June 15, 2011 at 16:26Site concept: how and why to create it
The concept of a site is the first result of site design in the broad sense of the word (in the future I will use it that way, understanding the process of designing and creating a site). And the first thing, in our opinion, is to be evaluated (not in the commercial sense of the word, but in the sense of “getting a quality assessment”).
In the last article about processing the results of the research, I proposed the following concept content : what will the site be, how will it differ from competitors, what will be the stages of development of the site. Further I will tell you why, in our opinion, a concept is generally needed, what is the use of creating it, how it affects the process, and how to evaluate it.
In our opinion, the concept solves three problems:
about evaluating ideas later in the section “Assessing a Concept”.
The formation of an ideological base is an extremely important thing for both the result and the process. The general vision is quite difficult to touch, check or measure, but its absence is very well felt at the important stages of the site: the designer creates the wrong functions, the designer draws not what is needed.
Since the concept is the beginning of design , its main task is to formulate basic ideas and hypotheses. After it comes modeling - synthesis of ideas and decision making. This process is similar to the brain, which first receives and analyzes information, and then instructs us to act in one way or another.
Details in a concept are of secondary importance, unless they define business logic. For example, in the concept of the site of the boutique XXX, it does not matter to us how the search in the catalog will be arranged or what characteristics the product will have. It is important that the catalog will be divided into two fundamentally different categories - for men and women, and that the product must be shown as beautifully as possible (the requirement for the quality of photographs and the interface as an idea ).
Moreover, you need to be aware that part of the concept will postulate fundamental things, and the other part will be hypotheses that we have to test, including at the stage of testing the concept, and then in the design and in the process of the site. For example, in the concept of the site of the boutique XXX, we assume that visitors will use pre-order clothes, and offer them this opportunity. Will they - only time will tell. This is unlikely to affect the solution of the main tasks of the site: all the same, the purchase is made in a boutique, not on the site, and the site's task is to bring the person to the boutique.
Since the concept will be read by the client and future users, it must be written in their languageand nothing else. Try to avoid any technical or special terms, write simply and cheerfully so that you can read it to the end, without making an effort on yourself. Otherwise, you will not get the right response.
We can’t say for sure how effective the next piece of advice will be, but it definitely helps us. When creating the concept, connect another designer or just a person from your team and brainstorm , as a result of which you will: a) form a set of ideas; and b) select the most appropriate ideas. In our opinion, this approach avoids the blurring of the view of the main designer, especially if the new project is similar to one of the previous ones, which happens not so rarely.
I advise you to test your concept on real users of the site with whom you interviewed in the research process. What for?
Firstly, it will give you useful feedback on whether you took their main wishes into account, whether they need such a site . This should not be taken literally, but it’s worth taking note.
Secondly, you get an emotional response to your ideas. The emotional component is extremely important for evaluating the site, no matter how informative and functional it is, no matter how well it solves the problem. This is especially true of the beautiful half of Central Asia.
Thirdly, in this way you show your respect - that the opinion of the user is important to you and you are ready to take it into account - which will be very useful at the stage of real testing of the site, when you need motivated (and, preferably, free) users for subsequent testing of the finished site.
The concept must be presented to at least two parties - the client and users; in some cases, to experts. We expect
from the client that he will approve the general ideas, the way we will solve his problems. As a rule, since the design is in very close interaction with the client, there is no disagreement on the concept. In fact, we just do a verification check so as not to make a serious mistake (and simple errors are easily fixed during prototyping and development). We expect the same
from the user , but we are already interested in whether the proposed concept solves their problem, how they evaluate it emotionally, whether they like it.
From an expert we expect him to evaluate the concept of the current situation (in the market, in the environment of the project) and its prospects.
Assessment of the concept, first of all, answers the question "Is this the best way to solve our problems?" In our opinion, it should look as follows.
First, find out how your respondents perceive the information better - by ear or in text. Ask it plainly - usually people know about it - or analyze your observations during the interview. Next, give the visuals the text of the concept, and the audience - read it.
After that, it is necessary to ask a number of questions that, on the one hand, will show the relation to the concept, and on the other, they will verify the information obtained as a result of the study.
An important point: target groupscan differ quite a lot, so they may need to evaluate different parts of the concept that are relevant to them .
It is reasonable for users to ask the following meaningful questions:
The response from the client cannot be ignored. Firstly, because otherwise he will not accept your job. Secondly, if you do not solve the client’s tasks, then why are you creating a website?
The response from the user - everything is much more complicated here. If users criticize (do not accept) any idea, this does not mean that it is not necessary to implement it. But it must be borne in mind that the first reaction when visiting the site will be just that, and that perhaps the visitor needs to justify this idea, point out its usefulness.
The response from the expertIt is important for understanding how modern the project is, how it meets the requirements of the environment, and what distinguishes it from competitors. For example, if the task is to rebuild from competitors, and according to a survey of experts it turns out that the project is no different or different for the worse, this is an occasion to make changes to the concept.
To summarize:
In the last article about processing the results of the research, I proposed the following concept content : what will the site be, how will it differ from competitors, what will be the stages of development of the site. Further I will tell you why, in our opinion, a concept is generally needed, what is the use of creating it, how it affects the process, and how to evaluate it.
Tasks Concept
In our opinion, the concept solves three problems:
- Identify the main ideas and directions of development and coordinate them with the client.
