So I surprised myself this morning when I came across the Oregon State Fair’s Web site and was so impressed with its design, functionality, IA, and writing that I actually wrote a glowing, completely unsolicited email to their marketing director. (By the way, I found her email quite easily.)

I know the team that developed this site left no rock unturned. I can tell immediately. There are no weak links: They spent just as much time making sure the writing was spot-on as they did refining the design.

It’s a complete package:

• The design – great, catchy, beautiful, perfect for a state fair
• The IA – clear, easy to navigate, with a touch of unique flair (Big Tomato) that does the double duty of reinforcing brand
• The writing – smart, clever, knowing, funny, succinct
• The functionality – I love My Can’t-Miss List (such a great use of shopping cart technology) and that the big Purchase Tickets graphic on the top of every page

Even when our involvement on a client project is limited to design or strategy, we always emphasize the equal importance of these four elements. But of the four, writing is often overlooked until well into the project. As a result energy and resources are in short supply when the time comes to focus on content. I look forward to the day when all the RFPs we receive include a section on writing; when Web committees allocate a line item in the budget to content development before the project even starts.

I don’t mean to overemphasize writing, but as the lead IA strategist and content developer at White Whale, it’s something I fret about all the time. I let the other guys worry about functionality and design. In the end, sites succeed when it all comes together.

I haven’t been to a state fair since I was in high school but I’m going to this one. Amazing what a great Web site can do.

• Even when it is a perfectly acceptable size and is not screaming “THIS IS THE NAME OF MY COMPANY!!!”, they ask “Can you make my logo BIGGER?”
• After painstakingly designing the whitespace of their design in the interest of facilitating a bit of visual respiration, the client notes that there “should be more content because the page feels empty in spots”.
• And then we have the infamous “The headlines need to be brighter and much larger”

In my Saturday morning internet perusing (it is at times sadly amusing that this is what has taken the place of cartoons in my adult life), I stumbled upon this; apparently our brethren have taken to satire as a vehicle for alleviating their work-related frustrations. While its easy to laugh about now, I am truly thankful that White Whale has largely pulled me from disputes over these issues; out of the several WW clients that I’ve been involved with, I don’t remember any of these issues being major points of dissent; here’s to having higher ed. clients!

Editor’s note: Yes, Douglas, but that’s because we usually make the logo really big anyway.