AKQA Interface Design Practice

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AKQA INTERFACE DESIGN PRACTICE

BUILDING INTERFACES
Understand the Customer
Know the Platform
Managing Input
Information Design
Visual Design
Evolve the Solution
Manage the Process

THE PRACTICE OF INTERFACE DESIGN

Designing for TV Screens
Building Mobile Solutions
Creating Rich Video Experiences
Constructing Kiosks

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As digital technologies deliver more and
more sophisticated services, they must
remain easy to use.

How people interact with new digital technologies

is now a point of market differentiation—a great user
experience will contribute significantly to the success
of an online service, new device or technology.

A pioneer in digital media, AKQA has created the

Interface Design Practice, a multidisciplinary team
of user experience, interaction design, user insight,
and behavior specialists.

With a great depth of experience in interactive design,

AKQA has designed some of the world’s most iconic,
influential and well-recognized interfaces.

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building interfaces

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Each interface design project has
to reconcile a new set of competing
demands—customer needs, technical
feasibility and business requirements.

To correctly manage these rival requirements, we have

developed a rigorous interface design and development
process.

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understanding the customer

AKQA PLACES THE CUSTOMER AT THE HEART OF THE DESIGN PROCESS.

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It is crucial to understand the
customers who will use an interface.
We create customer personas that
describe the motivations, goals,
environment, and behavior of the
intended audience.

This is helpful in determining what the user

wants, when they want it, and how they would
like to receive it.

Crisp, accurate, and easy to understand, these

personas enable designers to relate to customers
and make informed decisions on their customers’
behalf.

By understanding our client’s customers we can

formulate a “customer proposition” at the outset.

This serves as a single-minded expression of the

essence of the design solution and is a customer-
focused benchmark for all subsequent design
and development.

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KNOW THE PLATFORM

While it is important to understand

your customer, it is critical to match
this with a deep knowledge of the
platform.

Design principles that apply in one digital medium

are often false in another.

For example, the design of an immersive TV experience

requires a different outlook from that of a mobile
phone application.

Simply put, customer insight is ineffective if not

matched by sound engineering, built on a detailed
awareness of technical feasibility.

As such, our technical staff is heavily involved in

project scoping and discovery, and plays a vital role in
the overall definition, design and build of the solution.

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MANAGING INPUT

Input is everything.

Most digital experiences do the same basic thing

—allow users to find and consume some content
or service.

But they often employ different input devices, and

it is input devices that determine the basic nature of
the interaction between the user and the interface.

For example, kiosks and DVDs share similar display

screens. However, kiosks often use a keyboard and
pointer interface, allowing much richer data input
than TV experiences, which usually rely on remote
controls.

At AKQA, live user testing with the relevant system

and input device forms a crucial part of any interface
design project.

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Create Customer Personas and Develop Customer Scenarios

Identify Core Content and Functionality Set

Identify Priority of Customer Needs

Design Information Hierarchy and User Flows

Design Navigation Systems and Display Layouts

Formulate Display “Wireframes” and Design Principles

INFORMATION DESIGN

A good journey is well-planned.

We use our customer research to prioritize the user’s Keeping in mind the technical capabilities of
needs across an interaction experience. the platform and the functional requirements of
the system, we can generate detailed information
This hierarchy of user needs is then used to generate
hierarchies for each stage of the user journey, and
the information architecture, with overall navigation
create detailed “wireframe” information layouts that
and process flows for the relevant areas of the
feed into the visual design stage of the process.
experience.

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 Develop Design Brief

Create Visual Design Direction

Focus Group Test with Users

Design and IA Refinement

Usability Testing

Visual Design Finalization and Hand-Off

Motion Study Development

Usability Testing

Interaction Design Finalization and Hand-Off

VISUAL DESIGN

Most communication is non-verbal.

Information design is key, but is only one part of In addition to static visuals, we often create “motion
the solution. studies.” These are working models of the interaction
experience that allow for hands-on usability testing of
Working in parallel with the information design
the proposed solution.
workstream, we use our customer and environmental
research to generate a detailed visual design brief that
encapsulates the interaction’s intended communication
and brand objectives.

