User Experience: Just Because it’s Pretty Doesn’t Mean it Works

We talk a lot about creating digital customer experiences here at Delvinia. It’s what we do. Understanding the customer is the first step in any project. And, once we’ve collected those insights, we have to apply that knowledge through the design process.

That’s Andrea Reck’s job. She’s our Senior User Experience Lead. I recently sat down with her to chat about what that means and what she views as essential elements in user experience design. Here’s what she had to say.

“It’s like a puzzle,”  Andrea says. “I take all of the pieces and organize them on the page where it makes sense. I always try to take a step back as if I was going to the site for the first time. I ask myself; why am I here, what do I want to do and how do I want to get there?”

Is your website working for you?

Although Andrea says there is no cookie cutter approach to user experience design, she follows certain principles in her work. Here are a few:

The process needs to be intuitive. You have to design a site so it takes the thinking out of it and empowers the user to let them know they’re on the right path.

When it comes to the home page, I’m a minimalist. Don’t put everything and the kitchen sink on there. The home page is a gateway that should lead users to relevant areas of the site.

The site navigation is very important. Depending how deep the site is, I look for breadcrumbs; it’s just one more way to make the user’s life easier. You don’t want a user to rely on the back button. If that’s the only way for a user to recover, that’s wrong. Give them multiple options. Know where you are, where you came from and how to get back there.

Don’t put your user in a dead end. Always give them a place to go. If they scroll down, give them a way to get back to the top of the page. Give them a call to action. Keep them moving.

Keep it simple

Don’t overwhelm your users. Too much animation and interaction can be overwhelming.

Make sure each page has its purpose and its place.

Users scan. They don’t read. Avoid large blocks of text. Use bullet points. Make the information easy to digest.

Anything important shouldn’t be more than a few clicks away. For example, a user shouldn’t have to go five pages deep to make a transaction. If it’s important, either keep it global (on every page) or have a minimum amount of clicks.

As much as each page is its own beast, consistency matters. Within a few clicks users should get a sense and feel of how the site works.

Delvinia Wins W³ Award for COC Website Design

The Canadian Opera Company‘s website, designed by Delvinia, continues to garner international attention.

The newly redesigned site, unveiled in March, has been honoured with a Silver Award in the 2011 W³ Awards, announced this week by the International Academy of the Visual Arts.

The W³ Awards, which received more than 3,000 entries this year, honour creative excellence on the Web, and recognize the creative and marketing professionals behind award winning Websites, Web Video and Online Marketing programs.

The award is the fourth for the Canadian Opera Company site, which has also been recognized with an International Stevie Award in the 2011 International Business Awards, with a WebAward in the Web Marketing Association in its 15th annual WebAward Competition and with an Outstanding Achievement award in the 2011 Interactive Media Awards competition.

For more information about the Canadian Opera Company and the redesign of the website, please see our case study.

COC Adds Online Radio to Delvinia-Designed Website

The Canadian Opera Company‘s award-winning website, designed by Delvinia, is now home to an exciting new online venture.

COC Radio is the latest interactive element to be included on the site, which underwent a creative refresh following the launch of the COC’s new brand earlier this year.

Delvinia worked with the COC to develop the concept for the initiative, which features recordings of productions by the COC’s broadcast partner CBC Radio 2, interviews with singers and members of a production’s creative team, and podcasts of COC-hosted talks.

“The addition of COC Radio is yet another component in a series of highly engaging elements that offer a rich user experience to online visitors,” said Delvinia CEO Adam Froman. “This initiative is part of the opera company’s overall strategy to turn its website into a hub for opera content in Canada.”

Through this new venture, visitors to coc.ca will now be able to find a variety of audio and digital features available for downloading and live streaming, all aimed at exploring an opera and its background as well as the artists appearing with the COC.

“We think that COC Radio can become a valuable resource for people to discover and explore their love of opera,” says COC General Director Alexander Neef. “The materials available and the digital platform will be a great way to highlight opera and all the wonderful artists who work with the COC. With the help of companies like Delvinia lending us their expertise and support, our aim is to have it go beyond COC content exclusively, so that COC Radio may join other online sources nurturing and cultivating knowledge of opera in Canada.”

Since 2008, Delvinia has worked closely with the COC as its digital marketing sponsor, developing the opera company’s overall digital strategy and experience design, initially relaunching the COC’s website in January 2009.

The launch of the company’s new brand in early 2011 provided the perfect opportunity to refresh the website by incorporating strategic improvements rooted in an understanding of the digital behaviours of the COC’s audience.

For more information about our work with the Canadian Opera Company, please refer to our case study.