- Get an assessment of these ideas from future users.
- To form an ideological base, a unified vision of the project for all participants.
about evaluating ideas later in the section “Assessing a Concept”.
The formation of an ideological base is an extremely important thing for both the result and the process. The general vision is quite difficult to touch, check or measure, but its absence is very well felt at the important stages of the site: the designer creates the wrong functions, the designer draws not what is needed.
Key Points in Creating a Concept
Since the concept is the beginning of design , its main task is to formulate basic ideas and hypotheses. After it comes modeling - synthesis of ideas and decision making. This process is similar to the brain, which first receives and analyzes information, and then instructs us to act in one way or another.
Details in a concept are of secondary importance, unless they define business logic. For example, in the concept of the site of the boutique XXX, it does not matter to us how the search in the catalog will be arranged or what characteristics the product will have. It is important that the catalog will be divided into two fundamentally different categories - for men and women, and that the product must be shown as beautifully as possible (the requirement for the quality of photographs and the interface as an idea ).
Moreover, you need to be aware that part of the concept will postulate fundamental things, and the other part will be hypotheses that we have to test, including at the stage of testing the concept, and then in the design and in the process of the site. For example, in the concept of the site of the boutique XXX, we assume that visitors will use pre-order clothes, and offer them this opportunity. Will they - only time will tell. This is unlikely to affect the solution of the main tasks of the site: all the same, the purchase is made in a boutique, not on the site, and the site's task is to bring the person to the boutique.
Since the concept will be read by the client and future users, it must be written in their languageand nothing else. Try to avoid any technical or special terms, write simply and cheerfully so that you can read it to the end, without making an effort on yourself. Otherwise, you will not get the right response.
We can’t say for sure how effective the next piece of advice will be, but it definitely helps us. When creating the concept, connect another designer or just a person from your team and brainstorm , as a result of which you will: a) form a set of ideas; and b) select the most appropriate ideas. In our opinion, this approach avoids the blurring of the view of the main designer, especially if the new project is similar to one of the previous ones, which happens not so rarely.
Assessment Concept
Why is this needed?
I advise you to test your concept on real users of the site with whom you interviewed in the research process. What for?
Firstly, it will give you useful feedback on whether you took their main wishes into account, whether they need such a site . This should not be taken literally, but it’s worth taking note.
Secondly, you get an emotional response to your ideas. The emotional component is extremely important for evaluating the site, no matter how informative and functional it is, no matter how well it solves the problem. This is especially true of the beautiful half of Central Asia.
Thirdly, in this way you show your respect - that the opinion of the user is important to you and you are ready to take it into account - which will be very useful at the stage of real testing of the site, when you need motivated (and, preferably, free) users for subsequent testing of the finished site.
What do we want to hear
The concept must be presented to at least two parties - the client and users; in some cases, to experts. We expect
from the client that he will approve the general ideas, the way we will solve his problems. As a rule, since the design is in very close interaction with the client, there is no disagreement on the concept. In fact, we just do a verification check so as not to make a serious mistake (and simple errors are easily fixed during prototyping and development). We expect the same
from the user , but we are already interested in whether the proposed concept solves their problem, how they evaluate it emotionally, whether they like it.
From an expert we expect him to evaluate the concept of the current situation (in the market, in the environment of the project) and its prospects.
How to evaluate
Assessment of the concept, first of all, answers the question "Is this the best way to solve our problems?" In our opinion, it should look as follows.
First, find out how your respondents perceive the information better - by ear or in text. Ask it plainly - usually people know about it - or analyze your observations during the interview. Next, give the visuals the text of the concept, and the audience - read it.
After that, it is necessary to ask a number of questions that, on the one hand, will show the relation to the concept, and on the other, they will verify the information obtained as a result of the study.
An important point: target groupscan differ quite a lot, so they may need to evaluate different parts of the concept that are relevant to them .
It is reasonable for users to ask the following meaningful questions:
- How do you like the idea of the project as a whole? Will you be interested in such a project?
- Has anything attracted your attention especially? What would you like to know more about?
- Will you visit / use such a project?
- What is most important for you on such a project? What will you do most often?
- Have you seen similar sites? Can you compare our concept with them?
- So did you imagine the project?
- Does such a project solve your problems?
- Do you like this concept?
- How modern is the concept, is it consistent with current trends?
- How does the concept meet the needs and requirements of consumers?
- How competitive is the project?
What to do with the received response
The response from the client cannot be ignored. Firstly, because otherwise he will not accept your job. Secondly, if you do not solve the client’s tasks, then why are you creating a website?
The response from the user - everything is much more complicated here. If users criticize (do not accept) any idea, this does not mean that it is not necessary to implement it. But it must be borne in mind that the first reaction when visiting the site will be just that, and that perhaps the visitor needs to justify this idea, point out its usefulness.
The response from the expertIt is important for understanding how modern the project is, how it meets the requirements of the environment, and what distinguishes it from competitors. For example, if the task is to rebuild from competitors, and according to a survey of experts it turns out that the project is no different or different for the worse, this is an occasion to make changes to the concept.
Summary
To summarize:
- The main task of creating the concept can be formulated as follows: to form the ideological basis of the project and evaluate it *.
- The concept needs to be discussed with the client, users and experts.
- The response to the concept shows us more or less reliably whether it solves the tasks of the client and users.