Howtoons

Dan Bailes:When the Web first became popular, it was all about something new. Soon, every organization had to be part of it: have a web presence, their own website, reach out and communicate. And some do that well. But too often the website model organizations seem to select is that of the newsletter or the brochure. They may work as print but are boring and unattractive on the web. You've got to tell stories. And make a strong visual impact. First, capture the eye.

We're always looking for new, effective ways to communicate. Which brings me to Howtoons. What is howtoons? Take the old boring how-to idea and express it in comic book mode. Like it's part of a story. Howtoons. http://www.howtoons.com/

The whole concept of the site is exploratory. Go there and you'll see what I mean. You have to move your cursor over an illustration and you get a message. You can check it out or move to another picture. You're immediately engaged and curious. You want to know more. And when you go to check out some of the how-to concepts, they're also illustrated, comic book style.

It works very well for what it is, a way to get kids to explore, learn something and do an activity that could be both educational and fun. Okay, you say, kids stuff. But why do we adults often act as if we think that communications for us should be educational and dull?

I think it's because we too often focus on the message and not enough on how we package the message. What's the best way to say what we want to say? That's where the creativity comes in. And hopefully, the fun.