EightBlack.

This week, I was asked to give a talk to 30 women or so. All worked for a swanky Interior Design firm. The head of the design firm is a good mate of mine and when he sent me an email - with the incentive “Chenny, you’ll be mainly addressing a group of good looking females”, I quickly cleared my calendar and thought “holy crap, what do you wear to this gig?”.

Anyway.

I had to think about the topic for a while. Because this design house is one of Australia’s best and they have some seriously talented folks within its ranks. And truth be told, they’re not much interested in the web.

Which in a sense was perfect. And refreshing.

The only thing I was grateful for is that I got to show off my new MacBook Air. At least they wouldn’t have thought I was a complete design luddite.

We talked about social networking (the staff at this particular design shop aren’t allowed to access any social networking sites during business hours). Which is silly. And the staff had a bit of a chuckle when I gave the boss a bit of a serve about it. It’s easy to do when a) you’re not getting paid for the gig and b) the boss is a mate.

I was intrigued that a lot of them didn’t have a MyFace account, didn’t know what Twitter was (thank goodness) and only a small percentage used Facebook. Maybe there’s a bastion of people who are resisting the urge to go online. I was also intrigued as to why most of the design firms are all PC zealots. Apparently something to do with CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing).

Maybe Steve Jobs hasn’t figured out that the folks behind CAD aren’t worth buying.

We had a good chat - or at least I thought we did. I didn’t get thrown out. Didn’t refer to anyone as an “angry lesbian”, wasn’t politically incorrect and managed to make it thru the whole 8 slides I had.

But the thing I learnt was this. This was an audience who were interested in having a conversation, were intelligent, were acutely aware of the environment and who were very good at their respective jobs. So why do we, the practitioners of the web, not talk to them in this way when we communicate online. From a design perspective. From a usability perspective.

When these guys design a workspace, they have to by nature, ensure the space is functional and that it “fits”. That it is easy to use.

I was thinking that it is these very people who leading web companies should be hiring. Flash and .Net developers grow on trees in comparison to great usability folks.

At the very least, we should consult with some of these bright folks before we embark on major builds.

Maybe this is a pathetic justification just to get invited back to their Xmas function. But I doubt it. I seriously think that real world designers can add a significant level of practicality to what has become a too “cutesy” area of the web.

All I want to do is make a booking, find your phone number, buy your stuff or perform something equally as simple and mundane. Don’t make me jump through hoops to do it.

Initially, I was kind of wondering what the design world and the web had in common. Then it hit me. They have to get the end product right the first time, because there’s too much at stake. They’re environment is physical. And there’s consequence if they get it wrong.

I managed to tie in a reference to John Doerr during this gig. Don’t ask me why. I still think the talk he gave and his subsequent video presentation at last years TED Conference was one of the highlights of my year. Here it is again.

5 years is a long time to work with anyone. Especially when that person is me.

Today marks the last day for David Galt, our Client Services Director. Most people know him as they guy who makes things happen or the guy who’s “Mr. Reliable” when they either can’t find me or cant get me to respond.

I honestly dont know how I would have run our business in the beginning (and now) if it wasnt for Dave. From those early days working beside each other in the 4th bedroom of our house, to our cramped office in Latrobe Street, to now our digs in St Kilda Rd.

I remember when I jumped off the corporate treadmill and I wanted to go and have a muck around with this internet stuff. Dave was a junior marketing assistant at the company I just left. I called him and said “Hey, I dont know what I’m going to do in the online space, but I sure could use your help”. To his credit, he jumped straight in. And I am eternally grateful for the faith he put in me in the beginning.

Like all start-ups, we’ve seen the good and the bad. Our seminar, back in 2004, would not have been possible without his contribution. He’s met some great people, both here and principally in the US. And he’s travelled well. He’s developed formidable online skills, he approaches an industry that suffers from hype and hysteria with a sense of calm and he is, quite annoyingly, mostly right with his calls. Which shits me.

My humble words here cant do the guy justice. Let the evidence speak is all I say. In the time he worked with me, I never had a client say one bad thing, in fact, all I heard was praise. To such an extent, a client hired him for a year to work on site. He handled that assignment with the maturity of a consultant 10 years his senior.

Dave has earned his stripes. He’s earned my utmost respect. More importantly, he’s earned the respect from each and every client we’ve ever worked with. Which is no mean feat.

Next week, his career takes off. He assumes control of the online efforts for Webjet, one of our clients. A public company with revenues in excess of A$250 million and a significant online budget. I know he’ll handle the new job with ease.

Dave deserves this opportunity. And from the bottom of my heart, I thank him for his contribution over the last 5 years.

(And next week will be an interesting environment for us all. Dave becomes THE client, not the employee. He’s joking with me that he’s going to give me a hard time. I’ll resist the urge to go and tell him to “sit and rotate” when he needs something done. After all, he knows how to do it all anyway).

Dave, I am indebted to you my friend. Always.

We just rolled around to our 1 year anniversary with Webjet, Australia’s only profitable and leading internet travel site.

We are blessed to work with such a client.

When we were first engaged, we took on the responsibility of their email marketing.

Since then, we’ve introduced Webjet to Viral Marketing, built them the industry’s first toolbar and consult to them on areas such as podcasting, RSS and blogging.

Their financial results are just out - you can view them here.