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EVOLVE THE SOLUTION

Great design does not happen in a vacuum.

At every stage of the process, we seek the input of

a very important stakeholder—our client’s customer.

As noted above, before beginning design work, we

formulate a “customer proposition” to serve as a
single-minded expression of the essence of our
solution.

Presenting this to customers at the outset of a

project helps us determine whether our intended
solution is on the right track.

In-depth focus groups regarding initial visual

explorations provide another key checkpoint for
feedback with customers.

When developing working prototypes, we test our

solution with customers through rigorous usability
tests.

This hands-on user feedback provides direction for

detailed revisions, ensuring all aspects of the solution
meet customers’ needs.

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MANAGE THE PROCESS
Design
A process is only as good as the way › Information and visual design

it is managed. › Rapid prototyping

› Prototype testing with customers

Dedicated project managers scope and manage the
design process within the requirements of specific › Design refinement
client assignments.
› Test the usability of the experience
with customers
Deploying a core team of dedicated resources with
regular internal and external communication points,
we ensure that all participants provide input into all Build
relevant parts of the process. › Finalize design

AKQA has developed an exacting interface design › Complete technical development

project management process: › Generate supporting documentation

Quality Assurance
Scoping
› Rigorously assess technical build
› Define the project objectives and scope for quality and integrity
› Investigate a client’s business, existing assets, › Ensure that all issues are logged,
and competitive environment reviewed, revised and corrected
› Seek a deep technical understanding of the
environment in which the experience Deployment
will be developed
› Deploy to the live environment
› Understand our client’s customers
› Make final checks and monitor
› Formulate and test the customer proposition performance

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the practice of interface design

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCE.

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AKQA has formulated some simple
guidelines that shape our approach
to interface design.

These are not shortcuts to success, nor straightforward

instructions for any design projects on the relevant
platforms.

But they do serve as a distillation of several years’

experience and are useful directions for the practice
of interface design.

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designing for
tv screens

THE WORLD IS WATCHING.

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Designed for the passive reception of moving
visuals at a distance, and with a huge array
of formats worldwide, TV often presents
challenges when creating user-driven
interfaces.

Decide your display Navigation can’t be too easy

TV is changing—you can now view on CRT, LCD, TV is a passive medium—users don’t really want
HD, widescreen. Equally, formats differ across the to interact. Consequently navigation has to be very
globe—PAL, NTSC, etc. It is important to define simple, intuitive, and closely coordinated with the
the screen you are designing for in advance, and input device capabilities.
plan how to gracefully manage the experience on
different screen types. Keep it safe
Keep content within the safe viewing area and avoid
Keep it simple scrolling. Horizontal single lines must be a minimum
Viewers don’t read TV screens. Keep text short of three pixels high to avoid flicker.
and to a minimum.

Color with care

Keep it big
Use TV-safe colors to avoid visual disturbances.
Small graphics and thin lines don’t render well Avoid saturated colors in areas of small detail.
on TV and are best avoided.

Design from a distance

Remember viewers are not seeing the screen up close,
so content needs to be large and clear enough to be
viewed from a comfortable distance. Test all designs on
TV screens from a sofa 10 feet away from the screen.

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building
mobile solutions

DESIGN TO GO.

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Mobile applications present a significant
number of design challenges: limited
screen capabilities, display space and
bandwidth.

Manage memory Know your device

Different phones have different amounts of memory to With a plethora of different operators and different
run applications, and some have very little at all. Keep mobile devices, with diverse screen sizes and
the memory footprint small to keep your applications navigation inputs, it is important to specify your
running smoothly. target devices in advance and build to these alone.

Less is more Test and test again

Given the limitations of screen size, it is important to Different devices implement standards in subtly
carefully prioritize and ration user options to ensure different ways. Create a comprehensive test plan before
that key content and applications can be quickly development and ensure that quality assurance testing
found. takes place on all the relevant devices.

