we are: London

Our mission was simple; quickly turn the NSPCC’s main site into an effective place to learn about child cruelty, support change, raise money and ultimately end child abuse in the UK.

Our approach

Before we started thinking about the redesign we talked to the end users through a mix of online true intent surveys, providing breadth, and one to one usability testing, providing depth.

Our consultants also spent a great deal of time working with the internal stakeholders to ensure we understood the direction of the business as well as the needs of the customer.

Turning insight into action

From the research we were able to create a clear picture of how the new site should work, keeping in mind the fact that the CMS would not change and much of the site copy would be refreshed but not rewritten.

Our design work was split into two distinct streams, information architecture and brand design.

Rapid prototypes

The information architecture (IA) team started by creating a number of quick paper prototypes, that were quickly worked up to low fidelity wireframes prototypes; all of which were reviewed with key stakeholders on a regular basis.

Brand design

Once the IA had reached a mid-point our visual design team took on the task of refreshing the online brand, in line with the existing NSPCC guidelines. Much of their effort was put into de-cluttering the layout, providing simpler visual clues to key areas of interaction and creating standards across the site from links and photos to templates and navigation.

Prototype to production

The final design phase saw us develop a high fidelity (fully designed) prototype that was used for sign off by the client and as a template for our front end developers to create the code for the CMS.

Working closely with the NSPCC’s own tech team and a pair of freelance Rhythmix experts, we set to the challenging task of integrating a new look with an old site, from navigation and templates to forms and functions.

Amazing results that speak for themselves

Firstly and most importantly the new website, launched earlier this summer, has lead to an eight-fold rise in online reporting to its Helpline about suspected child abuse.

In the month since the new look NSPCC website launched on 28 May, the NSPCC Helpline dealt with 209 online reports from people worried about a child - up from a previous monthly average of 25.

NSPCC digital communications manager Stephanie Hughes said:
“A key objective of the NSPCC website refresh was to provide people with engaging content, and ensure they could find what they were looking for with fewer clicks.

“Making sure everyone could access the NSPCC Helpline, encourage them to seek help and advice and report suspected child abuse, was top of the list.

“To make the Helpline easily accessible to all audiences we’ve placed prominent ‘Report a concern’ links and Helpline promotional units in the right hand column throughout the site, plus an NSPCC Helpline hero banner on the homepage”.

Stephanie Hughes continued:
“It’s important that people feel confident about reporting abuse, and that they are doing the right thing by contacting the NSPCC Helpline. To provide this reassurance all the Helpline pages feature clear, concise copy about how the service works and what happens when you report a concern.

“Overall, we’ve completely reviewed the NSPCC website user journey, to meet our audience’s needs as much as our business priorities, and the site is now fit to support donations, volunteering and campaigning too. Another key factor was to optimise the copy to make sure people would find us when concerned about a child.”

We could not have wished for a better result from our work on this important project.

And the thanks go to…

We worked tirelessly to make the site redesign successful, but we alone can not take all of the praise, we must also highlight the efforts of our client, who helped keep the project on track over time, make sense and rewrite much of the content and be there when we needed them to review and sign off on the project.

Visit the NSPCC website now and help make a difference.

A full press release can be found on the NSPCC PR website

Content strategy, Design, NSPCC, Research, User testing information architecture, Lab Research, Online surveys, user centred design

The National Express group has launched a new look coaches website www.nationalexpress.com/coaches. The re-design of the website is born out of the brand development for the National Express Group, which focuses on their strap line:  ‘Making travel simpler’.

The Project

User centred design specialists, we are:london, was appointed to develop the new branding online by focusing on the navigation, information architecture and template simplicity. Key objectives focused on delivering a website that provided design consistency across the navigation and page templates and produced a cohesive and engaging new site for online users.

Services included:

• User centred design - through our proven methodology, detailed site maps and high level wireframes, in conjunction with brand design concepts, are produced to define the information architecture and navigation of the application. Interactive prototypes are tested thoroughly to ensure the end product is fully functional.

• Project management – working with multiple stakeholders to ensure all parties’ commercial requirements are defined & delivered using a seamless and unified methodology.

• Customer Experience Strategy – providing unparalleled visibility of your customers’ online activities with our monthly site monitoring service.

Outcome

we are:london’s agile development and delivery methodology ensured the project was delivered significantly within the project delivery deadline. Via we are:london’s ‘Customer Experience Strategy’ service, ongoing work to monitor the site’s performance is now underway.

Design, National Express, Research user centred design

National Express is the UK’s leading travel provider, with over 1 billion journeys made every year on its bus, train, light rail and express coach and airport operations. we are:london was appointed to deliver an engaging and interactive website that streamlined the various travel services that National Express operates.

