I’ve been hand-coding SVG schematics to figure out how thing should go together, and as a by-product, guide me in both material buying and wood cutting.
This might sound hugely bespoke and artisanally overdone, but they’re not that complicated, and as a major benefit, the process has helped me understand SVG a little bit better.
Letterpress
This all reminds me of my own SVG-meeting-real-life scenario. Years back, when I had access to a letterpress shop, I had some SVG converted into printable plates to make fun little bits of art.
First I did a little SVG shape morphing to get some in-progress morphs:
Then I used those SVGs in Illustrator to create a design, which I sent off to a special company to make me a letterpress plate out of polymer.
If you draw your own SVG files or if you download them from the internet, tools like this SVG-Editor or SVGOMG are your friends. Compressing the files with those tools takes only few seconds and reduces your file size a lot. But if you need to use your SVG inline to animate or interact with the code, there’s still a lot you can do about code legibility.
Reusing content with SVG’s is not always an option, but when it is, you won’t regret taking a few extra minutes to put it in practice.
In this article, I’ll show an example where I was able to take a lot of advantage of this element — not only for keeping the file size down, but also a clearer markup that became more legible and easy to maintain.
This is the first design that I needed to work with. It was originally created in Illustrator:
Take a look at the following code, this is the original file exported directly from the software, weighs 2.05kb:
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It’s not a heavy file at all. However, open it and you’ll find there are lots of empty tags, deprecated namespaces, unnecessary white space, commas and extra information applied by the software. This makes the code hard to work with, annoying to scan and creates a big scroll for those hundreds of lines in your document.
You’ll also notice that the file is indeed using and elements, but not in the best way it could. And that’s not the software’s fault! Each astronaut illustration in the original file has a clipping mask: an invisible circle that acts like a window through which we can see our character. Without it, the suit of the astronaut would be flooding outside the circle. There are a few ways to avoid this in Illustrator, like cropping those extra parts with a pathfinder option. That way we would gain a few bytes and avoid using an extra circle only for clipping information of the graphic that we won’t show. The compression of the file starts in the software. Still, there are a lot of things we’ll be able to improve on the code in case we don’t want to edit the original file.
Compressing the SVG with SVGOMG and keeping the default options won’t take any effort and you’ll get a file that weighs 1.46kb. That is a reduction of 30% compared to the original size and the graphic will look exactly the same.
Reusing content
This will require going through the SVG and making some adjustments. I know this option takes more time regarding the previous example, but it’s not as hard as it seems.
We have one repeated element, which is the astronaut inside the circle. That’s the one we’ll compress on SVGOMG. The result will look something like this:
Move the content to the CSS file (assuming you can use your SVG inline and that you have a stylesheet linked in your document).
Rename the IDs with something that makes sense to you.
Round those complicated numbers, like stroke-width="1.489" to stroke-width="1.5". This is something that could happen if you resize your vectors in Illustrator with the option of scaling borders checked.
Remove the stroke-miterlimit="10" as we don’t need it since our stroke-linejoin is round.
This code will be our astronaut template. We need to wrap everything in a group, add an ID to that group and place it inside a tag. Notice that we already have a element with a circle inside it. We can remove that one as it will be part of a bigger tag.
Notice that the first two circles are filled shapes with different radius and color. We can keep the smaller one and add a stroke big enough to achieve the same effect — again, something that we could avoid using a circle with border in Illustrator in the first place.
Another important thing is that our current viewBox is too small for what we want to build. Let’s make it bigger and add some negative space on the X axis so we can start cloning our astronaut from the middle.
To learn more about viewBox, check out this beautiful guide to scaling SVG by Amelia Wattenberger.
What goes inside the won’t render anywhere. To start cloning our astronaut, we need to link its ID inside a element like this:
<use xlink:href="#astronaut"/>
xlink:href is deprecated since SVG2, but is better to use it for compatibility purposes. You can use href in modern browsers, but I tested it on Safari and it wasn’t working as of this writing. If you usexlink:href,make sure you include this namespace in your SVG tag: xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink (you won’t need it if you decide to use href).
Now we can add the corresponding text to this first figure and align it with the transform attribute. We better place both elements inside a group so in the future instances we’ll be able to translate the whole group to the position we want:
The connecting lines are simple shapes that can be drawn directly with . Paths looks scary but, for rect lines, there is not much to worry about. I’ll explain this code:
<path class="line" d="M-4 200v-25h200"/>
d="" is for data and that’s where we’ll place our commands. M is to move our hand to the place where we’ll start drawing (but it’s not drawing anything). -4 200 means we place our pencil four units to the left and 200 to the bottom of our viewBox (following the orientation of the SVG coordinate system). v is the command to start drawing a vertical line that will go from this place to -25 units up. h is for horizontal, so we’re drawing a line from there to 200 to the right. It feels like logo writer.
I separated the lines in three paths, but we can use just one with the M value after a series of commands to move our hand and start drawing from a new point in the coordinate system.
Take a look at the final document. Now the file weighs 779 bytes and has 12 lines of legible and scalable code:
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If we declare any value in the attributes we defined in the then it won’t be possible to change it in their clones because of the nature of the element. That’s why in the example above the fill of the main circle was replaced with a value of currentColor to have control of the backgrounds of all the replications. currentColor will inherit the CSS color value of the element (or any element above it). In the SVG, I’m adding a class to some replicated astronauts and adding a color value in CSS to those classes. This way, I’ll be able to change all instances of the element with that class. To understand more about and how to style its content, this post by Sara Soueidan has everything you need to know.
With this code ready, we’ll be able to scale the graphic to something like this much more easily:
A little open-source utility from Tyler Sticka that returns a data URL of an SVG to use as an image placeholder as needed.
I like the idea of self-running utilities like that, rather than depending on some third-party service, like placekitten or whatever. Not that I’d advocate for feature bloat here, but maybe it could be more fun like these generative placeholders, marching ants, or my favorite, adorable avatars.
In legalese, a contract is a promise, or set of promises, for a breach of which the law gives a remedy, or the performance of which the law in some way recognizes as a duty.In plain English, a contract lays out an agreement between two parties. If you don’t hold up your end of the agreement, the other party can sue you to recoup their losses.
When you’re in business, you need contracts because they lay out the expectations for both you and the person you’re doing business with. They protect both of you if someone doesn’t meet those expectations.
For example, you could hire someone to design a new website for your business. The contract would lay out what platform the website would be on, when the design would be delivered, when the website would go live, the price for the website, and any responsibilities you’d have, like providing website copy and images. If the designer doesn’t deliver the website on time, you could withhold payment. Conversely, if you don’t pay within the specified time period, the website designer could charge interest on the balance. Both of you are protected.
Having this agreement in writing also helps prevent conflicts. Both sides know exactly what they need to do: The designer needs to get you a mock-up design for your website in 14 business days, and you need to send the designer a 50-percent deposit before they’ll release the mock-up. Getting all this information in writing before a project begins helps ensure that both parties are on the same page and are working toward a common goal.
Contracts need to be specific and detailed to ensure that both parties’ interests are protected in the event of a disagreement. However, the prospect of drafting a contract may seem daunting. The more details you put into a contract, the more complex your contract gets.
This guide will take you through the process of writing a contract. You’ll learn the basics of contract law, the different types of contracts, the details of how to write a contract, and how to manage contracts. This guide also discusses how to handle contracts online and provides contract templates to help you get started.
But first, this guide will further define what a contract is — and isn’t.
The basic definitions of “contract”
As mentioned in the introduction, the legal definition of a contract is an agreement between parties that creates mutual obligations enforceable by law. That is, two parties agree to set terms, and if one party doesn’t meet those terms, the other party can take them to court.
For a contract to be legal, it must have the following:
Mutual assent: a valid offer and acceptance between the parties, like the sale of a car — one party is selling the car, and the other has agreed to buy it
Adequate consideration: the purchase price, which can be money or a trade
Capacity: the parties’ ability to enter into an agreement; minors or mentally incapacitated people cannot sign a valid contract
Legality: whether or not the contract meets all the jurisdictional requirements (for example, a contract provision that’s legal in New York may not be legal in Texas)
Contract law is the legal area that focuses on drafting and enforcing contracts. It’s common for in-house counsel for a corporation, business lawyers, real estate lawyers, and other transactional attorneys to practice contract law as a specialty.
Generally, contract law is governed by a state’s common law, which is defined by the state’s statutes and court opinions. Overall, contract law is similar throughout the United States, but the courts in different states may have different interpretations of certain contract elements. This is why it’s always best to consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction if you have any questions about the legality of a contract.
Consideration
To be enforceable, a contract must include adequate consideration. This is a bargained-for promise, which could be money, property, or an action (or inaction, as in, someone pays their next-door neighbor to stop playing the drums from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. every night).
However, the action or inaction cannot be something illegal or something that the other party is already legally obligated to do. So if you’re offering to pay your next-door neighbor money to stop playing the drums at midnight during the week, there may already be a local ordinance that prohibits late-night jam sessions.
Consideration must be legally sufficient and bargained for, although you certainly don’t have to enter a haggling war for the consideration to be valid. When you buy a car at the sticker price, that’s adequate consideration. The parties just need to agree on the purchase price, mutually benefit, and achieve a mutual detriment: The dealership is minus one car, and you’re minus what you paid for the car.
A party might give up certain rights by accepting the offer. For example, if your contractor is painting your house and they accidentally punch a hole in the wall, they may offer to repair the hole and give you a discount of 10 percent on the paint job as long as you don’t sue them. If you accept, that can be legally sufficient.
Breach of contract
Breach of contract is when one party doesn’t perform their obligations under the contract. In the car-buying example, if you pay the dealership what you agreed, but the dealer refuses to hand over the car, the dealer is in breach of contract.
Breaches of contract can be material (relating to something physical, like the car not being delivered) or immaterial (the car is delivered late, and unless you can prove monetary damages, you won’t get anything if you sue).
When a breach of contract occurs, the parties can try to come to an agreement on how to handle the breach. For example, the dealer could offer a free oil change in exchange for the inconvenience of delivering the car late.
The parties can also go to court. Depending on the amount of monetary damages and on state laws, the parties could use small claims court, which usually doesn’t require legal representation and is much faster than district court. The parties can also agree to use a mediator or binding arbitration, where the arbitrator’s decision is final, to resolve the breach of contract.
Privity of contract
Someone who isn’t a party to the contract cannot sue to enforce the terms of a contract. That’s the essence of privity of contract, which protects the parties from third-party interference. Generally, a contract can’t impose obligations or grant rights to someone who isn’t a party to the contract.
However, contract law has been relaxed as a result of court decisions. Doctrines of implied warranty and strict liability allow third parties to sue if necessary.
