SmartMonkey Media: Return on Design

Seven steps to usable Web sites that return on your investment

WHO DESIGNS THE BOTTOM LINE?

Despite the so-called dot-com bust, the fact is that more people use the Web - and more companies rely on it - than ever before. But to succeed in today's cost-conscious economy, Web producers must use fewer resources to create effective, usable sites that return on the client's financial investment.

How? Veteran designer Ani Phyo brings a survivor's savvy and hard-won design experience to the one book that takes on the bottom line of Web design. Phyo shows how the key principles of user-centered information/interaction design can streamline any Web development project, making the site more effective and easier to use, and better meeting the client's business goals. She outlines a straight-forward, seven-step process for developing the right site in the right way, saving time and money in the long run.

You'll learn how to:

Evaluate a current site, assess its competition, accurately sample its target audience, and help the client articulate needs and expectations.
Assemble the right team for the job.
Create accurate portraits of diverse audience members, and envision how they will move through the site.
Determine with confidence what content the site should offer and how it should function.
Design a professional site-navigation scheme and create functional prototypes to test it.
Conduct a controlled usability test - even on a shoestring budget - and make the most of user feedback.
Build in mechanisms that gather ongoing feedback, so the client can revise the site appropriately and cost-effectively.