The Project

The National Express group operates a number of travel services and companies and wanted a web portal that combined all of the services under a unified branded portal so that customers could plan their journeys more effectively and efficiently. we are:london recommended the following services:

• User Centred Design – through our proven methodology, detailed site maps and high level wireframes are produced to define the information architecture and navigation of the application. Interactive prototypes are tested thoroughly to ensure the end product is fully functional.

• Remote Testing - remote user testing allows you to connect with geographically dispersed users over the Internet, providing you with a rich insight into the key usability issues.

Outcome

The final version was developed to high fidelity and tested through lab based research to refine the layout, content and services. Changes to the site build were implemented and the brand was developed with National Express and CHI&Partners to meet portal requirements. The site was successfully delivered on time and to budget.  An ongoing review process is in place along with continued multivariate testing.

Design, National Express, Research, Strategy Remote research, user centred design

In November 2007, National Express launched Dot2Dot, a brand new airport transfer service.  With state of the art satellite navigation equipment, congestion tracking systems, highly experienced drivers and a range of specially configured shuttles; dot2dot will be the first-choice for savvy business or leisure travellers.

The Project

National Express recognised that the website interface would be a major factor in the success of this new service.  we are:london was appointed by National Express, with partnering agency Concentra, to deliver an engaging and interactive website with a unique, simple-to-use booking system.

Chris Averill of we are:london comments, “Our business is well-placed to deliver bespoke business solutions, which are created through a breakdown of the market demographics using our powerful user-definition research tools.”

Matthew Lovering, dot2dot Business Development Director, explains why he chose we are:london.  “We appointed we are:london to lead the development of the new website with our customers’ needs at the heart of the process.  As a booking service website it was clear that a user centred design approach was critical to the success of the site and we are:london ’s findings during user testing were instrumental to how the site now looks and works.

Chris and his team’s ability to develop site navigation and a booking process that delivers an extremely intuitive experience is testament to their skills.”

Project Initiation

we are:london simplified the process for the client by appointing specialist agency partners whilst taking full responsibility for the project management. we are:london ’s research team was commissioned to provide a detailed competitor analysis for dot2dot, which revealed its competitors’ strengths and weaknesses

Lab-based testing was undertaken at we are:london ’s custom-built facilities in London, using a broad mix of business & pleasure, domestic & foreign users.

Research Focused

Research findings helped define the brief, which included, target group requirements, site interaction, usability issues and identification of key sectors within the target market.  From the results, we are:london developed a number of iterative information architecture (IA) designs, which the team tested at two key levels. The results from the research prompted a number of dramatic changes during the development phase to both the site and the booking engine.

Design, National Express, Research information architecture, interactive prototypes, user centred design

Interface design & research

The BT Vision website provides comprehensive TV and radio listings, games and service information as well as an e-commerce area for service and programme orders.

we are:london was appointed to make fundamental changes to the existing site that would improve usability, accessibility and navigation. The site needed to reflect the high standards and quality of the new TV service.

Issues & Requirements

• BT required an updated website that identified what the product was, and present it in a clear fashion.
• The site needed to support both new and existing customers.
• It was essential that the navigation was clear and easy for customers to find what they were looking for fast and efficiently.
• As the service grew, there was a requirement to ensure the website design was flexible to accommodate further additions.

Recommendation

we are:london recommended the User Centred Design methodology to research, prototype and test the website with end users. As highly skilled, experienced project managers, we are:london managed the entire project for BT; managing other external agencies and providing cohesive solutions.
Solution

To initiate the project, We carried out a full discovery workshop, identifying BT’s objectives and defining key customer profiles. These customer profiles were taken on ‘user journeys to determine the next stage of the development process.

Information Architecture

The Information Architecture was developed in conjunction with the internal BT Vision team and one other partner agency. We took full responsibility for the project management of this job, providing guidance on the wireframes and identifying the key components for the IA.

In addition, we are:london was responsible for ensuring that the content, design and branding, met with BT Vision’s business objectives for the site.

Usability testing

Extensive lab based testing was conducted with both existing and prospective BT customers; research techniques employed included eye tracking in the lab and an online survey on the existing site. The online survey results reflected the findings from the lab based testing and reinforced the need to make changes to the key site sections.

Tantamount to the success of the website, was the ability for visitors to the site to find the information that they were looking for quickly and to be able to understand the product as efficiently as possible.

Following extensive testing of the site navigation and feedback from the client, we are:london worked with the BT Technical team to implement the final changes and build the site.

Result

The new website is now streamlined to show content in a more powerful and dynamic way. Navigation is easier and more intuitive; with an improved taxonomy ensuring visitors to the site can find what they are looking for quickly and efficiently.

An ongoing review process with continued multivariate testing and further site development is now in place.

BT, Design, Research, Strategy information architecture, interactive prototypes, Lab Research, user centred design