Limit data transactions

Given limited bandwidth, it is important to manage the
number and size of data transactions to and from the
phone.

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creating rich
video experiences

READY FOR YOUR CLOSE-UP?

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Video rich experiences such as in-flight
systems and DVDs often present unique
design challenges, being constrained by
simple input devices and the limitations
of a TV screen.

Produce the experience Route your buttons

The best multimedia experiences are seamlessly With DVDs and in-flight menus, a remote control is
integrated with their content. As such, it is important often required to select content options. In placing
to ensure that transitions, menu items and effects buttons on the screen, it is important to sequence
match the content they surround and are shot your button route in a logical, predictable way that
simultaneously with the content they will contain. matches the up, down, left, right options on the
controller.

Visual design is not functional design

Simplicity and ease of use are much more important
Maximize the medium
than visual complexity. Do not sacrifice function for An immersive multimedia experience will leverage as
form. much storage capacity as necessary, with transitions,
rich audio accompaniment and interactive content.

Orient the user

It is very important to provide continuous visual cues
Check your standards
to the user letting them know where they are, where Individual devices interpret formats in different ways.
they have been, and what they can do next. Check that your authoring tools work on a wide range
of systems, and always test your experience on
diverse players.
Group and name
With limited title space and rich content, the grouping
of information and naming of these groups and options
is crucial to the understanding of and interaction with
the multimedia experience.

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constructing
kiosks

GO PUBLIC.

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Usually public, often using touch screens,
and sometimes requiring complex data
input, kiosks present unique interaction
challenges.

Make it bold Plan the environment

Kiosks often use touchscreens as the primary data Making kiosks physically visible and accessible
input. With no tactile input cues from a remote increases their usage. Map the main paths that
control or mouse, the visual impact of the interaction customers take as they enter the kiosk environment
mechanism is crucial. Buttons should be large, clearly —and then place the kiosk at the most visible point
labeled and look like they should be pressed. along this route.

Make it easy Encourage usage

Unlike computers, game consoles, or DVDs, kiosk People need to know that the kiosk is on, and
interfaces strike most users as unfamiliar – there has something interesting to offer. A good “attract”
are no expert kiosk users. It is therefore important sequence, which plays when the kiosk is not being
to simplify the user’s options and make every process used, should illustrate what people can do on the
very straightforward. kiosk and why they want to do it.

Match the hardware Keep the noise down

Often created by a company for a specific purpose, a Since kiosks are generally in a public place, adding
kiosk’s hardware is often unique. The kiosk interface lots of sound to the experience is disorienting to
should be developed in tandem with the hardware to the user, who has ambient noise to contend with,
create a seamless experience. and distressing to those nearby, who are doing other
things. It is generally best to keep audio to a minimum.

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Case Studies

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contents
Xbox 360
MSN TV 2 Interface Development
Domino’s Pizza
ESPN TV Programming
ED.gov: The U.S. Department of Education
Xbox “Difference” Experience

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 PROJECT COMPONENTS
Develop the user interface for the new
Xbox 360 console.

CLIENT AND PROJECT BACKGROUND

With the launch of Xbox 360, Microsoft kick-started
the next generation of console gaming.

The Xbox 360 represents a dramatic leap forward in

high-definition gaming and entertainment experiences.

Fusing powerful hardware, software, and services,

Xbox 360 creates a gaming experience that is more
expansive, dramatic, and lifelike.

Extending Xbox Live online game play functionality,

Xbox 360 includes a variety of messaging technologies
and introduces an online “Marketplace” where users
can buy new game content over the Live network.

XBOX 360 Becoming a central part of the “digital home,” Xbox

360 also allows users to manage their digital media in
new and innovative ways. They can upload, view, share,
copy, and listen to music, movies and photos from their
Xbox 360 and connect the console to their Windows XP
Media Center PC.

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INITIAL INTERACTION MODELS

PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The user experience needed to be highly
extendable, evolving over time to accommodate
new content and services.

