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Does navigation always HAVE to be at the top of a website?
Hey Reader,
Today we’re talking testing, business banking and a new design trend. Plus, I’ve opened up new mentoring session slots for August & September.
Let’s go!
Navigation at the bottom of the screen?
I saw these examples shared by @lucchaissac on Twitter the other day and it inspired me to try out bottom navigation for my site. What do you think of this new design trend?
It certainly breaks the pattern of how our brains have been trained to navigate a website, but I find myself going “oooooh, you’re right” in reading this tweet:
June 23rd 2022
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We look to the bottom of our screens for navigation in apps, after all. So why not websites too? Especially as we continue to optimise for the mobile web.
The fact that all of these examples so far are of studios/agencies with very few links is telling that this trend may not be a fit for other use-cases, but it’s still fun to see designers exploring UI outside of our usual patterns.
Here’s what my experiment with designing a bottom navigation for my personal site ended up looking like.
Unlike the agency sites in the examples, my nav is more complex and involves dropdowns (drop… ups? in this case), and here’s how I was thinking that could work.
I ultimately decided to go for a standard top navigation on my personal site, but I’m going to put a pin in this bottom nav idea and come back to it when I redesign the Inside Marketing Design site as I have a feeling it might be a better fit for that use case.
What do you think? Are you going to try a bottom navigation in a web design project? Or do you think its a trend that will fade away? Feel free to reply and share your thoughts, but let’s do a little poll too!
How do you feel about the idea of navigation at the bottom of a website?
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Getting ideas for A/B tests
This is one of those Twitter threads that is absolutely worth reading.
In it, Carl shares roundups of 8 different A/B tests he’s run with brands, as well as their results with refreshing transparency.
July 11th 2022
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While the examples are most relevant to ecommerce DTC brands, I know that reading it got my A/B testing brain churning with ideas of ways the lessons could apply to my work on the ConvertKit marketing site. So if you too are interested in increasing conversions, check out the full thread here.
Need advice on your design career? Book a mentoring session
I’ve just opened up timeslots for mentoring sessions in August & September. You can book one here.
These sessions are 30 value-packed minutes long, and they’re a chance for you to ask me for help navigating your career, for feedback on your portfolio or a job application, about side projects, levelling-up… whatever is most important to you!
Here’s what Marielle had to say about our session:
I really do pride myself on asking the right questions and making sure you get the absolutely most value from our time together. If a mentoring session would be helpful for you right now, grab one of the 10 spaces at the link below.
| Book a session |
I’m back to work this week and steeling myself for the onslaught of Slack notifications and emails (as well as for the fact that one of the first things I need to dive in to is writing performance reviews for my team!)
Wish me luck!
Marketing Design Dispatch
Join 17,000+ creatives receiving insider insights about brand and marketing design – featuring landing page and rebrand breakdowns, useful career content, and a behind-the-scenes look at running a Brand Studio team in tech.