For my must read of the week, I recommend FEED: The Razorfish Consumer Experience Report . Came across it yesterday.
Its stated mission is to help people to gain a better understanding of how technology affects today’s digital consumer experience and explore the emerging trends that will shape those experiences for years to come. It talks about the rise of search as a primary mode of navigation, the widespread adoption of Web 2.0 features and technologies, and how the increase in mainstream social media usage have fundamentally altered the consumer landscape. The main point is that for brands to remain relevant in this environment, they will need to adapt to both emerging technologies and shifting consumer behaviour.
This leads to a discussion of the need to act less like an advertiser and more like a like publisher, entertainment company or party planner, and the need to rethink the way you create relationships (or conversations) with consumers before it’s too late. Next up is a practical discussion of the the trends and techniques for doing some of these things, including using widgets and RSS feeds, Twitter, social media participation and “micro-interactions”.
Captivating content for any that are interested in the above, but even if the above puts you to sleep, you need to look at this publication for its artwork. Yes, as the editor of various publications I probably get more excited about such things than most people, but this is the most amazing publication artwork I have seen in a long long time. Just a totally brilliant use of colour and graphics in a variety of layouts. My only complaint, the labels and text on many of the charts are just too small (and it’s not just my tired and aging eyes).
So when do you think we will see law firm marketing content that looks anything like this?
If the Flash presentation irks you, take a look at the PDF version. I think it'd be fun to dummy up a law firm site that is as free with colour and makes as good use of design as this does.