Access to all functionality was confined to the

primary means of interaction with the console
—the game controller.

Microsoft also had specific design requirements

in order to ensure that the console had the
requisite longevity and worldwide appeal:

Target market: Worldwide console gamers

and all their friends and family.

Seamless: A consistent brand experience

through the hardware, software, and services.

Global: Sensitive to technical and consumer

needs across the world.

Simple: Not complex for complexity’s sake,

over-engineered, or forced.

Classic: Having the timeless look of iconic design.

Personalizable: An experience that adapts to the

individual.

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RESEARCH MOTION STUDY 1 - “LOOP”

Our team began by immersing themselves in the home

user environment to understand how the console would
be used, and how people wanted to interact with digital
entertainment in their personal environment.

INTERACTION DESIGN
Focusing in particular on how people were used
to using the game controller, AKQA developed four
high-level “wireframe” interaction concepts that were
organized to be understandable and easy to navigate.

After initial approval from Microsoft, these concepts

were designed as a series of screen mock-ups and
presented to focus groups in key markets around
the globe.

MOTION STUDY PROTOTYPING

After reviewing the feedback, two designs were selected
to be developed into “motion studies,” or interactive
models of how the interface would behave in real-life.
These motion studies were then presented to users
around the world.

DELIVERY

After a long period of deliberation with the Microsoft

console design, development, and brand teams, the
design we codenamed “Concertina” won out.

Built from the ground up to work specifically with

the Xbox 360 game controller, this design offered
easy navigation and speedy access to the content
and services on the console. This design was also
an incredibly efficient use of computing power
—allowing console computing resources to be
dedicated to gameplay.

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MOTION STUDY 2 - “CONCERTINA” RESULTS
The critical response to the interface has been
exceptional:

“It looks like Microsoft’s done an Apple

with the Xbox 360 ... the standout feature
in early reviews is ... the user interface.”

- Leander Kahney, author of Cult of Mac

“What’s impressed me most … is how it

streamlines and refines the user interface.”

- Chris Kohler, Wired News

“The Xbox 360 explores new menu structures with

a unique and pleasant GUI ... I have not seen a
hardware / software system this well thought out
for a decade or more.”

- John C. Dvorak, PC Magazine

“The system’s dashboard menus,

subdivided into Xbox Live, Games, Media,
and System, are intuitive and appealing.”

- Edward C. Baig, USA Today

“One of the most impressive things about the

Xbox 360 is that the user interface is astonishing
... It’s a very interesting user interface.”

- Leo Laporte, This Week In Tech

“The interface is so packed with consistent,

interconnected pathways and smart gamer-type
functions that it blows away anything console
manufacturers have thought of before.”

- Douglass C. Perry, IGN.com

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HOME BLADE

MARKETPLACE BLADE

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MEDIA BLADE

PHOTO ALBUM SCREEN

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 PROJECT COMPONENTS
Concept and develop new ways to access content
and services through the MSN TV 2 service.

CLIENT AND PROJECT BACKGROUND

Affordable, easy to use, and rich in content, MSN TV
provides access to digital services without the need
for a PC.

The latest version of this service, MSN TV 2 Internet

& Media Player was launched in October 2004.

Among other features, the service lets people enjoy

Windows Media®-compatible music, video, and
photos on their televisions from the Web or shared
from files on their networked home PCs.

While its capabilities were unrivalled, MSN TV wanted

to explore ways of streamlining access to the rich
content and services they had created and develop
new interaction models within the constraints of a
TV screen and remote control.

MSN TV 2
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
INTERFACE DEVELOPMENT
› Create a new information architecture
and visual interaction model

› Develop and validate the use of Flash on

the MSN channels service, and show that
it is compatible with partner content
delivery platforms

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TV NAVIGATION MODELING

AKQA SOLUTION
AKQA reviewed the detailed customer research
available, matching content to customer needs
and proposed a consistent and streamlined global
navigation structure, to be coupled with different
content templates for each of the MSN TV channels.

