Find out what’s inspired three of our team members to level up their work last month
Everyone needs a little time to pause and refresh each day to keep their work brains online—especially with the line between work and home so blurred. If you’re looking for ways to boost your design and marketing expertise or a new podcast to enjoy in your free time, we have a few ideas. From true crime podcasts asking the real questions to genius mask-aware marketing tactics to creating optimal user experiences online, here’s how the Yak Pak has been staying tuned in and revved up when it comes to work and to play in August 2020.
Photo Credit: Generation Why Podcast
Warren Legner, VP of Accounts — Recommendation Why
After getting all caught up on his favorite podcast True Crime Obsessed, Warren couldn’t wait another week for the next episode to get his true crime fix. Instead, he followed a frequent recommendation by the True Crime Obsessed hosts to check out the podcast Generation Why. He was blown away. Hosted by two friends, Aaron and Justin, Generation Why dives deep into conspiracies, mysteries and cold cases. Warren likes that they present each case neutrally, allowing the listener to make judgments for themselves. But occasionally, the hosts will offer up their own opinions and theories, giving the listener either an “A-HA” or “Yeah, right” moment.
As Warren points out, it also goes to show the power and influence of peer-to-peer recommendations. The more advocates there are for your brand, the better!
Photo Credit: Burger King
Andi Summers, Content Strategy Director — #MasksOnMarketing
A connoisseur of all things fried and delicious, Andi was excited to learn about Burger King’s new approach to keeping customers and employees safe while ordering. Starting in September, 2020, customers of the burger chain will be able to comment on dedicated Burger King Facebook or Instagram posts to buy face masks with personalized order text on them. This allows customers to order at the counter or drive-thru without saying a word, a major plus given the fact that talking is a known culprit of spreading COVID-19.
Not only do face masks help protect everyone and the community as a whole, they now make ordering your favorite menu items at Burger King a breeze. Think about it—no more muffled mask voice and having to shout to be heard from six feet away.
What would Andi’s mask say? Large Fry + Two Zesty Sauces
Photo Credit: Codecademy
Cesar Molina, UX/UI Designer — Next-Level User Experiences
With this year’s Experience Design Summit now postponed until March 2021, Cesar has been checking out a host of UX-related videos, strategies and past conferences to further hone his UX/UI skills from home. He makes it a point to read the Nielsen Norman Group’s weekly UX emails covering a variety of useful topics and has been brushing up on his HTML, CSS and JavaScript through Codecademy’s free coding classes as well.
One interesting UX fact he’s dying to share: Research shows that people prefer to scan information when reading online. The majority of users take a quick look at what they’re presented with, skip around the content, backtrack to scan what they skipped and then rescan the content they’ve already read. Definitely something to keep in mind when it comes to designing a website—or publishing content online.
Want your website optimized for its best user experience? Get in touch to find out how we can help.
