Strategic Web Design: Visual Strategy Ben Wong, Interactive Design Manager Kelley Jarrett, Market Manager

Why is Visual Strategy Important? YOUR WEBSITE MAY SAY SO MUCH IT SAYS NOTHING AT ALL PROVIDES AUDIENCE-CENTRIC CONTENT AND NAVIGATION PROMOTES CLARITY AND FOCUS

Kill The Noise: The Importance of Prioritizing Your Content

Prepare to Reduce the Noise: REVIEW YOUR WEBSITE AND ASK YOURSELF: What three user tasks are the highest priority for your organization? Are you giving that user task the loudest voice? Are less important tasks competing with your critical tasks?

Visual Prioritization

YOUR WEBSITE YOUR AUDIENCE

Wireframes Help Prioritize SHOULD BE COMPLETED AFTER AUDIENCE ANALYSIS AND BEFORE VISUAL DESIGN HELP TAKE YOUR WEBSITE FROM SUBJECTIVE TO OBJECTIVE.

Wireframes Help Prioritize IDENTIFY THE TOP 10 TASKS AND PRIORITIZE IMPORTANCE WHEN CREATING A WIREFRAME, CONSIDER:

–  Position –  Size –  Contrast –  Calls to Action

DOCUMENT WHY DECISIONS WERE MADE. PREVENTS COMPETITION AND “CONTENT CREEP”

Audience-Centric Navigation

YOUR WEBSITE YOUR AUDIENCE

Online Card Sorting Online Card Sorting gives your team the ability to determine the ideal structure of your new navigation by grouping pages and tasks into common categories and sorted by importance. This data can be used to create a new sitemap and to drive the visual design of the new interface of your site.

Onsite Card Sorting The Onsite Card Sorting allows us to

work side by side with your team in developing the navigation and interface of your site. Unlike the Online Card Sort, conducting the exercise in person can lead to revealing conversations about the nature of your audience and the deficiencies of your current navigation scheme that can be solved by a effective card sort.

Site map

From the Onsite Card Sorting exercise, a new Site Map is generated. This site map takes all the data gathered during the card sort and compiles it into a diagram of your site’s new navigation scheme, allowing you to visualize how the user will navigate through your content. This site map also acts as a guide for the interface that is developed during the Visual Design process.

Content

YOUR WEBSITE YOUR AUDIENCE

Analyze Your Content ANALYZE CURRENT CONTENT

–  Active Pages –  Broken Links –  # of pages –  Most commonly accessed –  Least accessed –  2 Clicks to Key tasks

DETERMINE KEEPERS AND TRASH

–  What can you leave behind? –  What should you optimize with Calls to Action?

Plan Your Content Strategy ANALYZE CURRENT STATE DETERMINE WEAKNESSES

Recap ANALYZE YOUR AUDIENCE PRIORITIZE TASKS CREATE A VISUAL HIERARCHY THROUGH WIREFRAMES FORM AN AUDIENCE-CENTRIC NAVIGATION ANALYZE YOUR CONTENT DEFINE YOUR CONTENT STRATEGY

Next Steps THE ART AND THE MAGIC BEAUTIFUL DESIGN BASED ON SOLID STRATEGY