In this way, a coherent user experience was created

that preserved the unique identity of each channel.
Furthermore, color-coding the channels reinforced
their separate status.

These key interaction principles in place, AKQA

then rapidly developed a series of “motion studies”
in Flash on the MSN TV platform. Simultaneously,
these studies illustrated the suitability of Flash for
the presentation of MSN TV content across the
partner delivery platforms.

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RESULTS:
MSN INTEGRATED THE
AKQA DEVELOPMENT
FINDINGS INTO THEIR
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
ROADMAP FOR NEW AND
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.

IN CHANNEL NAVIGATION CANDIDATE - MODULE OVERLAY

IN CHANNEL NAVIGATION CANDIDATE - LIVE TV STREAM INTEGRATION

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IN CHANNEL DIFFERENTIATION - SPORTS

IN CHANNEL DIFFERENTIATION - ENTERTAINMENT

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 PROJECT COMPONENTS
Develop a completely new e-commerce experience
for Domino’s Pizza on both the Internet and
interactive television.

CLIENT AND PROJECT BACKGROUND

Domino’s had been involved in digital media since
1999, when it launched an e-commerce solution
on one of the UK’s first interactive TV channels.
A web site followed soon after.

By 2004 sales through digital channels represented

a significant percentage of Domino’s total orders.
Nonetheless, prospects for additional market
growth were significant.

Seizing this opportunity to revise their services

and grow the digital channel, Domino’s also saw
the chance to update their branding and modernize
the technical infrastructure underlying their
e-commerce services.

DOMINO’S PIZZA PROJECT OBJECTIVES

› Re-develop the interfaces for all digital
platforms to improve the user experience

› Determine a new brand positioning

to differentiate Domino’s from its
key competitors

› Modernize the e-commerce architecture

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CROSS-PLATFORM INTERACTION DESIGN

AKQA SOLUTION
AKQA first focused on the customer needs during
the digital Domino’s experience.

Research showed users want the same from Domino’s

online as they do offline – hot, great tasting pizzas
delivered in around 30 minutes.

The challenge was to create a consistent experience

that reinforced the Domino’s brand across different
platforms and the different interaction methods that
this entailed.

To build a common design language, AKQA designed

the core of the user experience to be as clean and
simple as possible. Simplifying the interaction model
meant that the interface was relatively easy to
translate across platforms.

Brand consistency was built through a cross-platform

approach to visual design, where central design
elements were given similar proportions and placement
on both the PC and the TV. This consistency was
reinforced through the development of a helpful and
personable brand tone for use on all digital platforms.

Customers now see highly consistent branding on all

Domino’s digital properties, interact with Domino’s in
a similar manner on all platforms, and are addressed
in the same way whenever they interact with the
Domino’s brand.

From a technical point of view, the entire Domino’s

e-commerce system was rebuilt and designed for
multi-channel support, to future-proof the system
against the addition of new platforms.

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RESULTS:
SUBSEQUENT TO THE
REDESIGN AND RELAUNCH,
DOMINO’S SALES VIA THE
INTERNET AND THROUGH
INTERACTIVE TELEVISION
ROSE BY 57.6%.

HOME PAGE - SKY ACTIVE

CHECKOUT PROCESS - NTL

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HOME PAGE - INTERNET

ORDER PROCESS - INTERNET

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 PROJECT COMPONENTS
Create a new, interactive marketing platform for
ESPN, serving fans schedules and teasers for the
sports network’s programming.

CLIENT AND PROJECT BACKGROUND

Over the last 20 years ESPN has earned a following
of rabid fans who love the quirky and fun-loving sports
coverage unique to the network.

ESPN.com gives these fans all the sports news, stats,

and analysis they could ever want. But it has never
offered compelling or comprehensive information on
the network’s television programming.

ESPN wanted to create a web presence devoted exclusively

to promoting on-air programming, with deep content for
nearly 70 shows covering a wide breadth of topics.

