Practice

The brief

PEER1 was looking to revitalize online user experience to help re-define its competitive position as a leader player in the managed server market. The client required a ground-up re-design to include architecture and taxonomy and a fresh look at its competitive position against other major players in its markets. The brief called for recommendations on how to treat UK and North American operating units and the feasibility of presenting the entire product range in one website.

What we did

Our research phase required in-depth review and benchmarking of competitors’ websites to establish current practice and conventions, together with analysis of rich data from online surveys to develop an understanding of the specific issues that were facing users in interacting with the existing site.

AKG reported our findings through a  series of workshops, creating forums in which a range of stakeholders across the international business could appreciate the issues and add their experience of user feedback. We used this shared knowledge as a base for exploring a range of key areas from the categorisation and naming of products to the expression of corporate identity through tone of voice and imagery across the website.

The next step was to create a particularly clear creative brief, detailing user-types and the impressions and outcomes that we were looking to generate for each. The ‘one website strategy’ recommendation was accepted, and we were able to move into the information architecture and user experience phase.

As is invariably the case, the solution called for simplicity and clarity in IA and user experience. A needs-based primary menu was supported by collateral that individual users could easily identify with. Interfaces were to present often complex information in a clean and uncluttered manner, with clear calls to action. When it came to visual design, the solution was strikingly contemporary, updating corporate imagery and creating a sparing information layout for ease of consumption.

The results

PEER1 now has a relevant and credible online presentation style, on an architecture that enables users to get to information quickly and with confidence. The site is a key step in the evolution of the client’s corporate identity and its interaction with defined target audiences.

PEER1 homepage