Our Process
Our approach is collaborative & iterative.
We facilitate direct collaboration between our team and our clients, simplifying communication and shortening feedback cycles. Clients have direct access to the people actually doing the work, preventing misunderstood goals or miss-communicated technical requirements.
Throughout the design and development process we embrace feedback wholeheartedly, presenting iterations for client review and making incremental improvements toward the completed product. Design and development are simultaneous tracks in an integrated process. We prototype early, invite feedback, and iterate.
Discovery
A Simple Content List
A Site Map based on the Content list
During the discovery phase we work with clients to identify project goals, define the audience, and structure content. As in all other phases of the process, we present discovery materials for review, facilitate collaboration, and make incremental improvements toward completion.
Discovery begins with the very first conversation and continues throughout the process, but is most focused directly after official "kick-off". Specific deliverables in the Discovery Phase include the following:
- Purpose Statement
- This simple, brief narrative captures the core goals of the project. The Purpose Statement is often included in the project proposal.
- Audience Description
- This summarizes the target audience for the project. "Does it work for the audience?" becomes the most essential question throughout the rest of the process.
- Content List
- We audit existing content and discuss opportunities for creating new material to engage the target audience. The Content List is a simple, flattened list of all content to be included in the project.
- Site Map
- Once the Content List is approved, we work to create an effective Site Map for channeling users effortlessly to content. The Site Map is provided as a simple outline for feedback and revision.
- Wireframes
- Wireframes are at the edge of Discovery, Design, and Implementation, providing a visual representation of the prominence and hierarchy for content on various key pages. We Wireframe "critical" pages for the website—typically the Home Page and one or two other pages.
Design
The transition from Wireframe to Design Concept
Designing the interface begins with internal creative sessions where our team discusses the opportunities uncovered during Discovery. We start designing with rough sketches to illustrate possible solutions for achieving these potentials. During internal meetings, sketches are refined for further evaluation. Once final concepts are approved internally, we create detailed comps for client review.
This initial presentation marks the beginning of an iterative process of design, discussion, and revision between our team and our client. At the end of this process, we will have established a finalized design for the website to be applied to the interactive prototype.
Implementation
The Implementation Phase covers the production of all necessary technical components to achieve the functionality described during the Discovery Phase. We create interactive prototypes early; often even before we have an approved design concept in place.
The build phase consists of a series of short, iterative cycles, as follows:
- First, we create working, un-styled prototypes that provide a baseline for required functionality.
- Next, we present these working prototypes and invite feedback. We collaboratively identify areas for improvement.
- Finally, we build identified improvements, rinse, and repeat.
We invite content editors to begin working with content directly in the interactive prototype, early in the process. This introduces editors to the administrative interface early, and provides valuable content—and feedback—used throughout the process.
As functionality begins to take shape, and once the Design Phase is completed with an approved design concept, we work on applying the approved design to the interactive prototype.