An example of implied warranty is when you buy a car from the dealer and expect the car to work as intended. But when you drive it off the lot, it stalls and you get into an accident. In that case, you might be able to recover damages from the manufacturer, even though you don’t have a contract with the manufacturer itself. Strict liability means that the manufacturer is responsible for a defect, even if the manufacturer didn’t mean to send a defective vehicle to the marketplace.
The difference between an agreement and a contract
An agreement is simply an understanding or arrangement reached by two or more parties, but a contract is a specific agreement that’s enforceable by law because of its terms and elements.
You and some friends might make plans to meet for brunch, which is an agreement. But if you sell your friend your car for $10,000 by October 30, and your friend buys the car as-is, that’s a contract. If your friends don’t show up for brunch, you can’t take legal action. If you give your friend the keys to your car, and your friend refuses to pay you, you could take legal action.
To prove that a contract is in place, it’s very important to get the terms of the contract in writing and have both parties sign it. The next section will cover the details of writing a contract, including elements of a contract, clauses, and signatures.
Details of writing a contract
You can validate a contract with a handshake, but if you want to be able to enforce a contract in court should something go wrong, you need to get all the terms of the contract in writing. Otherwise, the other party could claim that they didn’t agree to a particular term, such as delivering the first version of your website in 15 days, and you’d have to try to find a way to prove otherwise.
There are seven essential elements that go into a contract, and most of them have to do with the intention behind the contract. These elements are the offer, acceptance, mutual assent (also known as “meeting of the minds”), consideration, capacity, legality — and sometimes, a written document. However, having the contract in writing helps prove that the other six elements exist.
The first section of this guide covered the first six elements of a contract. Writing the contract is another matter.
Early contract law required contracts to be written on paper to be valid, but today’s contracts will be valid in many jurisdictions if they’re electronic, as long as they meet the other legal requirements set forth by the appropriate jurisdiction.
The important thing is to get the contract in writing, because oral agreements are notoriously difficult to enforce in court.
What is a clause in a contract?
When you’re writing a contract, you detail the provisions of it in clauses. A clause is a specific section of your contract, like how a product will be delivered or how much it costs.
Contract clauses define the obligations of each party and how the parties will remedy any breach of contract, should one occur. Common contract clauses include where you can sue if there’s a breach of contract, who is responsible if something goes wrong, and how disputes can be resolved (e.g., by requiring arbitration before going to court).
For example, if you live in Florida, but the person you’re entering into a contract with is in Texas, you might add a choice of venue clause to specify where you’d resolve the dispute. This would let you sue in your county in Florida if the other party doesn’t perform their obligations.
Tips for writing a contract
Writing a contract can be intimidating. Contracts are serious legal documents, and many people are afraid they’ll leave out something important or misword their contracts, leaving them unprotected. To make sure you’ve got the basics of your contract covered, here are the essentials that a contract should include:
Who the parties to the contract are and their correct legal names. For example, if you’re working with a freelance web designer who has incorporated her business, you’ll likely specify her business name, not her personally, as a party to the contract.
The rights and obligations of each party in detail. For example, the web designer must deliver a fully functional website, but if you don’t pay them, they have the right to pull down the website.
What the payment terms and requirements are, such as paying by wire transfer within 30 days of delivery of the website.
How and why the contract can be terminated, like if the website designer misses too many deadlines, you can back out without owing them any more money by sending them a letter via certified mail.
How disputes will be resolved, such as in small claims court or by binding arbitration.
What state law will govern the contract, such as your home state. This can also apply if you have to bring a lawsuit relating to the contract.
Who will be liable if a dispute arises. Also known as an indemnity clause, this contract provision basically states which party will have to pay legal fees if there’s a problem, e.g., if you have to sue the web designer and you win the lawsuit, they would have to pay your legal fees and court costs.
These clauses don’t have to be in fancy legalese. In fact, as long as the contract lays out the terms and conditions of your agreement clearly, you can skip all the “heretofore” and “party of the first part” lingo.
Many people who write their own contracts use plain English and keep the clauses short and to the point. To make your contracts more readable, use simple paragraph headings like “Choice of Venue” and short sentences.
Sealing the contract
You may have heard of the phrase “signed, sealed, and delivered” regarding the validity of a contract. However, that’s not entirely accurate; a “sealed and delivered” contract is sufficient in most jurisdictions.
Historically, a “seal” was a wax stamp attached to a document. However, the definition of a seal includes a stamp, scrawl, or someone’s signature. Quite literally, someone could print “seal” as a form of signing their contract, and it would be valid.
Today, more people and companies send contracts electronically, so it makes sense that they’d use electronic signatures. The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), ratified in 1999 and valid in 47 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, gives electronic signatures the same weight as a signature on paper, as long as the electronic signature was placed with the intent to sign a document. States that haven’t adopted the UETA have their own laws in place to recognize electronic signatures.
Negotiating the contract
As you write your contract, the other party might have different ideas about what the terms of the agreement should be. For example, your web designer’s contract could specify that the jurisdiction of the contract is in Travis County, Texas, where they live, and if the contract has to go to court, you’d have to travel to Texas to resolve the problem. You could try to negotiate the contract provision so that any disputes would have to be resolved in Dade County, Florida, where you live and work.
Because a contract is such an important document, it’s OK to take your time negotiating the contract itself. You don’t have to agree to everything all at once; you might go back and forth several times with edits and requests. As long as both parties can agree on common terms and seal the document before beginning the work or engaging in the behavior that the contract is covering, they’ll be protected. You’ll have to compromise on some things, like payment terms, so that you’ll both be happy with the contract.
Once you’ve written the contract, your work isn’t done. You’ll need to manage the contract through its lifecycle, from writing the contract to signing it and even renewing it. The next section of this guide will discuss contract management.
Contract management
Writing a contract is only the first step of entering into a legally binding agreement with another party. It’s very easy to send a contract to someone and have it fall through the cracks. If you start the work, but the contract is never signed or countersigned (signed by the first party but not the second party), that leaves you unprotected. That’s why contract management is so important.
Contract management generally can be divided into three phases:
Pre-award, when you’re developing and agreeing to the offer
Award, when you negotiate the terms of the offer and sign the contract
Post-award, the time period when services are performed
Let’s use a website redesign as an example for the contract management process. The pre-award phase is when you’re reaching out to web designers to get bids for your site and find out what they can do.
During the award phase, you write the contract and work with the web designer to come to an agreement on the terms, such as how much you’ll pay and when they’ll deliver the website design. You’ll also sign the contract during this phase.
In the post-award phase, the work will be done: The designer will create mock-ups, you’ll provide feedback, and the website will be finalized.
During the post-award phase, you might need to create an addendum to the contract. This is a little bit like a mini-contract that adds to your original agreement. It lays out the terms, clauses, sections, and/or definitions in the original contract that will be changed. Any time you want to change the terms of your contract, like to add extra work, you’ll need an addendum to protect both parties.
One example of an addendum is when you decide that you also want your web designer to set up your social media profiles. In that example, you’d create an addendum that adds to the original scope of work and specifies when the social media profiles would be set up, what will go on them, and how much you’ll pay for the work.
Getting help: The contract specialist
At some point, you may feel like you’re in over your head with your contracts. That’s when you might need to seek out a contract specialist.
A contract specialist writes and reviews contracts for a living. In a corporation, a contract specialist may be someone who has a bachelor’s degree and works under the supervision of a licensed attorney. However, if you’re hiring someone to handle your contracts, you should probably hire a licensed attorney who specializes in contract law.
You don’t always have to hire a lawyer when you’re signing a contract. However, if the contract terms are difficult to understand, or if you just want to make sure the contract reflects what you’ve discussed with the other party, it’s a good idea to have an attorney look over it before you sign it.
You can also hire an attorney to help you negotiate terms of the contract and write the contract for you. Most of the time, you can write your own contracts and hire an attorney to review them to make sure everything is legal and enforceable in your jurisdiction.
Contract management software
If you enter into a lot of contracts, you may want to consider investing in contract management software to help you keep track of them all. A contract management system can store all your contracts, including the standard contract templates you use; use workflows to help you create new contracts; alert you when a deadline is coming up; track delivery schedules; electronically sign contracts; and monitor any possible compliance issues.
There are a lot of different options for contract management software, and the best software for you may not work for another organization. Some, like SAP Ariba, are geared toward large enterprises that deal with millions of dollars in contracts. Others, like Concord and PandaDoc, are aimed at smaller companies that just need something to control versions of contracts and electronically sign documents.
Some contract management software programs, like ConvergePoint Contract Management Software and Corridor Contract Management, integrate with Office 365 so that you can create and edit your contracts in Microsoft Word. What you choose depends on the features you need and the programs you already use.
Contract lifecycle management
Many organizations use contract management software to track the lifecycle of a contract. During the award and post-award phase, there are plenty of opportunities for a contract to fall through the cracks.
Tracking the lifecycle of the contract involves putting all of your contracts in one place, collecting the data (such as the parties and what the projects are) from the contracts, and noting when the deadlines are. It also involves creating new contracts and going through the approval process, which is where contracts can fall off the radar.
Approval involves a workflow in which you send the contract to the legal department or managers who have the authorization to sign a contract. Negotiation, signing, and analysis are also part of the contract lifecycle. Analyzing contracts requires noting risks and obligations under the contracts.
Contract lifecycle management software goes a step beyond contract management software to do all this. The term is often used interchangeably with contract management software since they’re almost the same thing.
Some contract management software packages already include contract lifecycle management, like ContractWorks and Conga Contracts. Others, like NetSuite, are part of enterprise resource planning software. As with contract management software, the best contract lifecycle management software varies according to your needs and budget.
Contract management is a process that starts even before the contract is written and extends throughout the project. At times, you may need an addendum to the contract or to hire a contract specialist to help you manage contracts. You can also use contract management software or contract lifecycle management software to keep track of your contracts and their statuses, as well as the types of contracts you have.
In the next section, you’ll learn about the different types of contracts.
Contract types
There are a lot of different types of contracts, beyond just business service agreements and residential leases. Contracts vary in scope and purpose by what they cover and how they’re signed and delivered. Each type determines what each side is obligated to do. And some contract types are more enforceable than others.
This section covers the 12 main types of contracts and what they’re used for.
Unilateral contract
A unilateral contract is created when someone makes an offer; it’s accepted when someone performs the action in the offer. Typically, unilateral contracts are used for rewards.
For example, if you lose your bike and offer a $100 reward for the return of your bike, that’s an offer in a unilateral contract because you’re offering something in exchange for performing an action. Should someone find your bike and bring it back to you, you’re obligated to pay them the $100. However, no one is responsible for performing that action, and they only accept the offer if they return your bike to you.