From professional eating contests, to the US Open, to

athletes’ Hollywood side projects, the site needed to
organize information on vastly different shows in a way
that would be intuitive to both die-hard and casual fans.

At the same time, ESPN wanted to improve the way TV

ESPN schedules were presented online, allowing users to browse
TV grids for all nine ESPN networks quickly, and be able
TV PROGRAMMING to easily find the programming they love.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES
› Drive fans to tune into shows and promote
live events

› Create flexible templates that can be updated

daily or quarterly without ever looking stale

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LANDING PAGE, DETAILS AND TOPICS › Capture the fun-loving personality
that has won ESPN so many fans

› Consider how advertising could

be incorporated into the site

AKQA SOLUTION
Through Nielsen data and ESPN.com’s own traffic
reports, the AKQA team was able to get to know the
site’s young, male target.

Tech-savvy and broadband-enabled, they sent more

email and IMs than their peers, and often watched TV
while surfing the Web. To hook them, the site would
need features and functionality the audience could
not get elsewhere.

To meet these user needs, AKQA created a rich and

deep multimedia experience built around video clips,
show stills, and other ESPN content exclusives:

› Users can navigate shows by category – news,

talk, movies – as well as by sport. So, fans of one
type of show can easily find similar programming

› A Flash-based programming guide lets fans scan

and scroll through up to six weeks of TV schedules

› Personalization tools let fans see air times for their

time zone, get local channel line-ups, reorder their
network listing, choose the default time for their
grid, and even highlight programming related to
their favorite sports

The site design parallels the look of the larger ESPN

online presence, while strategic links and promotions
tied ESPNtv.com to more ESPN web sites.

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RESULTS:

DESCRIBING AKQA AS A
“STRATEGIC PARTNER,”
SHARON OTTERMAN,
VICE PRESIDENT, MEDIA
STRATEGIST FOR ESPN,
NOTED THAT “THEY DUG
IN AND UNDERSTOOD OUR
BUSINESS VERY QUICKLY
AND BECAME PART OF
THE TEAM.”

IN REFERENCE TO THE
NEW SITE DESIGN, SHE
COMMENTED THAT ESPN
“HAS BEEN VERY PLEASED
WITH THE PARTNERSHIP.”

SHOW OVERVIEW

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PROGRAM GUIDE

SHOW DETAIL

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 PROJECT COMPONENTS
Develop a highly flexible and scalable interface that
accommodates thousands of pieces of content, but
is simple for diverse audiences to navigate.

CLIENT AND PROJECT BACKGROUND

The US Department of Education’s web site (ED.gov)
had grown organically from a limited offering to over
80,000 pages of content across dozens of offices
and agencies.

Managing and navigating this huge range of content

was proving to be an organizational problem for the
site owners.

Realizing that a new site structure was needed, the

Department of Education appointed AKQA to review,
redesign, and rebuild the ED.gov site.

The site owners needed an interface that would not

only organize the existing volumes of site material

ED.GOV on ED.gov, but prove scalable as more content was

added to the site over time.
THE US DEPARTMENT
In addition, the site owners wanted to make sure
OF EDUCATION that the very different site users - students, teachers,
parents - could all easily find the content relevant
to them.

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MODULAR INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
› Streamline the site structure and render
all existing content in a unified way

› Ensure a scalable platform for future

site development needs

› Let users define themselves and access

content relevant to their specific needs

AKQA SOLUTION
AKQA worked closely with stakeholders at the US
Department of Education to conduct an audit of their
online presence and craft a new brand approach, site
structure, and design.

AKQA held a brand workshop with over 25 members

of the department, including the department’s Under
Secretary and Chief of Staff. Parents and teachers
were also invited to share in this creative day, held
to help define the vision for the ED.gov redesign.

AKQA then developed flat screens to demonstrate a

new approach to the site’s information architecture
and design, sharing our concepts with different
stakeholder groups involved.

Once the site design was validated, every existing

content element on the site was assessed for
placement within the new site structure.

