.15.09 | Comments (1)

Cool use of postits and stop-motion. To see how it was done, watch the making-of video here.

Unify™ Private Beta

by Andy on 6.9.09 | Comments (28)

For the past few months the Unit Interactive team has been working hard on a little application that is meant to solve big headaches for web designers and their clients. It’s called Unify, and it’s a website content editor that is easy to install and easy to use.

We are ready to begin private beta testing on Unify and we cordially invite you to sign up to participate.

UPDATE:
The beta testing sign-up is now closed.

What is Unify?

Unify is not a content management system. It’s is a simple content editor that anyone can use. It has a ridiculously simple implementation and requires no database integration. To use Unify, you simply go to your website, login, edit the content right on the page, and click “publish.” Done.

 - no CMS
 - no backend interface
 - no database setup
 - no proprietary syntax or tags

Just change, add, or delete content right on the page in your browser.

Setting Up Unify

For the designer/developer, implementation is a snap. Once you create an account and download Unify, just…

1.    Upload the Unify folder to the server,

2.    Add the appropriate Unify classes to the HTML elements or divs that you’d like to be able to edit, and upload the page(s) to the server.

…or…

3.    There is no step 3. You’re done.

Why Unify?

Not every website needs a cumbersome and complex CMS. Sometimes all someone needs is the ability to modify content; to edit contact information, to replace an image, or to change some copy. For website owners, the easiest and most intuitive way to do that would be to go to their website in a browser and edit the content right there, on the page. Unify makes this possible.

For Designers & Developers

Wouldn’t you like to have a simple content editing solution for those clients who don’t need a powerful CMS? Unify is perfect for brochure sites and other informational websites where content updates are minor and infrequent. With Unify, your clients don’t have to know HTML and they don’t need to learn to use a complex, counterintuitive backend system. Unify lets you give your clients an easy-to-use editing solution so that they can be self-sufficient …and you can determine which elements they can edit and which elements they can’t.

Unify is not a hosted solution. It lives on the website’s server. The license cost will be very low, allowing for easy inclusion in project budgeting.

Using Unify

After going to www.yourdomain.com/unify and logging in, editable areas become conspicuous on the page. Double-clicking on an editable area or clicking on the edit tab opens up an intuitive editing interface for that content element or containing div. The controls are contextual to the elements you are editing. Unify even has a robust definition list wizard; a feature lacking in other content editing apps. Unify’s intuitive image wizard allows uploading, editing, application of classes, IDs, or alternate text properties to images.

For more complex content arrays, like image+copy+stats for a typical company’s staff listing or a product listing, Unify even has a repeatable element function so that website owners can add a new staff member or product. The user can select a repeatable section, insert a duplicate, and change the relevant information or image. This function prevents your client from destroying a complex product or staff listing while editing in visual mode.

Unify works to preserve good markup. You can edit in either visual or HTML mode. The visual mode prevents users from adding presentational effects (like underlines or colors) to content, so the presentation stays within the CSS.

Sign up for the Private Beta

If you are a web designer or developer and would like to help us put Unify through its paces, please go to the Unify website and sign up to participate in our private beta.

UPDATE:
The beta testing sign-up is now closed.

Do You Realize?

by R.A. Ray on 6.3.09 | Comments (5)

It is an amazing time to be alive.

Do you realize that we are approaching a time in which information of every kind will be freely and instantly available to anyone who desires it? Lack of affluence will no longer be an excuse for ignorance nor will education be measured by grades or diplomas. We know too much collectively and are too busy sharing it for such outdated models to remain relevant. A person’s level of knowledge will be on equal footing with their ability to find and learn.

Do you realize that we are on the cusp of a societal revolution the likes of which the world has only seen a handful of times? There were the advents of agriculture, written language, and the printing press and then the Industrial Revolution. Next will come the Information Revolution which will irrevocably change the way humanity views itself and the way individuals view each other.

In certain communities on the web, we have established the closest organization to pure meritocracy that the world has ever seen. People are judged based on their contributions and ideas without their race, sex, nationality, creed, or in some cases even identity being questioned.

Do you realize that as a web designer or developer you’re working on a piece of history every day? We’re trying to make this massive conglomeration of hacks and workarounds we call the Internet into something more powerful, something better. We’re adding information and making it easier to find and easier to consume. We’re making it more permanent and simpler to change. In short, we are enabling the revolution to take place.