Bilateral contract
When two parties agree to exchange items or services of value, that’s a bilateral contract. This is the most common type of contract and what most people think of when they hear the word “contract.”
It may seem like the difference between a unilateral contract and a bilateral contract is very clear. However, a unilateral contract has to be completely one-sided. In the lost bike example, if someone agrees to find your bike before looking for it, and you agree to pay them for searching for the bike, the unilateral contract becomes a bilateral contract. Under a unilateral contract, you pay someone once they accept the offer and complete the action. Under a bilateral contract, you pay someone for promising to complete the action.
Executory contract
In an executory contract, two parties must perform specific duties by a specific date. These types of contracts are usually between a borrower, a debtor, and another party.
For example, a real estate lease agreement is an executory contract because the tenants agree to pay rent by a certain date, and in exchange, they get a place to live or do business. Equipment leases, franchise agreements, rent-to-own agreements, and timeshare contracts are also examples of executory contracts.
Express contract
An express contract explicitly lays out the terms and conditions of an agreement. This is also what people think of when they hear the word “contract.” The terms can be in writing or agreed to verbally, but they must be stated clearly for the contract to be an express contract.
Implied contract
In an implied contract, the actions of the parties determine whether or not the contract is enforceable. In this case, a “meeting of the minds” is necessary to prove that there was a valid agreement.
For example, you agreed to paint your friend’s living room, and they agreed to pay you $50 and reimburse you for supplies. You didn’t put it in writing, but you painted the room anyway because you trust your friend. This contract would be enforceable because you could theoretically prove a meeting of the minds. It’s still important to put an implied contract in writing, however, and get it signed so that you can enforce it in court.
Voidable contract
A voidable contract is an agreement that is unenforceable for any number of reasons, like not disclosing an important fact or being signed under duress. For example, if you enter into a contract to buy a house, but the seller doesn’t tell you that there’s a pest infestation in the attic, you’ve entered into a voidable contract.
Void contract
A void contract is completely unenforceable from the moment it was agreed to. It was never legally valid and never will be, like if you offer to pay your next-door neighbor to stop jamming on the drums at 1 a.m. This is different from a voidable contract because, at one point, the voidable contract was valid and could still be valid if, for example, the seller hires an exterminator to take care of the rodent problem.
Unenforceable contract
Another term for a void contract is an unenforceable contract. An unenforceable contract cannot be enforced in any court of law, because the terms are ambiguous, the parties entering into the contract can’t legally sign it, or the terms of the contract aren’t legal.
If you convinced an elderly relative with dementia to sign a life insurance policy naming you as the sole beneficiary, that’s an unenforceable contract because your relative doesn’t have the capacity to sign a contract.
Contingency contract
A contingency contract is an if-then agreement that’s usually signed when the parties can’t reach a definite agreement. The terms of the contract aren’t final and are based on certain events occurring. For example, a company might sign a contingency contract with a freelance graphic designer to produce five packaging designs, and if those meet the approval of stakeholders, the graphic designer will then work under a retainer agreement to provide more services to the company.
Oral contract
An oral contract is exactly what it sounds like: an agreement that two parties have settled on but haven’t written down. They’re still legally required to perform their obligations under the contract, but an oral contract is very difficult to enforce should a breach occur.
Ratified contract
A ratified contract is typically used in real estate but can also be used in other circumstances, like if you give an employee the authority to hire someone and then begin paying the new hire. It means that the contract has been agreed to by all parties, but it hasn’t been fully executed. However, by the actions involved, it’s implied that the contract is valid. In this example, you might not have signed an agreement with the new hire to perform work, but by issuing them their paycheck, you’ve ratified the agreement.
In addition to how enforceable they are, contracts are also classified by use. Some of them are pretty straightforward, like land contracts. Others are more obscure, like yellow-dog contracts and quasi contracts. The rest of this section discusses contract types by usage.
Land contract or contract for deed
A land contract or contract for deed is very much like a mortgage, but the seller finances the deal instead of the buyer borrowing from the bank. The buyer and the seller sign the contract, and once the buyer makes all the payments specified in the contract, the deed transfers to them. You might use a land contract if the buyer can’t get traditional financing, for example.
Contract of adhesion
An adhesion contract, or contract of adhesion, is a document typically drafted by a party with stronger bargaining power, like a bank, and signed by a party with less bargaining power, like a home buyer. These types of contracts are also known as standard contracts or boilerplate contracts because the party with less bargaining power usually can’t negotiate or modify the terms of the contract. Insurance contracts, leases, auto purchases, mortgages, and consumer credit cards are usually adhesion contracts.
Unconscionable contract
Contracts that are so one-sided that they’re unfair to one party are called unconscionable contracts. These contracts don’t leave the other party with any good choices, usually because the other party is in a much better bargaining position.
Unconscionable contracts are unenforceable. If a court finds that a contract is unconscionable, they will void it and release the parties from any obligations under the contract. For example, if you buy a car from a dealership, and they include a clause in very small print in a place where you wouldn’t expect it, that contract could be an unconscionable contract.
Yellow-dog contract
If an employer requires an employee to sign a contract promising not to join a union or work for a direct competitor, that’s considered a yellow-dog contract. While these contracts were very widely used until the 1930s, the Norris-LaGuardia Act outlawed yellow-dog contracts that prevented employees from joining labor unions in 1932.
These days, a yellow-dog contract or yellow-dog clause refers to non-compete clauses or non-compete agreements.
Option contract
An option contract is an agreement between a buyer and a seller that lets the party buying the option sell or buy a particular asset at a later date at a price both parties agree to. These types of contracts are usually used in securities, commodities, and real estate.
For example, an investor might sign an options contract to purchase 100 shares of stock for $4.50 each, with a strike price of $10 per share. The investor pays $450 for the stock, and the stock price rises to $20 per share. However, the investor is able to buy more shares for $10 each. The investor can then sell the shares on the market for $20 each.
Quasi contract
A quasi contract is essentially an implied contract, as defined in Chapter 4 of this guide. This type of contract is an obligation required by law to prevent someone from unjustly enriching themselves at the expense of a disadvantaged party. Even if there’s no specific, written contract in place, it might be possible to recover damages.
For example, while hiring someone to strip wallpaper from your dining room and repaint the walls, they come across holes in the wall. Before they can repaint the walls, they need to patch the holes. They charge you for the materials and extra labor, but you refuse to pay. In that case, there was a quasi contract, and the contractor could take you to court to recover their costs to complete the job.
Aleatory contract
An aleatory contract is when something needs to happen before the obligations of the contract are carried out. Most insurance policies are aleatory contracts; you pay a premium in exchange for the insurance company taking care of costs related to a car accident, for example. The insurance company only has an obligation to pay if an event specified in the contract occurs.
Futures contract or forward contract
A futures contract or forward contract is an agreement used in futures or commodities trading. Under a futures contract, someone agrees to buy or sell a commodity or asset for a specified price, at a specified time. The buyer is basically putting themselves on the hook to purchase the asset once the futures contract expires. Typically, hedgers and speculators use futures contracts.
An example of a futures contract is oil futures. The oil producer (seller) agrees to lock in the price at $75 per barrel, and the buyer agrees to purchase the barrels at $75 per barrel in one year, regardless of what the actual market price is for the oil.
Cost-plus contract
In a cost-plus contract, one party agrees to reimburse a second party for expenses plus a specific amount of the profit. These are different than fixed cost contracts, which specify a single price. Cost-plus contracts allow the buyer to assume some risk of the success of the contractor’s products.
There are a few different types of cost-plus contracts. Cost-plus award fee contracts allow the buyer to reward the contractor for good performance. Cost-plus fixed fee contracts cover both direct and indirect costs, as well as a fixed fee for goods or services. Cost-plus incentive fee contracts provide the contractor with an extra fee if the performance under the contract exceeds expectations, like delivering a project early. Cost plus percent of costs contracts specify that the contractor gets more money if the costs rise.
When you’re writing a contract, it’s important to know which contract types apply to different situations, and which are defunct, like yellow-dog contracts.
One situation we haven’t covered yet is the online world. The next section will cover how contracts have evolved in the digital world and how you can create digital contracts.
Other contract types by usage
In addition to how enforceable they are, contracts are also classified by use. Some of them are pretty straightforward, like land contracts. Others are more obscure, like yellow-dog contracts and quasi contracts. This section discusses contract types by usage.
Land contract or contract for deed
A land contract or contract for deed is very much like a mortgage, but the seller finances the deal instead of the buyer borrowing from the bank. The buyer and the seller sign the contract, and once the buyer makes all the payments specified in the contract, the deed transfers to them. You might use a land contract if the buyer can’t get traditional financing, for example.
Contract of adhesion
An adhesion contract, or contract of adhesion, is a document typically drafted by a party with stronger bargaining power, like a bank, and signed by a party with less bargaining power, like a home buyer. These types of contracts are also known as standard contracts or boilerplate contracts because the party with less bargaining power usually can’t negotiate or modify the terms of the contract. Insurance contracts, leases, auto purchases, mortgages, and consumer credit cards are usually adhesion contracts.
Unconscionable contract
Contracts that are so one-sided that they’re unfair to one party are called unconscionable contracts. These contracts don’t leave the other party with any good choices, usually because the other party is in a much better bargaining position.
Unconscionable contracts are unenforceable. If a court finds that a contract is unconscionable, they will void it and release the parties from any obligations under the contract. For example, if you buy a car from a dealership, and they include a clause in very small print in a place where you wouldn’t expect it, that contract could be an unconscionable contract.
Yellow-dog contract
If an employer requires an employee to sign a contract promising not to join a union or work for a direct competitor, that’s considered a yellow-dog contract. While these contracts were very widely used until the 1930s, the Norris-LaGuardia Act outlawed yellow-dog contracts that prevented employees from joining labor unions in 1932.
These days, a yellow-dog contract or yellow-dog clause refers to non-compete clauses or non-compete agreements.
Option contract
An option contract is an agreement between a buyer and a seller that lets the party buying the option sell or buy a particular asset at a later date at a price both parties agree to. These types of contracts are usually used in securities, commodities, and real estate.
For example, an investor might sign an options contract to purchase 100 shares of stock for $4.50 each, with a strike price of $10 per share. The investor pays $450 for the stock, and the stock price rises to $20 per share. However, the investor is able to buy more shares for $10 each. The investor can then sell the shares on the market for $20 each.
Quasi contract
A quasi contract is essentially an implied contract, as defined in Chapter 4 of this guide. This type of contract is an obligation required by law to prevent someone from unjustly enriching themselves at the expense of a disadvantaged party. Even if there’s no specific, written contract in place, it might be possible to recover damages.
