Can boutique design studios help revive sagging online e-commerce? Misdirected dot.com resources can be refocused through Web design.

Once upon a time, many dot-com companies had, it seemed, unlimited resources. They threw lavishly expensive launch parties, ran outrageously priced Super Bowl TV commercials, and invested in luxurious office space "environments." Most of these dot-coms don't exist any more. The reasons are many: A slow-to-be-recognized downturn in the U.S. economy, the free flowing venture capital dried up, and Sept. 11.

The halcyon days ran out--and companies discovered, ultimately, they had not only to spend money, but also make it. Swept away were many support companies, such as e-commerce consulting firms with large website design staffs.

Today, Fortune 500 companies are turning more to boutique design studios for their creative Web design needs, according to Bob Slote, president and founder of 500 Watts (www.500watts.com), a small San Francisco, Calif.-based design studio, whose clients range from local businesses to national corporations, such as VISA and The Gallup Organization. Slote knows of what he speaks. He started his successful new company in September 2000, after serving as a managing director for Groundswell.net, one of many online companies that "tanked."

"At 500 Watts, we have dual expertise--visual design and interactive Web design. We design beautiful products of enduring value. We often find our customers are attracted by strong visual design; but, over time, it is the solid interactive work that keeps customers satisfied," Slote remarks. "We deliver powerful branding, clear messages, and Web features that work. All of us at 500 Watts have worked with big companies; however, we decided to form a small shop devoted to our clients," he continues.

Slote earned his credentials as a Web design guru through the years. He moved to San Francisco in 1985, after graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Ill., and working several years as an art director at the prominent Chicago-based Benton & Bowles advertising agency. Subsequently, he was a designer for Apple Computer, Clement Mok Designs, and Esprit de Corp, and then started Maus Haus (wordplay on Bauhaus), an award-winning design company dedicated to creating interactive media applications. After selling Maus Haus, Slote worked at a series of high-profile positions, including vice president of Design at The Interactive Bureau, and creative director for both Organic Online and Vivid Studios, as well as his tenure at Groundswell.

"Years ago, when a client asked me why I used a certain shade of yellow, I responded, in front of my creative director, `I dunno, because I'm an artist.' After the meeting, the director yanked me aside and said, `We are not artists or decorators! Our job is not to make the world a more beautiful place. It's to communicate a message.' Although I've been scolded many times before and after, his comments forever changed the way I approached my profession," Slote explains.

"The fine arts may influence designers; but at 500 Watts, we realize the distinction between art and design. As designers, we are communicators. We design with reasons. We design for a message, for an audience. We articulate our client's vision. We draw attention to ideas. We believe in the power of design," he adds.

"The Web is big business. The e-commerce survivors are stronger than ever, and the move is toward Web design-dedicated agencies that will refocus corporate efforts towards user- and market-targeted interfaces and designs. This means rapid prototyping and usability research to ensure clients reach markets faster with an online presence, and strategy customers will find usable, practical, and beautiful," Slote predicts.

"When things started to fall apart in the economy, there was a domino effect that took everything in its path, including the large Web-building companies. The dot-coms were hit especially hard, and the West Coast was devastated. On the other hand, the general health of the U.S. economy contributed to the dot-coms' decline," he says.

"Considering the current economic state, I feel companies have to slim down, and become fast and lean to be competitive. Companies can't throw away big dollars on nonessential efforts, or they'll be out of business," he advises.

"Part of the demise of big consulting firms working on website design was corporations started asking themselves: `Why should we spend $5 million on a website that gets zero revenue for the next five years?' There's a whole group of professionals, who were designers before, who broke off from these giant organizations, and became designers again. Today, we're more than just Web-builders. We've returned to doing print and TV, as well as interactive media--online, CD-ROM, DVD, and e-learning projects--and we change and keep up with the latest technology," Slote explains.

"Design is about hooking you up with your audience in a very tangible way. Market share and brand awareness have taken a backseat to moving product and sealing relationships. Tangible products have eclipsed brand. `Virtual' has a bad name. `Real' has currency. Whether you are providing a product or service, you have to have something real to offer," he continues.

"More companies are competing for a smaller market share. Companies should ask themselves: `How do we measure up?' Are you confident in your presentation? Does your audience `get it' right away? Are you connecting? Visual design is the first thing your customers see, and the last thing they think about. Are you happy with the way you measure up?" Slote challenges.

"Print is about grabbing your attention, and having you read the headline and some blurbs. Designing for the Web is trying to get you to the next page; it's grabbing your attention and prompting you to go through a series of screens.

"When it comes to technology, I'd say most designers are on Apple computers and well into Adobe Photoshop; but we also use PCs here, too, because interactive media has to be cross-platform. Technology is always changing, but it doesn't seem to affect what we do. There are quicker, faster ways to do things; and there are more shrink-wrapped, off-the-shelf solutions now. Since we're designing in html for the Web, in addition to Photoshop as a main tool, we also work with Adobe After Effects and Macromedia Flash," he relates.

The 500 Watts team currently does several different kinds of interactive assignments. For example, the firm developed a unique tutorial for the sales staff and a prototype for sales presentations for The Gallup Organization's eLearning team, which markets e-learning services and training courses to major corporations. The on-screen presentation gives the user cues and animation to demonstrate the key concepts.

Although 500 Watts' local website clients range among the San Francisco Opera Co., Bloo Restaurant, Kachunk Recording Studio, and Fairwest/Fox Channel 6 TV, one especially stands out as an example of how images can be more compelling and dramatic through today's digital designing techniques. The Flipside Studios' Web page (www.flipsidestudios.com) features the studio's cutting-edge 3-D digital photography, incorporating animation, rotating 360-degree panorama images, and three-dimensional product presentations.

"The Web is a great catalog space, and interactive photography truly leverages it as a commercial medium. QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR) technology moves flat 2-D photography into 3-D imagery and interactive components," Slote reflects.

Flipside Studios owner/photographer John Greenleigh comments, "Even though there's been wide acceptance and success among leading auto, consumer electronics, and apparel companies, this method of photography is still in its infancy; and it will continue to grow and thrive. I wanted the groundbreaking images, not the website, to take center stage. The team at 500 Watts created a site that is elegant, efficient, and beautiful. It's a real head-spinner."