Persona

Posted at: 9:18 PM by Hammad

It's not often that I come across a bit of industry lingo that I haven't heard before, but whilst working with a partner agency recently, I came across just that.

A Silent Corridor.

Now apparently the phrase was coined by somebody at BT and it refers (at least in the world of Information Architecture anyway) to a column on a page that becomes completely empty under certain circumstances.

For example. It's commonplace to use a 3 column layout for a web site, with the right column used for related links etc. However, what happens if a page/template no longer needs to use this area as defined? It's not always as simple as allowing the central column to 'flow' into this open space, as it's often restricted by a series of inherited template definitions (especially if the site is developed on a Content Management System; aka CMS). This actually happens quite a lot, like on Privacy policies or Sitemap pages. It can also be relevant during an e-commerce/shopping process, when you want to strip back on the hard-sell and keep people focused on what happening on the core real estate.

The result is a silent corridor; a complete end-to-end column that is empty and has nothing to offer anybody wandering into it. If you try to use it, you will go unheard.

It's not actually a bad thing to happen though, despite the eerie name it has become Christened with.

Template and layout consistency is very important for a good user experience and so by using a silent corridor effectively, you can keep your users focused on the important content on a page, instead of ramming unnecessary links and promos in their face and making them claustrophobic.

(oh dear, I think the hospital connotations are starting to take over!).

Labels: experience, ia, theory

Posted at: 12:18 PM by Hammad

The recent exhibition stand we produced for Picsolve has been so sucessful that it's been sent out to their Far Eastern division in China and we've been commissioned to produce another one for the European market.

The design of the stand included a number of innovative ideas and combined with the striking artwork throughout is clearly world-class. Some of the things we did on the project:

• Engineered a new wall hanging / hook system to create a seamless and roll-top finish.
• Built a centre console in-house for their kiosk, that can be packed down into standard flight cases.
• Embeded mini-touch screens to make the stand interactive; including artwork.

Labels: exhibition, marketing, picsolve

Posted at: 12:14 PM by Hammad

This month we've completed an update to the ever growing Diva Telecom brand.

Since we first worked with them (almost 3 years ago), Diva have always been keen to keep their brand and communications fresh - a strategy that has clearly worked, as they're enjoying phenomenal growth (including a new home in their super-environmentally friendly offices).

In parallel to the growth of the product and service ranges Diva Telecom carry, we've produced a new suite of illustrations to bring life and identity to each one. The bright, modern styles keeps within style we previous set in the brand, justifying the approach we took (which was to plan for scale).

The new designs are already in use on a refreshed web site at www.divatelecom.co.uk

Labels: branding, creative, diva telecom, illustration

Posted at: 12:02 PM by Hammad

If you're a small, growing business that could benefit from some equity investment, you wont find a better place to research and contact the right people than the new Growth Investment East Midlands web site which was launched this month.

www.ginem.co.uk

Following a formal tendering process, the EMDA backed organisation commissioned Persona as their brand stewards and communications agency.

Our remit has been fully integrated and so far we've delivered a new visual identity, marketing material, advertorials and event signage.

The key channel though is the new web site at www.ginem.co.uk which has been developed on our Content Management System (CMS) for easy maintenance and longevity. The site has a clean, professional and modern design that's aimed at entrepreneurs, along with a suitable wealth of no nonsense news, articles and resources. It's worth bookmarking this one, as already the site content is updated regularly with events and videos.

Don't forget, if you need to regain control of your web site and could benefit from a more user-centric communications strategy, speak to us and we can have a friendly chat to see if we can help.

Labels: advertorials, cms, illustration, signage, technical, web design, website

Posted at: 2:07 PM by Marianna

Persona is involved in a new IA project for the redesign of one of a partner's client website. The deadline for designing a new sitemap for the client's website was tight so we conducted a card sorting exercise to identify possible ways to design the navigation layout.

The Card sorting method was chosen among other user-centred design methods as it is a useful tool Information Architects' use when they have to design a website sitemap in a quick, inexpensive, and reliable way. Card sorting helps efficiently structure the information you have. Furthermore, it gives suggestions for navigation, menus and taxonomies. (Donna Maurer)

The card sorting method usually does not provide results that can be used in the final structure of a sitemap, but can help to resolve several initial issues as:

• Structure the Information under the same group
• Find names for the groups
• Identify categories that the Information Architect might have not included
• Identify whether users want to see information structured with focus on subjects, audiences, or both

In order to organise the test sessions, we formed a list with items that could be placed in each card. Then we created 53 different cards with short labels that participants could quickly read but were detailed enough for the card content to be comprehensible. Seven individuals were invited to participate on the exercise. They were advised to carefully read the cards and try to group them accordingly. Throughout the sessions, we tried to answer some of their questions and took some notes to keep track of insightful comments they made. Finally, at the end of each session, we encouraged each individual to add any other cards he thought would be appropriate, or exclude any he thought were not relevant within any group.

Some individuals preferred to organise the cards in groups and then decide which will be the name of each group (picture 1, 2) while others chose to form a sitemap by first identifying the main navigation sections and place each card under them where appropriate (pictures 3, 4, 5). None of the individuals added any new card, though some of them excluded some which proves that we might have added more cards than those needed.

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

Picture 4

Picture 5

After the completion of the exercise, we gathered all the results and designed a sitemap, taking into account most of the users' preferences. The whole card sorting procedure proved to be very helpful as we wanted to form a navigation layout that would be more user- than project-driven. This method of involving real users before the design helped reach that goal and it also reduced the research time.

Finally, we would like to thank all the participants involved for their time and clever suggestions.

Labels: card sorting, experience, ia, sitemaps