Design zen presentation, fall 2012

transcript

DESIGN ZEN:ATTRACTIVE AND FUNCTIONAL WEBSITES

Graham Garner • E-Business Practicum BA/CA 388-01Wartburg College • Fall 2012

Tuesday, October 2, 12

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE (IA)

• Structural design of information environments

• Combination of organization, labeling, search, and navigation systems

• Making web sites usable and findable

• Focused on design and architecture on the Web; it’s an art and a science

WHY IA MATTERS

• The cost of finding information is lost productivity.

• The cost of not finding information is that bad decisions come from bad information.

• It costs more to fix a problem twice than it does once.

• The cost of maintenance is clear.

• Building a brand costs money and time.

BUILDING BLOCKS OF IA: USERS

Do you know who's using your web site?

Do you know how they're using it?

And perhaps most importantly, do you know what information they want from your site?

BUILDING BLOCKS OF IA: CONTENT

Think about all the stuff that makes up a web site. Think about Ownership, Format, Structure, Metadata, Volume and Dynamism.

BUILDING BLOCKS OF IA: CONTEXT

What makes your business unique? Then, find ways to align the information architecture with the goals, strategy and culture of your business.

ORGANIZATION SYSTEMS

Present the site's information to us in a variety of ways, such as content categories or specific audiences

NAVIGATION SYSTEMS

Help users move through the content

SEARCH SYSTEMS

Allow users to search the content

LABELING SYSTEMS

Describe categories, options, and links in language that (hopefully) is meaningful to users

QUESTIONS USERS ASK

1. Where am I?

2. I know what I'm looking for ; how do I search for it?

3. How do I get around this site?

4. What's important and unique about this organization?

5. What's available on this site?

6. What's happening there?

7. Do they want my opinion about their site?

8. How can I contact a human?

9. What's their physical and mailing address?

ZEN OF WEB DESIGNClear your mind.

Relax and meditate. Observe and learn from the masters.

Obtain clarity. Become one with the web.

With nearly 70 categories, Website entries make up the majority of Webby Awards Winners, Nominees and Honorees. Some are beautiful to look at and interact with. Others are a testament to usability and functionality. And a handful excel across the board. To be selected among the best is an

incredible achievement worthy of praise -- and perhaps a little bragging.

COUNTERSPILL.ORGActivism • Green

BEETLE.COMAutomotive • Best Navigation/Structure

Best Visual Design - Function

MANILLA.COMBanking/Bill Paying

VISITNORWAY.COMBest Home/Welcome Page

KINETIC.COMBest Visual Design - Aesthetic

MASHABLE.COMBlog - Business

PINERIDGESIOUX.COMCharitable Organizations/Nonprofit

URBANEARS.COMConsumer Electronics

GOOGLE MUSICCorporate Communications

MINT.COMFinancial Services

ALLSTATETEENDRIVER.COMInsurance

EPICURIOUS.COMLifestyle

PITCHFORK.COMMusic

ASKAPATIENT.COMPharmaceuticals

PADMAPPER.COMReal Estate

FERVR.NETReligion and Spirituality

BEASTANDTHEHARE.COMRestaurant

ASOS.COMRetail

ESPN.COMSports

SESAMESTREET.ORG/MUPPETSYouth

Design zen presentation, fall 2012

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