For example, while hiring someone to strip wallpaper from your dining room and repaint the walls, they come across holes in the wall. Before they can repaint the walls, they need to patch the holes. They charge you for the materials and extra labor, but you refuse to pay. In that case, there was a quasi contract, and the contractor could take you to court to recover their costs to complete the job.
Aleatory contract
An aleatory contract is when something needs to happen before the obligations of the contract are carried out. Most insurance policies are aleatory contracts; you pay a premium in exchange for the insurance company taking care of costs related to a car accident, for example. The insurance company only has an obligation to pay if an event specified in the contract occurs.
Futures contract or forward contract
A futures contract or forward contract is an agreement used in futures or commodities trading. Under a futures contract, someone agrees to buy or sell a commodity or asset for a specified price, at a specified time. The buyer is basically putting themselves on the hook to purchase the asset once the futures contract expires. Typically, hedgers and speculators use futures contracts.
An example of a futures contract is oil futures. The oil producer (seller) agrees to lock in the price at $75 per barrel, and the buyer agrees to purchase the barrels at $75 per barrel in one year, regardless of what the actual market price is for the oil.
Cost-plus contract
In a cost-plus contract, one party agrees to reimburse a second party for expenses plus a specific amount of the profit. These are different than fixed cost contracts, which specify a single price. Cost-plus contracts allow the buyer to assume some risk of the success of the contractor’s products.
There are a few different types of cost-plus contracts. Cost-plus award fee contracts allow the buyer to reward the contractor for good performance. Cost-plus fixed fee contracts cover both direct and indirect costs, as well as a fixed fee for goods or services. Cost-plus incentive fee contracts provide the contractor with an extra fee if the performance under the contract exceeds expectations, like delivering a project early. Cost plus percent of costs contracts specify that the contractor gets more money if the costs rise.
When you’re writing a contract, it’s important to know which contract types apply to different situations, and which are defunct, like yellow-dog contracts.
One situation we haven’t covered yet is the online world. The next section will cover how contracts have evolved in the digital world and how you can create digital contracts.
Contracts in the online world
Living in a digital world has conditioned a lot of people to want everything done at the click of a button, and signing contracts is no exception. Lawyers still prefer to have clients physically sign a paper contract, and contracts that require notarization (when a notary public witnesses the signing of the document and then affixes a seal to it) cannot be signed online. However, electronically signing documents has become the norm for many people and companies.
Electronic signatures have been perfectly legal and just as enforceable as ink-and-paper contracts since 2000. Federal legislation, known as the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN), and state legislation that adopts the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) or puts forth its own e-signature laws ensure that most electronically signed contracts are legal regardless of where the parties are located.
To be valid under ESIGN and UETA, electronic contracts must meet four requirements:
Each party must intend to sign the document.
The parties must consent to do business electronically. For businesses transacting with consumers, this means sending UETA Consumer Consent Disclosures, ensuring that the consumer affirmatively agrees to use electronic records for the transaction, and checking to make sure the consumer hasn’t withdrawn their consent.
The system used to capture the electronic signature must keep a record that specifies how the signature was created, or generate a text or graphic statement added to the signed record proving that it was signed with an electronic signature.
The electronic signature record is retained and can be accurately reproduced so that all parties can reference the document as needed.
In the early days of electronically signed contracts, parties would upload their physical signatures as a picture, like a .jpeg file, and paste the file into a Word document as their signature. This practice gave way to signing tools in programs like Adobe Acrobat, which electronically stores a physical signature or creates a certificate attesting that the document is signed by the intended party. Services like DocuSign emerged as a way to create contracts online, then send them to the other party for their electronic signature.
Online contracts are replacing paper contracts in many matters, like contracting for services or purchasing items. However, online contracts still won’t replace paper contracts, as there are some documents that absolutely must be signed in ink-and-paper format because ESIGN specifically excludes them. These documents are
Wills, codicils (addendums to wills), and testamentary trusts
Family law documents like divorce agreements
Court orders, notices, and documents like pleadings and motions
Repossession, foreclosure, eviction, or default notices
Cancellation notices for utility services and health and life insurance
Product recall notices
Documents that are required to accompany the transportation of hazardous materials
Some states may allow a few of these documents, like pleadings and motions, to be electronically signed under some circumstances if the parties follow specific procedures.
Online forms make it a lot easier to create electronic contracts. Some forms will let you drag and drop terms and conditions from previous documents, or come populated with standard terms and conditions as part of the contract template. This makes it much easier to create and send contracts that are enforceable in a court of law and to get them signed.
JotForm includes a host of e-signature widgets to speed along the signing process. You can use Smooth Signature, E-Signature, DocuSign, or Adobe Sign right within the form builder. The combination of ready-to-customize templates and e-signature widgets allows you to create your contract and add an e-signature portion all within one screen, streamlining the process and getting your legal documents in place faster than drafting documents yourself or using an ink-and-paper contract.
Smart contracts are the future
Electronic contracts will continue to evolve. The future of electronic contracts is smart contracts — self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement written directly into lines of code.
Smart contracts use the blockchain network to validate signatures and enforce the terms of an agreement. The code is what controls how the contracts are executed, and blockchain creates a secure, irreversible tracking system for the contract.
While blockchain is often thought of as the foundation for Bitcoin, it can do a lot more than handle financial transactions because it’s a decentralized, distributed public ledger that creates a permanent record.
Smart contracts are ideal for parties who want to transact directly and don’t need a central authority, legal system, or enforcement mechanism. The rules and penalties are clearly defined in the agreement, and obligations are automatically enforced. They’re used to exchange money, property, shares, or anything else of value.
For example, you might use a smart contract to rent an apartment. You would pay in cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin. The receipt would be held in the virtual contract, and the digital key to the apartment would be delivered by a specified date. If the digital key isn’t delivered, the blockchain technology would automatically refund your money.
Ultimately, as technology changes, so will the way we execute contracts. For now, being able to sign documents electronically has been a huge time-saver for many people and companies. The next section will explore different types of contract templates that can help you expedite your contracting process.
Contract templates
If you’re not a lawyer, writing a contract can be intimidating. Choosing the right format and making sure you have the correct wording and necessary clauses can be difficult and confusing. That’s why contract templates are so helpful. Here are a few types that can help you get started creating your own contracts.
Employment contract templates
An employment contract lays out the terms and conditions of someone’s employment with a company, like title, salary, and work hours. Using a template can speed up the onboarding process for new employees.
Photography contract templates
It’s very easy for a photoshoot to succumb to scope creep — the client may want more shots than you originally agreed to or more editing services. A photography contract, whether it’s for senior pictures or family photos, can specify how many poses you’ll shoot, how you deliver the shots, and any extras like editing you may include.
Wedding photography contract templates
Getting a wedding photography contract in place means that there won’t be any surprises for either side. In addition to curbing scope creep, both parties will know exactly what to expect. For example, you could specify how many shots of just the bride and just the groom you’ll get, where you’ll photograph the wedding from (e.g., the choir loft of the church), and what shots are absolute must-haves, like the bride and groom’s first dance.
Rental contract templates
Whether you’re the one leasing an apartment or you’re the landlord, you’ll want to have a rental contract in place. This type of agreement lays out what the premises are (e.g., house, room, apartment), the contact details for both the landlord and tenant, how much the rent is, and how long the rental contract is for. It can also include who is allowed to stay there and who is responsible for basic maintenance tasks.
Real estate contract templates
A real estate contract can include lease agreements for apartments or houses, long-term rental agreements such as month-to-month apartment leases, or short-term vacation rental agreements. Like rental contracts, real estate contracts specify the terms and conditions of occupying the premises. Using a template can help you quickly get your tenant on the premises.
Construction contract templates
Construction projects are notorious for delays, cost overruns, and misunderstandings. A construction contract can clearly lay out the time line for the project, the materials that will be used, labor costs, and what will happen if an event outside the parties’ control occurs, like a hurricane that delays work for weeks.
Rent-to-own contract templates
When someone wants to rent something with the option of buying it before the lease runs out, getting a rent-to-own contract in place can protect both parties. These agreements are standard lease agreements, but with a clause that allows the leasing party to purchase the item or property. A rent-to-own contract is usually associated with items like furniture or appliances, but it can also be used for real estate.
Loan contract templates
A loan contract is ideal for preventing disputes when you let someone borrow money, whether it’s a business associate or a relative. These agreements lay out how much is being borrowed, what interest rate is being charged (if any), and when the amount will be paid.
Nanny contract templates
When you’re hiring a nanny, you’re entrusting that person with the care of your child, and you’ll want to be very clear about what you expect. Similar to an employment contract, a nanny contract lays out the terms of the nanny’s employment, as well as the duties they’re expected to perform (e.g., picking your child up from school, preparing meals) and behavior that’s not acceptable (e.g., smoking during the workday, non-emergency phone calls).
Sales contract templates
Selling a larger-ticket item, like a mobile home, requires a sales contract, just to protect both parties. For example, you might be selling the mobile home as-is, and you’ll want to specify that in the contract so that the buyer can’t later claim something was broken but was represented as being intact.
Roommate contract templates
Both landlords and roommates use a roommate contract to ensure that a person living on the property is meeting obligations like paying rent and utilities, taking responsibility for property damage, and performing household chores. Getting a roommate contract signed helps protect you if your roommate skips out in the middle of the night or refuses to pay for the garage door they damaged.
Freelance contract template
The web is full of horror stories of freelancers not getting paid after performing work. Using a freelance contract protects freelancers against this by outlining the work to be delivered, how much of a deposit must be paid before work begins, when the final payment is due, and whether or not interest will be charged when a payment is late.
Owner financing contract template
Instead of a traditional mortgage, a home buyer might use an owner financing contract that lets the owner of the home essentially loan money to them so that they can buy the property. The seller extends a line of credit to the buyer, and the buyer pays the seller in installments as they would with a mortgage, but to the seller instead of a bank.
Real estate for sale by owner contract template
It can be difficult to write a real estate purchase agreement, also known as a purchase and sale agreement, without some guidance. A real estate for sale by owner contract template can provide an outline of what you need to include, like the legal description of the property and how the purchase will be financed.
Consulting contract template
When consultants or independent contractors provide services, a consulting contract can specify what services will be provided and how much will be charged. These contracts can also include the maximum number of hours that can be billed before the consultant needs to renegotiate the contract, and other relevant terms and conditions for the engagement.
Time and materials contract template
A time and materials contract is a lot like a construction agreement, but for any project that requires both labor and materials. It lays out what the cost of the labor is and how much the materials will cost, as well as a fixed add-on cost to cover any overhead.