Do you realize this? If not, why are you here?

Project Launch: Brickyard Partners

by Andy on 5.28.09 | Comments (3)

Last week we were thrilled to launch the Brickyard Partners website. For some time, Howard Mann has been providing varied ideas & execution services under a couple of brand names for the distinct services, and recently he chose to consolidate things under one brand: Brickyard Partners.

Many people know Howard from his widely acclaimed book, Your Business Brickyard. It’s a treasure trove of advice for business owners and a treatise on getting back to the basics. In it, Howard reminds us of the fun we used to have (or could have) running a business and he outlines how to cut the crap and make your business more fun to run. Howard’s experience running a large business (and slogging through the not-so-fun times, and having to find his own way through) has given him clear insights into what can go wrong …and what steps to take to regain the fun and the excellence. (more…)

Odd Brand Placement

by Andy on 5.20.09 | No Comments Yet

An interesting bit of oddness in magazines this week. One of our clients, Woot.com, was featured in a Maximum PC magazine article about Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8. Interesting to note that the Woot website is not a site that requires the use of IE8’s august “Compatibility View” function. Can’t imagine why they picked Woot as the example here. At seeing this, Woot’s creative director Dave Rutledge said:

“We wholeheartedly support use of screenshots of our site as the lorem-ipsum of demonstrating and discussing any browser features or functionality, regardless of how irrelevant or tenuous the connection is.”

Fun times.

Usability vs. Thinkability

by Andy on 5.18.09 | Comments (5)

You know, not every interaction snafu is rooted in poor UI design. I’d argue that most of the time they’re rooted in user inattention/carelessness (we call these cases “accidents”) or even lack of user intelligence (don’t get me started on how we’re all supposedly of average or better intelligence. Harumph!). Sure, most things could be better designed, but as the human you have to recognize your responsibility to interact accurately with a UI.

Rachel points out what is likely a common example of something we all do from time to time: making a mistake with a UI. She rightly does not directly blame the UI, but a couple of commentors allude to inherent confusion or misleading characteristics in the UI. As designers, in such cases we’re predisposed to cry foul and blame a UI for its confusing or misleading design, but I hope that we don’t shut off our brains in the process. Is it not perfectly acceptable to require that users read what is on a button in order to ascertain its function?

In answer to Rachel’s question, I don’t think it is at all annoying that the two buttons might appear “eerily similar.” They’re buttons. I do, however, find it annoying that like her I sometimes make a mistake due to my own inattention and carelessness. My bad.

Big Brand 1080px Design

by Andy on 5.11.09 | Comments (15)

In the past couple of years many web designers have experimented with wider-than-960px layouts, mostly for personal projects and experimental cases, but few have employed them for clients. This is especially true when working with large, popular brands …and there’s usually good reason for this, but there are exceptions. Here we’ll examine our case of taking Woot.com—a $165MM/yr. family of retail websites with around 1 million visitors/day—from approximately 810px layout to 1080px layout width. Unlike as with most cases, the project constraints required this change.

Woot has 4 websites: woot.com, shirt.woot, wine.woot, and sellout.woot (their collaboration with Yahoo! Shopping). In 2008, they were listed in Inc. Magazine as the #1 fastest growing retail company in the nation. What’s more, they were also listed as the 25th fastest growing company of any kind in the US, with almost 5000% growth year-over-year. These guys had been doing things right long before they contacted us about redesigning their websites.

Woot does not have any brick and mortar stores that augment their sales. These websites are their business, so a significant mistake on these sites would directly affect their profitability. That being said, things were going very well when they decided to consider a redesign. The project was not a response to lagging sales or troubling indicators, it was just a daring move to continue doing what Woot does well: progress. So it was with careful attention that we engaged in our discovery and redesign process with them. (more…)

ABSOLUT World Makes Kindness the New Currency

by Andy on 4.30.09 | Comments (1)

Find more videos like this on AdGabber

I have no idea what this has to do with vodka, but ABSOLUT vodka’s “In an ABSOLUT World” campaign results in a gem of an ad spot, where kindness is currency. Good one, guys. Via Adrants.