Designing an international corporate homepage in 2012
August 10, 2012 7:42 AM Subscribe
Looking for some user studies/research about homepage redesign for large global companies.
A client has asked for some research to help inform their decision about homepage redesign. They are expanding their North American site to represent their global presence, so there are several inherent decisions about localization in play.
Our proposed design options suggest a range of evolution, from close to where they are now, to new design. They are a little averse to change, so we have to prove our ideas.
Their current design is very billboard-like, which they describe as bold, high-impact, different than any other competitor sites out there. They like its simplicity, cleanliness, and differentiation, which they interpret as a strong brand experience.
Our options included indexible text, promotional space, and some additional messages (in addition to some navigation exploration).
The client feels that these make the site look a lot like competitor sites, though they also acknowledge that their current site might be "old school", akin to the old flash intros that people loved for a while. They also recognize that the similarity between sites might be driven by best practices/design standards, and they are like that because the interface works.
I have a few Nielsen articles, and I'm sure there is more out there. I'd like to give the client 3-4 links to studies, with an abstract of the pertinent info, exploring the strengths/weaknesses of both approaches.
Would appreciate any links or advice from UI/web design experts out there.
A client has asked for some research to help inform their decision about homepage redesign. They are expanding their North American site to represent their global presence, so there are several inherent decisions about localization in play.
Our proposed design options suggest a range of evolution, from close to where they are now, to new design. They are a little averse to change, so we have to prove our ideas.
Their current design is very billboard-like, which they describe as bold, high-impact, different than any other competitor sites out there. They like its simplicity, cleanliness, and differentiation, which they interpret as a strong brand experience.
Our options included indexible text, promotional space, and some additional messages (in addition to some navigation exploration).
The client feels that these make the site look a lot like competitor sites, though they also acknowledge that their current site might be "old school", akin to the old flash intros that people loved for a while. They also recognize that the similarity between sites might be driven by best practices/design standards, and they are like that because the interface works.
I have a few Nielsen articles, and I'm sure there is more out there. I'd like to give the client 3-4 links to studies, with an abstract of the pertinent info, exploring the strengths/weaknesses of both approaches.
Would appreciate any links or advice from UI/web design experts out there.
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But this question would be easier to answer if you could state the client's goals for the site. (I realize this is no mean feat, but it's the first thing you should be doing when proposing a redesign to a client.) Then you find studies/articles outlining the best approach to meet those goals (and the ones saying xyz approach does not work for abc goal). Then you find examples of competitors in their market segment doing it right and also the ones doing it wrong.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 1:23 PM on August 10, 2012 [1 favorite]