Web design contract template
Both web designers and their clients need a web design contract in place. A web design contract specifies the pricing, the scope of the work (e.g., how many and what types of web pages will be designed, like landing pages and static pages), and the time line for key deliverables like wireframes, payment schedules, and intellectual property rights.
Pro Tip
As seen in this guide, there are a lot of different types of contracts. You can find the right contract template by checking out JotForm’s contract template library. JotForm has many different templates to choose from so that you can quickly and easily prepare a contract for any need.
Conclusion
Having a contract in place is the best way to manage expectations and make the terms and conditions of an agreement crystal clear for both parties. To get started, you need to be familiar with the basics of contract law, what the elements of a contract are, how to manage contracts, and the various types of contracts that can be used.
This guide covers the entire process of writing a contract from start to finish so you can create a contract yourself.
Getting started with writing contracts can seem daunting, which is why this guide includes examples of templates for and links to some of the most common types of contracts. You can start writing roommate agreements, contracts for freelance or consulting services, and even construction agreements using the information in this guide.
Signing contracts electronically has become the norm, and this guide explains the different ways you can use e-signatures. JotForm has e-signature widgets that drop right into contract templates, so you can easily create electronic contracts and get them signed quickly, without extra steps like downloading and affixing signatures in a desktop program.
Finally, this guide looks at the future of contracts, which includes blockchain. As online contracts continue to evolve, you’ll likely hear more about how blockchain can streamline the process and provide a way to enforce the agreement without getting the courts involved.
For now, though, being able to create a contract online and have it signed electronically will save you time and help you get to work under the terms of the agreement. This guide provides everything you need to do it by yourself.
The microservice architecture becomes a more and more popular approach to building new applications. In fact, microservices are a very burning topic in the world of software development.
If you are not familiar with this architecture, then this article is definitely for you. Down below, you will find all the essential information that will help you to understand what microservice architecture is and how it works. Let’s get started so that you can be on top of the latest software development trends.
What Is Microservice Architecture?
It is a method of creating software that breaks a monolithic system apart. With microservices, you can create separate modules with their own interfaces and operations.
Microservices architecture examples become more and more widespread, and this approach gains exceptional popularity in today’s software development world. So, if you want to create an application, you can collect multiple services altogether, and they will interact through HTTP or TCP protocols.
Main Characteristics of Microservice Architecture
For understanding this software development approach, let’s explore the main characteristics of microservice architecture.
1. It has multiple components.
With microservices, any application or other software is built from separate component services that can be deployed, tested, and fixed independently from other services. Respectively, it will be impossible to damage the integrity of the whole app. Thus, this method is very convenient to use, as instead of fixing and redeploying the entire app, you can do it with the functions that need to be fixed.
2. It has easy routing.
Unlike many products on the IT market, apps created with microservices have a simpler routing. Thus, it is easy to receive requests, process all of them, and respond to them quickly and effectively.
3. Microservices are decentralized.
The microservice architecture embraces lots of modern technologies and platforms, so it also requires a decentralized system of data management and governance. It’s opposite to a monolithic system with a unique database. Thanks to this technology, each service has a separate, independent database at its disposal.
Advantages and Pitfalls of Microservices
Here are some of the benefits of implementing this approach for software development:
It allows creating and deploying separate independent services.
Even a small team can tackle this development approach.
Different languages can be applied to write code for various services.
The microservice architecture allows easy open-source integration, as well as automatic deployment.
This approach is easy to understand, and developers can modify microservices quickly and cope with tasks more effectively.
Quicker deployment.
There is no need to adjust a whole app, as it is possible to fix and deploy only particular services to save time;
Even if one service fails, others will keep working properly.
Though microservices tend to be a convenient approach to software development, some challenges appear as well. Among them, there are the following cons:
Testing microservices can turn into a very time-consuming, difficult, and tedious process;
The architecture is quite complex, as such aspects like load balancing, network latency, and error tolerance have to be solved;
With a growing number of microservices, it can get more difficult to manage the application;
Additional resources have to be channeled at establishing effective communication between these microservices.
It’s harder to maintain the proper safety of the transaction and distributed communication.
How Does Microservice Architecture Work?
Now that you know what the microservice architecture is and what are the advantages and disadvantages of this software development approach, let’s look in detail how it works. Below, you can find the key components needed for creating an application with microservices. Let’s dig a bit deeper and explain each of the points.
1. Clients
There are different types of clients, as well as different devices used to perform various management options, like searching, configuring, and so on. It is what the architecture starts with.
2. Identity Providers
Once the requests are received from these clients, they are passed through several identity providers. They authenticate these requests and communicate them to API gateway and then to other internal services.
3. API Gateway
Another integral part of the microservice architecture is the API gateway. It serves as the point where clients can request a specific microservice they need. It’s important, as clients can’t request a particular service directly, so an API gateway acts as a mediator in this case. It comes with several advantages:
A possibility to update a specific service without letting clients know;
A possibility to message not web-friendly protocols;
It is a cross-functional option that can provide a high level of data protection and load management.
4. Messaging Formats
There are two main messaging formats for services to communicate through. These are synchronous and asynchronous messages. In the first case, clients wait for the service response. At the same time, microservices utilize representational state transfer based on HTTP protocol. In the second case, protocols like AMQP can be applied so that customers don’t have to wait for the service response.
5. Databases
Each microservice has its own unique database. It can be updated through the corresponding APIs.
6. Static Content
It can be applied to storage (usually cloud-based) after the successful service communication. Then, the content will be delivered right to the clients through CDNs.
7. Management
Here is another component that is common for the microservice architecture. Management is integral for keeping the services balanced and identifying and resolving failures.
8. Service Discovery
It allows detecting the communication route between services. It includes all the services listed where nodes are placed.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, microservice architecture is a beneficial approach to software development. Although there are pros and cons of such a method, it’s advantages make this architecture type worth your attention and closer examination.
By considering implementing the microservice architecture for your next application, you can get more effective results within a shorter time. Trying out new technological advancements is imperative for any business development, and the microservice architecture is definitely an approach that you should explore more and implement for your company.
Stories don’t always have to be told in a Once Upon a Time… format. Take a look at movies, for instance. Some stories are told in chronological order while others jump around a timeline. There are stories told from the perspective of the protagonist while others let viewers see the story from everyone’s point of view. Plus, stories can be sad, funny, dramatic or all of the above.
There’s a ton of variation in how a story can be told. There is one thing they all need to have in common though:
They need to somehow draw the reader into the narrative.
Storytelling is a very powerful tool for websites, but the same rules apply. It doesn’t matter how you tell the story — it just needs to draw the visitor in.
Today, I’m going to walk you through various storytelling techniques and give you some ideas for how you can design these kinds of narratives into your own mobile websites or PWAs.
How To Design Powerful Narratives On Mobile
Storytelling is a great tool for mobile websites.
One reason for that is because the smaller screen forces you to be more concise with the narrative. That means you can get visitors more quickly to the climax of your story, which will speed up their time to conversion.
Another reason why storytelling works so well on mobile is because it’s easier to suck visitors into the story. All you need to do is give your site a book-like feel and they’ll become quickly immersed in it.
What’s more, you can really let the visuals do most of the talking and cut down on the lengthy stories that company founders would otherwise want to tell about their companies.
There’s one industry, in particular, that I think does an exceptional job of storytelling in this manner, and that’s the beer and alcohol industry. If you think about it, these kinds of companies can’t afford to simply push their products in consumers’ faces. Here are some reasons why:
“Let’s get you intoxicated” isn’t a very strong or unique selling point. But a story that draws the customer in and makes them part of the narrative can be.
To prevent the analysis paralysis that comes with choosing one kind of liquor or beer from dozens of similar options, brands use stories to differentiate themselves.
You can more effectively build long-term and loyal relationships with customers by turning your products into one-of-a-kind experiences.
Bottom line: When building sites for products or services in highly competitive spaces, storytelling can be a real game changer. As far as how you accomplish that through design, let’s look at some of the more common storytelling techniques and examples that show how they’re pulled off.
Aviation Gin
What kind of story does the site tell?
The Guided Journey
What kinds of businesses benefit from this kind of storytelling?
This kind of storytelling technique is best for new companies that have a strong branding component. That way, the company isn’t just another lookalike business entering the space. It’s offering something more entertaining and engaging that encourages prospective customers to hop along for the ride — even on Day 1.
The “mascot” is one of the best ways to make this kind of storytelling work because they become the visitors’ guide to exploring the site and all it has to offer.
Think about Flo from Progressive, William Shatner for Priceline or The Old Spice Guy. The second you see these mascots, you can’t help but wonder what kind of “adventure” they’re going to take you on next. It’s a fantastic way to build a loyal following.
What does The Guided Journey storytelling method look like?
In the case of Aviation Gin, co-owner Ryan Reynolds has not only lent his star power, but also the edgy sense of humor he’s well known for to the brand.
Upon entering the mobile site, Reynolds’ face is the first thing visitors see:
Ryan Reynolds introduces mobile visitors to Aviation Gin with his trademark humor. (Source: Aviation Gin) (Large preview)
The video (and the ridiculous quote beneath it) is what you’d expect from Reynolds, cracking jokes while introducing visitors to an absurd world he probably made up on the spot. It’s also short, to the point and will undoubtedly leave visitors thinking:
Okay, okay, I gotta give this gin a try.
Scroll down once, and you’ll find this invitation to connect with Reynolds through the Aviation Gin newsletter:
Aviation Gin uses Ryan Reynolds as a pilot for its brand journey. (Source: Aviation Gin) (Large preview)
Although it cuts back a bit on Reynolds’ humor, it continues to portray him as the pilot of this journey visitors are about to take. And if we know anything about what our users want, that’s a brilliant move. Reynolds isn’t just dangled in front of them with the occasional ad (like so many companies do with their spokespeople). He’s actually built into the experience.
What’s more, Aviation Gin has constructed the rest of the website to play out like a flight, with crafty plays on words and relevant graphics.
Aviation Gin plays up its brand name and guides visitors through the site with flight-related wordplay and imagery. (Source: Aviation Gin) (Large preview)
This one-page website is done so well from start to finish, and a huge part of that is due to the story they’ve committed to:
We are Aviation Gin.
Ryan Reynolds will be taking you to your destination.
Don’t you want to come along for the ride?
It’s a great narrative. And for those who don’t know who Ryan Reynolds is, the buttoned-up website with its flight analogies and wordplay should be enough to draw them in, too.
Pacto-Navio
What kind of story does the site tell?
The Immersive Tale
What kinds of businesses benefit from this kind of storytelling?
