From self-service interfaces, information based websites, games, mobile applications or desktop software; good customer experience differentiates one company from another.
Website structure and content
Before any pages are even conceived of, the first stage is to map out the architecture with a sitemap to plan the structure, which will help visitors find content on your website and fulfill their goals. Orange Bus also use this document with its clients to plan the pages of content and labelling of the website. A content audit will allow existing websites to be reviewed to ensure only up-to-date, relevant, concise and useful content is being taken forward.
User feedback, early and often, maintains the confidence in the project and may start as early as the website structure, getting real end-users involved in card sorting (organising a list of content into groups and providing labels) and testing proposed sitemaps to refine and improve the structure.
On more functional websites, Orange Bus will compile user tasks flows which allow the customer journey to be mapped out and refined down to the optimum process.
Sketching
Every idea starts with pen and paper to quickly iterate between concepts and get lots of ideas out on the table so we can discuss as a team. Orange Bus often invite clients to take part in this process through a collaborative workshop to utilise their valuable experience, shorten the decision process and allow joint ownership of the project to create a well thought out design that everyone feels confident with.
Wireframes
Much like an architect and a new building, the wireframes form the blueprints of the website, laying out the page to indicate the order of play and document the interactions which take place on the page. Changes at this stage are far more cost effective than during the website development, therefore every project is wireframed at Orange Bus to allow clients to provide feedback early on without the distraction of the visual design.
Prototyping
Interactive low-fidelity prototypes based on the wireframes allow navigation, content and interactions to be tested early on with real end users through usability testing and help test out ideas quickly and make changes, reducing the potential of costly changes during the development. The prototype can also demonstrate the proposed concept to wider stakeholders for sign off.