Meet Dana
How I Got From There to Here
I'm a UX designer passionate about tinkering, woodworking / furniture making, technology, and DIY projects. I'm also absolutely obsessed with understanding the design of pretty much everything.
I create custom web designs with integrated UX - beautiful, functional experiences that will delight your clients and customers. Intuitive solutions, simple, elegant designs and frictionless content, all with an attention to detail in every project.
Never Break the Spell
Where did that name come from? It came to me in a dream ... No, no it didn't. Really, it came from a UX presentation I attended sometime around 2016 (give or take). This one in particular was given by a former Disney employee. She talked about user experience from the Disney POV, which is focused on a completely immersive experience.
If you've been to a Disney theme park, you know something about Disney characters and what it's like to interact with them. They're always in character. ALWAYS. Why?
Rule #1 for the people playing Disney characters at their theme parks: Stay in character and only do or say things your character would know.
In other words, Never break the spell.
I've carried that lesson with me every day since. It's what guides everything I design, from the interior of our tiny house vacation rental to my process for content design. I can feel it everywhere it is - and everywhere it isn't. And so can you.
Check out my services and pricing.
How You Get From Here to There
If you're building a new website or redesigning one that's not performing for you, here's the very abbreviated version of how we get from where you are now to a new / redesigned website that'll help you grow your practice:
During the initial consultation, we'll talk about your coaching business, what kind of coaching you plan to do, and what you want your website to do. We'll talk about what keeps you up at night, and I'll answer any questions you have.
1. If you decide to work with me, we'll talk about everything else, like who your ideal clients are and, when they get to your website, what you want them to know and be able to do.
2. Once you have most (or all) of the content you need, I'll build your pages, connect the services and accounts you're using (booking, payments, social media, etc.)
3. After the final review, I'll publish your site and you'll be live!
Wondering how long this'll take? Once I have your content, it's usually just a few days until you're live.
Top 3 Design Priorities
The following is an excerpt from Growing a Business Website: Fix the Basics First by Jakob Nielson, Ph.D., User Advocate and co-founder of Nielson Norman Group (NN/g). What's truly impressive is that he wrote this in 2006 - 18 years ago. In spite of everything that's changed since then, this still stands up and I think it always will.
"Indeed, the biggest design flaws destroying business value typically involve:
- Communicating clearly so that users understand you. Users allocate minimal time to initial website visits, so you must quickly convince them that the site's worthwhile.
- Providing information users want. Users must be able to easily determine whether your services meet their needs and why they should do business with you.
- Offering simple, consistent page design, clear navigation, and an information architecture that puts things where users expect to find them.
Get these three right, and you'll enhance your site's credibility, ease a user's way through the site, and thus do far more for the site's business value than any JavaScript trick"
The alternative to good design is always bad design. There is no such thing as no design.
— Adam Judge