This is another effective approach to storytelling if you’re building a site for a new business. In this case, though, there isn’t a real-life persona who can take them along on the brand’s journey. Instead, you have to rely on the strength of the brand and your ability to design something that feels immersive.
This is going to be especially useful if the company hasn’t been around for a long time and you don’t have much history or accolades to draw upon. Just make sure you have a clear focus for your tale, so visitors don’t try to wander off the path you’ve created for them.
What does The Immersive Tale storytelling method look like?
To build an immersive tale on a mobile website, you have to frame it as an adventure. That way, visitors aren’t even thinking about the menu button. Instead, they’re ready to play along and let you take them through the site.
Pacto-Navio handles this kind of storytelling well. There are a number of reasons why this works, too.
First, each part of the story has a dedicated full page:
Pacto-Navio introduces visitors to the mobile site with an animation of the West meeting the East. (Source: Pacto-Navio) (Large preview)
This, for instance, is the home page. At first, all visitors see is the compass, but then the two hands move in from the east (France) and the west (Cuba) to symbolize the two countries where the rum comes from.
This is another reason why this site feels so immersive. From the very beginning, the website actively moves visitors from the point of entry to their destination. And I mean this literally.
The site is full of animations. They’re not overwhelming or unnecessary. Each of the moving elements (even the transitions between horizontal page flips) is subtle yet relevant.
Pacto-Navio website visitors stay engaged with the story through subtle animation and page-flips. (Source: Pacto-Navio) (Large preview)
The design of the site as a whole should make visitors feel like they’re reading some epic tale of adventure. But this is a website; not some book that’s confined to telling a story on the pages.
The Pacto-Navio mobile site allows visitors to decide when they want to stop and explore some more. And when they do, more of the story is revealed:
Pacto-Navio’s mobile website feels like an adventure book. (Source: Pacto-Navio) (Large preview)
In a sense, this style of website — where each page is represented by a single card and they can be flipped through like the pages of a book — is one of the most engaging ways to tell a story.
Each page and corresponding graphic is served up one at a time. Then, when visitors choose to explore more, the story is briefly recounted while small animations keep them focused on moving down the page. It really does feel like you’re reading a book.
Samuel Adams
What kind of story does the site tell?
The Love Letter
What kinds of businesses benefit from this kind of storytelling?
If you’ve ever read a book or watched a movie where the physical location (usually a city) has a role to play in the story, then you know how emotional of an experience it can become.
Take any of Woody Allen’s movies, for instance. Many of them are set in New York City or in lush cities around Europe — and it feels as though the cities themselves are characters. The same goes for books. Stephen King does this a lot, like with the Overlook Hotel in The Shining or Shawshank Prison in The Shawshank Redemption. The places play just as important a role as the people in the stories.
Believe it or not, this is something you can do with your mobile site if it’s for a business with strong ties to a geographic area.
What does The Love Letter storytelling method look like? Samuel Adams is a brewery with deep ties to Boston, Massachusetts.
People from Boston have a tendency to be fiercely loyal champions for local brands and businesses — and the relationship they have with this brewery is no different. That’s why it’s no surprise that Samuel Adams’ website is dedicated to:
The city of Boston,
The people of Boston.
Think of it as a love letter to all things Boston.
The mobile site starts with the following:
The Samuel Adams mobile site encourages visitors to “Toast Someone”. (Source: Samuel Adams) (Large preview)
There’s no mention of Samuel Adams’ beer in this hero image. This is a call-to-action: Toast Someone.
This video shows comedians toasting the people who changed their lives and empowered them to do what they do. It’s a really heartfelt way to start people on their journey with Samuel Adams.
A little way down the page, the brewery explains why it’s had comedians make these toasts in the first place:
Samuel Adams dedicates its home page to its Toast Someone Project. (Source: Samuel Adams) (Large preview)
But it’s not just famous people that the brand has asked to participate in its collective toast. The next video is an ode to the city of Boston and its residents.
Samuel Adams has well-known residents give a toast in this home page video. (Source: Samuel Adams) (Large preview)
Visitors see famous Boston residents (like Big Papi of the Boston Red Sox give their love and respect to the city), but it’s not just big-name figures who speak out in the video:
Samuel Adams shows off the real faces of Boston residents in this Toast video. (Source: Samuel Adams) (Large preview)
In addition to seeing beautiful shots of the city of Boston, you can see the real people of the city. In the screengrab above is one of the survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing. But you can also see a team of rowers heading onto the Charles River, a barbershop and people boxing in a gym.
Sure, Sam Adams’ beer bottles can be seen in the toasts people give, but it’s still a touching video and a beautiful ode to the city of Boston. And because this site is completely separate from the Samuel Adams store, it helps keep people’s focus on the toast project and the positive sentiment coming from it.
Wintrip Brew Co.
What kind of story does the site tell?
The Graphic Novel
What kinds of businesses benefit from this kind of storytelling?
There are tons of examples of graphic novels and comic books that have later become hit movies or TV shows:
The Walking Dead
Watchmen
Sin City
V for Vendetta
Ghost in the Shell
Truth be told, this style of storytelling won’t work for most brands because it requires a brand to be edgy, dark or boundary-pushing for it to work. It also needs a brand to be 100% focused on its product. That doesn’t mean it can’t have an original or inspiring story of its own to tell, but the pacing of a story like this should really stay focused on what you’re selling.
What does The Graphic Novel storytelling method look like?
There’s no one way to design websites using this storytelling method. That’s because there’s so much variation in the way graphic novels and comic books are designed. Batman, for instance, is dark and moody. Watchmen is all about the exaggerated, retro design. And, then, there’s The Walking Dead that just feels grimy.
You have to decide what kind of “edge” you want to give your site. But one thing is for certain: it needs to have a striking contrast between dark and light.
Wintrip Brew Co. welcomes visitors to its mobile site with a desolate-looking graphic novel design. (Source: Wintrip Brew Co.) (Large preview)
If you didn’t know any better, you might think this was a site for a graphic novel or even a video game.
But this is indeed the way Wintrip Brew Co. welcomes its visitors — and it’s a great first impression to make. After all, who the heck would go to the trouble of designing a home page to look like a graphic novel if the rest of the site weren’t going to follow suit?
There’s no reason why visitors wouldn’t want to keep stumbling along this path.
The Wintrip Brew Co. website has its own cast of unique and odd characters. (Source: Wintrip Brew Co.) (Large preview)
Every inch of this site feels like a graphic novel. There are odd characters scattered throughout it, inviting visitors to explore more of each page (like the zombie-eyed chef above).
Then, there’s the actual story told on the pages:
Wintrip Brew Co. keeps typography design simple so the attitude in the words can stand out. (Source: Wintrip Brew Co.) (Large preview)
The typography is kept simple and yet the striking color contrast gives it an edge. If visitors don’t pick up on the subtle cues the font design gives off, then the words that are chock full of attitude certainly will.
While I’d love to show you how the “Beer” page is designed, the words on it are incredibly risque. Suffice to say, what you see above is the tip of the iceberg in terms of boundary-pushing.
But that’s okay because that’s what this brand is all about. It’s evident even in the way they’ve brewed their beers that they want to appeal to beer drinkers who are looking for something darker and more cutting-edge. And the design of this website has set the perfect tone for that.
Yuengling
What kind of story does the site tell?
The Timeline
What kinds of businesses benefit from this kind of storytelling?
The Timeline is best used by brands that have lengthy histories. These are the companies that have been in operation for over 100 years. It would also apply to businesses that have dozens of milestones they’ve racked up over the years.
You might not get many of these that pass your way, but when you do, The Timeline is a beautiful way to tell a company’s (and their loyal patrons’) story.
As for why you’d opt for this method of storytelling, it’s one of the more efficient ways to do so. Otherwise, you’d end up with insanely long pages trying to recap everything a brand has accomplished over the years — and that would be a waste of your time trying to design something like that and a major test of your visitors’ patience.
Instead, a timeline chops up a story into small, digestible and still very impressive pieces.
What does The Timeline storytelling method look like?
This one is obvious. You’re going to start with the very beginning of the brand’s story (usually how the founders met or came up with their idea) and end with today. Along the way, you’re going to share a few words and some eye-catching imagery to highlight the milestones.
Let’s look at the example of Yuengling, which is the oldest brewery in the United States. The company’s timeline begins with a single introductory paragraph and video:
The Yuengling mobile site introduces new and old customers to its story. (Source: Yuengling) (Large preview)
Visitors who want to take time to get this introduction can do so with ease. The rest can skip down to the timeline that starts with the company’s founding in 1829.
Yuengling tells its story with eye-catching visuals and short snippets of text on a timeline. (Source: Yuengling) (Large preview)
What’s always nice about a company’s timeline is being able to see how consistent it’s been from the very beginning. Even if a company has changed hands or undergone name changes, many times the design of its branding or the product itself remains unchanged.
You can see a hint of that above with the Porter design, which isn’t unlike the current design of some of Yuengling’s packaging.
As the story goes on, visitors get to learn more about the company — its wins, its losses, and the changes it’s made for the sake of its customers.
Yuengling uses its website’s timeline to show customers how they’ve factored into the company’s decisions. (Source: Yuengling) (Large preview)
That’s ultimately what the goal should be in designing a brand’s story in a timeline. It shouldn’t be so you can display award after award received. If you want to keep visitors engaged and turn them into customers in the end, then you have to show them how they factor into the story.
In the screenshot above, 1996’s summary says:
Demand for Yuengling actually begins to exceed the brewery’s capacity. The decision is made to withdraw from markets outside of the local area.
This is exactly the kind of thing customers want to see when they’re looking for brands to stay loyal to. This demonstrates the brand’s loyalty to providing customers with a high-quality product instead of on getting rich (which it could’ve easily done).
Wrapping Up
As you can see, there are tons of ways to tell a story through design. And while the websites above look fine when viewed on larger screens, where they really shine is mobile. That’s because designers are able to craft experiences that feel more like you’re turning the pages of a book instead of being asked to scroll through endless amounts of text on the web.
The above list is by no means exhaustive as you can tell stories in all kinds of ways for businesses. Just listen to what your clients have to say about their companies and then create a journey that matches the one they took (or the detour they’re on today).
Related Article on SmashingMag
Users have many expectations when they come to your site. Placing your users in the context of a story helps you understand those expectations and their motivations. You’ll see what they want and expect, but also what they need. Once you know their needs, you can meet those needs. Learn more from an article written by John Rhea ?
If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all! We all have personal tragedies. Sometimes those tragedies are more than anyone could handle, and that’s when you encounter some very basic, intense emotions. For some it’s the fiercely stark task of overcoming, shutting out all else; for others, it’s thoughts of helplessness. Unfortunately, most people will run the gamut of these polar emotions.
