Interactive Strategy Connecting brands with a meaningful user experience

Julie Booth UX Success

Strategy

Interaction design allows the exchange of information or instructions between a person and a product

•  Web sites •  Handheld devices •  Software applications •  Television •  Radio •  Tools •  Toys •  Machines

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Approach

I work with design teams to design interactive experiences that •  are purposeful •  help users achieve their goals •  accommodate user contexts and

capacities •  are pragmatic •  are elegant •  facilitate the interactions of target

customers that become the brand

I approach interaction design •  from an understanding of how and

why people desire to use products •  as a tireless advocate for users

and their goals •  as a cohesive experience, not just

sets of features and functions •  looking to the future—seeing

things as they might be •  with an understanding that the

user’s interaction IS the brand

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Consulting

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I am an expert in designing and communicating programs that employ a combination of techniques such as web analytics, usability testing, and competitive research to provide the most cost-effective, actionable data that helps business owners improve their efforts.

Some of the activities we may engage in are:

•  Web Analytics

•  Surveys

•  Competitive research

•  Expert usability reviews (heuristics)

•  High and low fidelity usability testing – onsite and remote

•  Participatory design

•  User interviews

•  Business requirements

•  Usage models

•  Persona development

•  Wireframes

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Process

Learn your Business Goals

Define your key Users

Structure your Content

Design the Experience

Align with the Brand

•  Stakeholder interview

•  User research

•  User personas

•  Site maps

•  Content matrix

•  Wireframes

•  Interaction design

•  Prototypes

•  Creative support

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Our process

Goals Users Content Experience Brand

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I work with teams to help orchestrate compelling interactions between the company brand culture and an audience that longs for what it offers and

embraces its larger meaning.

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“People view designers as artists, but their fundamental role is problem

solver.”

Danielle Sacks, Fast Company, 2005

Goals Users

Content Experience

Brand

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Business objectives

Are you looking for a solution? An opportunity? A new way to connect people with your brand?

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Business Objectives

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•  Measure the effectiveness of the “Ultimate Vacation” campaign on www.gohawaii.com

Measurement Strategy

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Print Ads

Gohawaii.com – onsite promotion

Splash Page

Ultimate Vacation

Member Pages Member Pages

Member Pages Member Pages

Share My UV Page

Submit My UV Page

Completion by referring segment

Paid Search Placements

Banner Ads, Emails,

TV Commercials

Viral referrals

Measurement Strategy

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Splash Page

Ultimate Vacation

Member Pages Member Pages

Member Pages Member Pages

Share My UV Page

Save My UV Page

Itinerary Tool

Itinerary Tool

Submit My UV Page

Splash Page

Ultimate Vacation

Splash Page

Ultimate Vacation

Splash Page

Ultimate Vacation

Activity Pages Activity Pages

Activity Pages Activity Pages

“You have to create stuff that people really want, rather than create stuff just because you

can.”

Genevieve Bell, Anthropologist People and Practices Research, Intel

Goals Users

Content Experience

Brand

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User profiles

Who are the people you want to reach?

Jim and Shelby are in their mid-60s and are financially comfortable, so they can travel more freely now. They are empty-nesters and are settling into a snowbird lifestyle, leaving the Pacific Northwest for a few weeks in Hawaii every February. They like to travel with friends. Last year on Kauai, they enjoyed a wide range of activities, like golf, tennis, bird watching, and exploring ancient ruins. They couldn’t see and do everything, though, and want to return for another stay. Both were university professors and have used the Web for research. But neither likes surprises, so Jim and Shelby use travel agents to plan trips, especially when they travel internationally. Since they were satisfied with their last hospitality experience in Kauai, they don’t mind using the Web to book accommodations at a trusted resort again.

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User profiles

…you uncover opportunities •  Jim and Shelby, a couple enjoying their

“golden years”

•  Want self-sustaining settings for a small group, like a condo

•  Want a peaceful setting. No kids, no loud nightlife.

•  Prefer a “known entity”

•  Enjoy longer stays

•  Appreciate basic amenities and updated or unique room décor

•  Prefer communicating by phone or in-person, but are Web-savvy

When you ask…

•  Who are they? •  What is their environment?

•  What are their expressed and unexpressed goals, needs, and desires?

•  What are they afraid of?

•  How do they like to communicate?

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User profiles

Wants a condo Prefers personal assistance

Wants a peaceful setting

Prefers a “known entity”

Appreciates amenities and style

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User tasks

Example

•  Bullet 1 •  Bullet 2

•  Bullet 3

What do your users want to accomplish?

•  Brian is a new brand manager for a technology company. His company sponsors a racing team.

•  Brian wants to create buzz for his product in the desktop segment

•  Wants to know how to use the racing team sponsorship

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User tasks

•  Can users achieve their goals easily?

•  Can they discover a something new along the way?

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Content Mapping

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•  Can users find content by narrowing into their area of interest?

•  Can contextual content be delivered?

“There is nothing more basic than categorization to our thought, perception, action, and speech.”

George Lakoff, linguist and author of “Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things”

Goals Users

Content Experience

Brand

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Prioritizing features and functions

Specify tools and technologies that

•  Support business goals

•  Make it pleasing and compelling for users to interact with content

No more, no less.

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Organizing content

How will people find what they need? How do you surface critical tasks or information while enticing users to explore your content more deeply?

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Organizing content

•  High “findability”

•  Building for discovery

•  A balance between surfacing quick answers and promoting deeper exploration

Thoughtful information design is about

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“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple, Inc.

Goals Users

Content Experience

Brand

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Modeling the experience

•  Will it be simple and even pleasant to use?

•  Prototypes give us a place to play

•  Interaction begins here, and we can observe the results

What will happen to Betty, who always likes to match a name with

a face?

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Modeling the experience

One Monday morning, Betty logs into her Symantec account. There’s a message for her about a replacement to SymCard that has been launched over the weekend.

“Terrific,” thinks Betty. “I’d love to see what Vijay Kumar looks like, since I am calling him in a half-hour.”

She links to the new Social Network page and enters Vijay’s name into a search box. She finds Vijay’s name and reads his profile. “He’s interested in darts” she notices. “I should invite Vijay to connect with Nigel in Reading.”

Pleased she’ll have his face in mind as they talk, Betty makes a quick email connection with Vijay and sends him a message about Nigel’s darts blog, her picture, and a link to her profile.

Betty’s goal: put a face to Vijay’s name

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Modeling the experience

Betty searches to find a particular profile.

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Modeling the experience

Betty had no idea there were so many “Vijay Kumar’s” at Symantec.

She narrows her search on this screen.

She finds the right Vijay Kumar and clicks on his name to view his profile.

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Modeling the experience

Betty reads about Vijay’s personal interests.

She makes a connection with him from this page.

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Modeling the experience

Betty sends Vijay an email that includes her picture and a link to her profile

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“The product is the brand. You build brand in our industry through the product and the

experience.”

Jim Wicks, VP and Director of Consumer Experience Design, Motorola

Goals Users

Content Experience

Brand

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Brand alignment

I believe that no customer encounter takes place in isolation; instead it is just one component of a continuous brand experience.

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Contact

Julie (jb) Booth

jb@juliebooth.com 503.312.8685

Twitter: lightingdiva

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/juliebooth

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