AKQA then built a set of 16 templates flexible enough

to house all 80,000 content elements. Finally, AKQA’s
technical staff collaborated closely with Accenture,
the Department’s preferred systems integrator, to
work programmed templates into the department’s
new content management system.

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RESULTS:
IN COMMENTING ON HIS
TENURE AS SECRETARY
OF EDUCATION, ROD PAIGE
CITED THE REDESIGN
OF ED.GOV AS ONE
OF THE SIGNIFICANT
ACHIEVEMENTS OF
HIS TIME IN OFFICE:
“THE DEPARTMENT’S
WEB SITE HAS BEEN
TRANSFORMED … TO
ONE OF THE BEST IN THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.”

IN SEPTEMBER 2004,
THE CENTER FOR
PUBLIC POLICY AT HOME PAGE
BROWN UNIVERSITY
RANKED “THE ED WEB
SITE … FIRST AMONG
CABINET AGENCIES.”

EDUCATION WEEK
MAGAZINE COMMENTED
THAT THE NEW SITE WAS
“SOPHISTICATED” AND
“A CLEAR IMPROVEMENT
OVER THE OLD APPROACH.”

PARENTS LANDING PAGE

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EDITORIAL CONTENT LISTING

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND INFORMATION OVERVIEW

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 PROJECT COMPONENTS
Concept, plan and develop a video-rich experience
for Microsoft illustrating the superiority of the Xbox
console.

CLIENT AND PROJECT BACKGROUND

In the run up to the crucial holiday season, Microsoft
wanted to reinforce the amazing gameplay experience
of the Xbox enabled by the console’s advanced
technical capabilities.

A built-in hard disk, together with unrivalled graphics

and Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound, revolutionary
gameplay, and top-quality DVD playback, let gamers
get even more from their Xbox.

The console’s capabilities would soon be further

enhanced with the European launch of Xbox Live,
a revolutionary online gaming service.

Microsoft was looking for an innovative way to

illustrate the capabilities of the Xbox.

XBOX
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
“DIFFERENCE” EXPERIENCE
› Reach out to and connect with a cynical
gamer audience

› Present the superior capabilities of the

Xbox console in a compelling, engaging,
and innovative fashion

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“HEAR MORE” USER JOURNEY

AKQA SOLUTION
AKQA soon determined that a video-rich interactive
experience provided the best way to meet this
challenge.

In surveying the available delivery formats, DVDs stood

out. They allowed for highly visual and compelling
content, with significant data capacity. Furthermore,
DVD players had a high penetration in this market and
were built into the competitive consoles. Finally, it was
a format rarely used for marketing purposes, providing
significant cut-through.

Building upon the core marketing theme of “Play

More,” AKQA proposed that the Xbox “Difference”
experience be built around three pillars:

“See More”: The incredible graphics power of

the console, and high-quality DVD playback

“Hear More”: Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound, and

personalized music ripped to create soundtracks

“Feel More”: Unique gameplay enabled through the

console hard-drive, and new ways to play in Xbox Live

The core creative strategy agreed upon, initial

video footage was developed and captured. AKQA
then designed and authored the entire interactive
experience, building all the menus, transitions,
and content into the DVD.

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RESULTS:
TWO MILLION DVDS
WERE DISTRIBUTED
ACROSS EUROPE VIA
MAGAZINES, DIRECT
MAIL, AND SPECIAL
EVENTS.

A WINNER IN
COMMUNICATION ARTS
MAGAZINE’S “2003
ANNUAL INTERACTIVE
COMPETITION,” THE
XBOX “DIFFERENCE”
DVD WAS DESCRIBED MAIN MENU LANDING SCREEN
BY THE JUDGES AS A
“STRONG CONCEPT
BACKED UP WITH
A CREATIVE
DEMONSTRATION.”

SEE MORE LANDING SCREEN

50
FEEL MORE LANDING SCREEN

FEEL MORE SUB-NAVIGATION SCREEN

51
Thank you.

52
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