I’ve been through all this and not only survived, but thrived. The idea when faced with a debilitating horror, is to take stock of what you have, what you need, and think outside the box to solve them as quickly as possible—oddly, focusing on plans to survive keeps your thoughts off the actual disaster.
You’re going to face these things sooner or later, here’s how you too, can overcome your personal disasters…
The Immediate Impact of Disaster
If you’re a freelancer, even the common cold can put you out of work for a week or so. That’s income lost and a financial strain that most people can’t afford. My motorcycle accident set me back several months due to fractured fingers and arm (among injuries to my foot and other body parts), all on my right side. Working as an illustrator back then, naturally I wasn’t able to work, but the bills kept coming in and three weeks in the hospital, including two surgeries, wasn’t cheap.
An emotional event such as a divorce, or having a sick child who spends a lot of time in the hospital for treatments, can easily cause depression. The financial strain only adds to the madness.
…few people see it coming
Being fired or laid off from a regular paycheck is a shock to the system and causes major stress for you and your family. It can come up when least expected, or happen after months of corporate rumors. Either way, few people see it coming.
Sometimes family calls, and you must answer. The loss of a family member, parents, siblings will cause depression. Going back to work is the last thing on one’s mind. Sometimes that mental block goes on for weeks… months… a year… or years.
Recently a friend announced on Facebook her impending divorce—I’m betting that changed her algorithms so she now gets dating site, and divorce lawyer ads. She cried about no longer being supported by her partner and her desperation to find a full time job. She admitted to a trap many of us fall into, complacency. The days of leisure and hobbies allowed her to fall behind and now her ability to find a staff position, needing income for rent, health insurance, and such, was causing her severe anxiety. As with any tragedy, she reached out to her friends and connections for help.
There are several steps one must make when financially smacked. Here’s a list of steps that will help you survive:
1. Reach Out To Your Network
This isn’t a time to be shy or embarrassed…you’ll certainly find out who you can count upon.
First stop is to make sure your CV/Résumé is up to date, and that means not only with all information, but with the newest CV/Résumé “rules.” Check the latest articles on the web for tips on how to make yourself fabulous. Then reach out to your network and send those queries out with your CV/Résumé. Friends, family, connections on business sites, people you went to school with. Hit everybody!
This isn’t a time to be shy or embarrassed. Everyone gets into a jam at some point and needs help. You’ll certainly find out who you can count upon.
2. List Your Income And Expenses
How much will you need to survive until your income can be replaced? How much will you need to cut from your expenses to keep your debt low? What social safety nets does your country have for unemployed citizens? Who will lend you money?
Living on your credit card may look like an easy answer but it’s a trap. Paying back a large balance will take years as interest keeps increasing. It’s usually impossible to not use credit, so if you do, use it very wisely! Friends will understand if you can’t buy them big presents for their birthday, or take vacations with them.
There are even small things you can cut, which adds up to big savings.
3. Bring In Money Any Way You Can
Yes, I know you’re chuckling at, “…any way you can.” But it’s time to drop your pride. A part-time job is easy to come by but they are not glamorous, not high-paying, and not a design job. I’ve bartended, flipped burgers, driven a delivery truck, and sold personal possessions to keep money coming in. I took less money from quick freelance jobs because I had to keep a flow of money. I borrowed money from friends and family. Through it all, I now know who my true friends are. That’s one of the good things about needing help. Here’s some immediate income solutions:
it’s time to drop your pride
Ebay: If I know my fellow creatives, like me, you have too many toys. Time to make tough choices and ebay those collectable figures! While I miss some of those toys, I was able to pay a lot of bills with sales.
Social safety nets: Many enlightened countries have programs to help the unemployed. A Canadian friend hit rock bottom before she found out that Canada has an incredible government program to help citizens survive. There are food banks, and grants from organizations and while it’s embarrassing to use them, eating is better than starving and keeping your pride, especially if you have kids. Google “food banks,” “artists’ grants,” “low cost loans” to see what might be available in your area. Religious organizations are also a good way to find grants and food banks.
Contract work: In lean times, I would work as a contract Art Director/Designer via an agent who specialized in design jobs. It paid well, would last a week or a few months, and it was a great way to grow my network. One of the better ways to make money.
Design contests: The much detested design contests are an evil that outweighs going into debt. Sign up under a fake name and give it a try. Winning will at least bring in money.
Beg freelance work: Ask your network for freelance work. Ask if anyone knows of an open position at their company. Sometimes it happens, depending on the economy and hiring freezes. As with everything else, it pays to ask.
4. Take Stock Of Your Other Talents
After my motorcycle accident, and three fractured fingers on my right hand and a fractured right arm (held together by surgical pins) among other injuries, I was not up to illustration, even though it was my main income stream. But as I had my thumb and index finger workable and not constrained by the massive cast on my hand and arm, I found that the postage stamp-sized drawings I could doodle were pretty awesome. When I blew them up on a copier to 11 x 17 inches, the line quality was interesting and distinct. A touch of wash here and there, and I could keep working. My clients willingly accepted the new “look” of my work—maybe pity had something to do with it—and I also picked up new clients.
If you have to work outside of the field, better that it’s something you will enjoy
I never really recovered from that accident and cold days remind me of every accident I’ve ever had. Thank goodness the computer came along and my loss-of-fine-control drawing hand was perfect for a mouse. Transitioning to being a designer, then art director, then creative director was the best move I was ever forced to take!
When a former employer laid off two-thirds of its creative department, in four or five waves, people wondered where their next paycheck was coming from. I assured many of them that being creative applied to many careers. Creative thinking put towards any product or initiative is critical. I also encouraged them to think of other ways to use their creativity to make a living.
Ten years later, my former coworkers are painters, illustrators, sculptors, jewelry makers, truck drivers, store merchandisers, writers, classic car restorers, and Uber drivers. Some have jobs on creative staff or freelance. Even the ones with non-creative jobs make creativity their hobby. It’s not a forever thing, unless you want it to be. If you have to work outside of the field, better that it’s something you will enjoy.
5. Stay Sane!
Throughout any problem, you will suffer anxiety, depression, anger, and a few other emotional states. It’s normal, don’t be embarrassed, or ashamed. There are several ways people deal with staying sane. It might be exercise, watching movies, getting together with friends, or family, and whatever gets you feeling happier. Most importantly… laugh! Do anything for laughs because it’s the best medicine and you’ll need lots of it!
There are also ways to get free counselling. Google “free counselling,” and “support groups.” It helps to talk to others suffering the same emotions and needs, or a professional.
At one point I started seeing a counselor/therapist and it really did help. The most amazing psychological breakthrough was the therapist asking me if I had any recurring dreams. I had one that popped up in every dream. No matter what was happening in the dream, I would, out of nowhere, get anxious about the realization I hadn’t fed my cat in two years. I was desperate in the dreams to get home and feed the poor cat. That always became the focus of my dreams. In the non-dream life, my cat had died years before. The therapist smiled and said, “you’re the cat; you need to feed yourself.”
After that, I never had that same dream. I got a new cat, and always remembered that no matter how bad things got, I had to keep my sanity to get through it all. It’s the foundation of one’s existence.
In Conclusion
There’s always a way to climb out of a hole and it’s a huge help if you have lots of helpful connections. As mentioned before, your network will be your best way back. Luckily, I did a lot of favors over my career, so there were a good number of people who stepped up when asked for help. Some didn’t, but that’s how we find out who are real friends are. Sometimes that’s worth more than anything they could give you.
As I write this, I’m getting over a killer flu that had me sleeping for three straight days and loopy for four more… and my car needs $4,500 worth of work or it will explode. I’ll catch up, but it means my 1980s transforming robots from Japan are going on ebay.
It was the philosopher Aristotle that said, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
He may have been speaking about how ancient cultures have worked together, but he might as well have been talking about today’s business environment. When teams work together, they can create better products than individuals.
So, what does this mean? In short, one of the business’s biggest goals should be to strive for impeccable customer service. For this to work, however, employees and team members need to share this goal as well.
Improving Collaboration in the Workplace
It’s not enough to simply tell employees to work as a team. Companies have to provide the proper framework and incentives to make it happen.
Start by providing the right tools and the right workflow. This is often different for every business. It’s wise to take some time to observe where improvements could be made and how the teams seem to work best. From there, create a workflow and set expectations for employees on how to follow it.
It’s also crucial that employees have the right tools to complete their work effectively and efficiently. Evaluate where projects are getting stuck. One of the simplest ways to find out what tools an employee is lacking is to simply ask them!
Workflow
A clearly defined – and simple – workflow is crucial to fostering collaboration in the workplace. At its core is a system that takes projects and breaks them down into steps or tasks, manages assignments and deadlines, tracks progress, and communicates across teams.
This workflow system acts as the central hub, or clearinghouse, for employees to stay in constant communication on projects. Team messaging software like 8×8 that trackscan track conversations, allows for uploading and file sharing, provides meetings and messaging capabilities, and allows collaboration across platforms can help manage the workflow and communication.
The Team
Collaboration works best when team members have complementary skills. This means assembling the right group of people with the skills necessary to manage the task. You wouldn’t, for example, assemble a baseball team with only a group of pitchers. You need offensive and defensive weapons in order to compete successfully.
Grow Your Team
Team chemistry plays a vital role in how teams perform. It’s important to help team members create bonds that build strong relationships. Team chemistry, the Harvard Business Review reports, is the new “holy grail” of performance analytics. In other words, the way teams interact and support each other makes a significant difference in outcomes.
Chemistry amongst a team is built of many components; some of which include personalities, built trust and working towards common goals. Consider improving these by having employees take a personality test, create team-building exercises and events and ensure everyone is clear on shared goals.
Measure Outcomes
You can’t manage what you can’t measure. When it comes to customer experience, you need to set achievable benchmarks and then measure team performance against these benchmarks regularly. When teams accomplish goals, it improves morale and helps them understand the role they play in a company’s success.
These goals should be both short-term and long-term. For example, a short-term goal for a call center might be to improve first-call resolution or CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Survey) scores. A long-term goal might be to increase repeat business from satisfied customers.
It’s important to ensure you’re able to track these as well. For example, if you use a CRM like Dubsado or Zoho, set expectations for your teams. A manager could consider listening in on calls, live or recorded as well. You can also have your customer service team make a spreadsheet of common issues they’re hearing about via phone calls or customer service emails. Once you know where you’re starting, it makes creating realistic goals much easier.
Common Goals
When team members rally around a common goal, magic can happen in the workplace. When teams fully understand the common mission, they are more likely to work towards that mission and hold each other accountable. This creates the right atmosphere for improving the customer experience.
After tackling how to measure progress and outcomes, this is the time to start setting goals. See what is a realistic goal is for the business and how it will improve work – especially when it comes to the customer service.
Reward Success
When teams do accomplish goals, it’s time to celebrate success. There are a lot of possibilities here! Whether it’s a gift card, a day off, an office party, or perhaps a special parking spot. Great team members will be striving to reach their goals regardless, but there are few things more disheartening than having great work ignored.
It’s important for a business to show their employees that they care and that when the company is rewarded with progress, so are the teams that made it happen.
A Collaborative Approach to Customer Experience
It takes a collaborative approach to build superior customer experiences. Getting your team to work together and focus on providing that great customer experience is crucial to business success. That starts with building the right team, focusing them on common goals, providing them the right tools to collaborate, and rewarding positive outcomes.
It was the philosopher Aristotle that said, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
He may have been speaking about how ancient cultures have worked together, but he might as well have been talking about today’s business environment. When teams work together, they can create better products than individuals.
So, what does this mean? In short, one of the business’s biggest goals should be to strive for impeccable customer service. For this to work, however, employees and team members need to share this goal as well.
Improving Collaboration in the Workplace
It’s not enough to simply tell employees to work as a team. Companies have to provide the proper framework and incentives to make it happen.
Start by providing the right tools and the right workflow. This is often different for every business. It’s wise to take some time to observe where improvements could be made and how the teams seem to work best. From there, create a workflow and set expectations for employees on how to follow it.
It’s also crucial that employees have the right tools to complete their work effectively and efficiently. Evaluate where projects are getting stuck. One of the simplest ways to find out what tools an employee is lacking is to simply ask them!
Workflow
A clearly defined – and simple – workflow is crucial to fostering collaboration in the workplace. At its core is a system that takes projects and breaks them down into steps or tasks, manages assignments and deadlines, tracks progress, and communicates across teams.
This workflow system acts as the central hub, or clearinghouse, for employees to stay in constant communication on projects. Team messaging software like 8×8 that trackscan track conversations, allows for uploading and file sharing, provides meetings and messaging capabilities, and allows collaboration across platforms can help manage the workflow and communication.
The Team
Collaboration works best when team members have complementary skills. This means assembling the right group of people with the skills necessary to manage the task. You wouldn’t, for example, assemble a baseball team with only a group of pitchers. You need offensive and defensive weapons in order to compete successfully.
Grow Your Team
Team chemistry plays a vital role in how teams perform. It’s important to help team members create bonds that build strong relationships. Team chemistry, the Harvard Business Review reports, is the new “holy grail” of performance analytics. In other words, the way teams interact and support each other makes a significant difference in outcomes.
Chemistry amongst a team is built of many components; some of which include personalities, built trust and working towards common goals. Consider improving these by having employees take a personality test, create team-building exercises and events and ensure everyone is clear on shared goals.
Measure Outcomes
You can’t manage what you can’t measure. When it comes to customer experience, you need to set achievable benchmarks and then measure team performance against these benchmarks regularly. When teams accomplish goals, it improves morale and helps them understand the role they play in a company’s success.
These goals should be both short-term and long-term. For example, a short-term goal for a call center might be to improve first-call resolution or CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Survey) scores. A long-term goal might be to increase repeat business from satisfied customers.
It’s important to ensure you’re able to track these as well. For example, if you use a CRM like Dubsado or Zoho, set expectations for your teams. A manager could consider listening in on calls, live or recorded as well. You can also have your customer service team make a spreadsheet of common issues they’re hearing about via phone calls or customer service emails. Once you know where you’re starting, it makes creating realistic goals much easier.
Common Goals
When team members rally around a common goal, magic can happen in the workplace. When teams fully understand the common mission, they are more likely to work towards that mission and hold each other accountable. This creates the right atmosphere for improving the customer experience.
After tackling how to measure progress and outcomes, this is the time to start setting goals. See what is a realistic goal is for the business and how it will improve work – especially when it comes to the customer service.
Reward Success
When teams do accomplish goals, it’s time to celebrate success. There are a lot of possibilities here! Whether it’s a gift card, a day off, an office party, or perhaps a special parking spot. Great team members will be striving to reach their goals regardless, but there are few things more disheartening than having great work ignored.
It’s important for a business to show their employees that they care and that when the company is rewarded with progress, so are the teams that made it happen.
A Collaborative Approach to Customer Experience
It takes a collaborative approach to build superior customer experiences. Getting your team to work together and focus on providing that great customer experience is crucial to business success. That starts with building the right team, focusing them on common goals, providing them the right tools to collaborate, and rewarding positive outcomes.
The acronym OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results. Much has been written on the topic over the years yet they still remain a mystery for many. I want to cut out all of the buzzwords and lift the veil on what OKRs are, how they work, why they are good, how to set them and why you actually should use them at your company or startup. Consider this The Ultimate Guide to OKRs. Let’s get started.
OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) is a methodology of setting and achieving goals within a set time frame. You can use words like tool, framework, system, approach, strategy to describe it but they all mean the same thing. At the end of the day you and your team are going to sit down and write a few sentences on a whiteboard (or a napkin, as was the Uber’s case). Each sentence is going to have a top part (the Objective) and a few key points under it (the Key Results). Let me give you an example of what these look like right now:
Objective: Increase user-base Key Results: –Increase per day views to 2,500 –Increase total monthly unique visitors to 40,000
Before we get to explaining anything in more detail, let me give you another example:
Objective: Delight our customers Key Results: –Hire 25 new motivated and aware customer account representatives –Simplify the refund process from 15 clicks to 5 clicks –Create 5 new seasonal products and start selling them in our stores
What can we see from these 2 examples of real-world OKRs?
We see that Objectives are short, bold, memorable and generally, inspiring. We see that Key Results are much more specific and they all have a number. In fact, in the OKR methodology, key results are almost always defined with numbers. They don’t tell you how to hit those numbers, only outline a specific goal. Also, key results often help define the objectives. For example, how do you know what Delight our customers means specifically for this business? Here, the key results explain and provide a definition for the objective: hiring 25 reps, giving customers refunds in 5 clicks and creating 5 new products will delight our customers.
So, OKRs are…
simple, concise and self-explanatory. They are well understood by every single employee in the company. Yet together Objectives and Key Results create a powerful system that helps not only to evaluate, measure and achieve what matters for your company, it unites employees around a common goal. Let’s take a look at what companies use OKRs today.
What Companies Use OKRs?
Those would be Google, Intel, Amazon, Uber, Box, Dropbox, Deloitte, Facebook, LinkedIn, Sears, Oracle and Netflix. And many more. Did I mention Panasonic? What about Slack? Yep, they too use OKRs. As you can see, OKRs are used by a wide array of companies which ranges from tech to retail to manufacturing. The reason I mention Google and Intel first is because these two companies are seen as the originators of Objectives and Key Results method. Let’s delve into a brief history of OKRs.
A Brief History of OKRs
Andrew Grove developed and implemented a system called Objectives and Key Results during his CEO tenure at Intel (the overwhelming success of Operation Crush has been attributed to his use of OKRs). In 1975 an Intel employee named John Doerr took a class on OKRs taught by Grove. John went on to work for a venture capital firm called Kleiner Perkins, which invested in a startup called Google in 1999. John introduced the idea of OKRs to Google’s founders and they have implemented it throughout the company during its first year. Google grew from 60 employees to 100,000 and still uses OKRs today.
Key Performance Indicators have been around for a long time and are still used widely by many companies. KPIs are performance metrics which demonstrate how effectively a company is pursuing its key business objectives. KPI goals are defined to be attainable and to measure the process or a project already in place. OKRs, on the other hand, are bolder. They have greater depth than KPIs and provide a better framework for taking on new projects, ventures, even new directions for your business. They are aggressive and ambitious and in setting them higher than what is achievable right now, they make your company and employees stretch farther than previously thought possible. This helps promote individual and company growth.
Why Use OKRs and How to Use Them?
There are three major benefits to using OKRs. The process of defining and setting OKRs in and of itself is a great way to evaluate where you and your company stand on your journey. OKRs are about being honest with yourself. This is a chance to sit down and say: “This is where we are great – let’s do more of that”. And “this is where we suck – let’s change that”. By brainstorming for the OKRs you will be able to identify the weak and strong points of your company, from the company vision down to the marketing team’s productivity. You want to take an honest look at your business and create Objectives and Key Results which will empower your strengths and correct your weaknesses.
A Clear Vision
The second major benefit of OKRs is that at the end of their time frame they provide a reference to evaluate how well you did in executing the set objectives. Things become clear – what works and what doesn’t. They let you reflect on the progress made and provide you with a clear numerical expression of success.
Because key results and objectives include numbers in their definitions, it is easy to tell whether you have hit the number or not. Hire 25 motivated and aware customer account representatives this quarter? We hired 20. That is an 80% success rate, which is a great indicator that not only we were able to secure 20 new stellar employees, but we were able to move towards achieving the goals we have set in the beginning of the quarter. The total success rate of an Objective is calculated by averaging the success rates of its Key Results. Hitting a 70% success rate and above for objectives is a good indicator of a healthy team or company.
The third major benefit of using OKRs is that it offers a transparent and intuitive way of managing a company. OKRs are a communication tool. Setting company, team and individual Objectives and Key Results aligns the business in a way where all people focus their efforts on the same important issues. It communicates where the company is moving and how it is maturing. This helps promote a healthy culture of fellowship and unity among employees on all levels. And that, as we know, is good for business.
OKRs Are Agile
OKRs are usually set in the following way throughout the company: Company OKRs are set quarterly, Team OKRs are also set quarterly and Individual OKRs or initiatives are set weekly. Depending on the size of the business, whether a 2-person startup or a 1,000-strong company, this may change to accommodate your current growth dynamics.
Unlike the rigid annual planning, OKRs let you adapt and respond to change. They allow for flexible goal setting and progress tracking. Because updates for OKRs are usually provided weekly, monthly or quarterly, it is easy to track progress during their life cycle.
OKRs provide the flexibility to pause certain objectives if they become irrelevant after their implementation. You can adjust key results as the company needs shift and the business environment changes. Of course this might mean that Objectives and Key Results were not defined correctly. No big. Like with everything worth getting better at, you get better at OKRs with practice. Defining OKRs becomes easier as you learn what you should be measuring and what matters to your business.
The agility of OKRs lies in the impact on the outcome and the people. Objectives and Key Results are less of a contract and more of a collaboration between various parts of a company, its teams and employees. OKRs facilitate synergy between profits and ideas. Not only do they help provide insight into your own business, they let you know exactly which areas you are being successful in and which areas need improvement and redesign. OKRs help inspire employees and promote a healthy, organic growth of the company.
