When it comes to building mobile products it takes a tight collaboration between content and design. Mobile users are task driven, want localized information, and have multiple elements around them competing for their attention. Design can't meet the users needs by merely creating a lovely interface, and content strategy can't tailor content independent of the device constraints. Together, Content Strategists and Designers can optimize the user experience for mobile to ensure the products are useful and usable. Through a case study, we share our method for co-owning the product creation and putting siloed design to bed.

1. hugeinc.com
info@hugeinc.com
45 Main St. #220 Brooklyn, NY 11201
+1 718 625 4843
June 7, 2011
It Takes 2 To Make a Thing Go Right
Jessica L’Esperance
Experience Director
@jessless
Erin Scime
Associate Content Strategy Director
@erinscime

2. • Many parties involved.
• Varying skillsets.
• Limited time and money.
• Technology constraints.
2.
Digital design can get pretty crazy.

3. • Many parties involved.
• Varying skillsets.
• Limited time and money.
• Technology constraints.
3.
Digital design can get pretty crazy.
And mobile only makes it harder.

4. Tight constraints call for tight
collaboration.
1. The two of us
2. Case study
4.

5. The two of us.
Part 1:

6. Jessica L’Esperance
• Obsessed with vegetables
• Visited 36 countries
• Teach mobile design at
Miami Ad school
• Trained as a Librarian
Erin Scime:
• Karaoke with soul
• Eats anything [natural]
• Former life in art museums
• Trained as a Librarian
You and I.

7. About HUGE.
We help companies build
digitally-driven businesses.
Our stats.
$12.3 billion per year
150 million people per month

8. HUGE Work.
• We are in DUMBO, Brooklyn.
• Our Notable Mobile work: HBO, Adult Swim, Reuters,
NYCGO, Target, Nutrisystem, Newsweek
• We work within User Experience Group (50ppl/350ppl).

11. Case Study.
Part 2:

12. 12.
Our hospitality client.
• Five star hotel chain known for its impeccable service.
• Consistently reviewed and honored in Travel & Leisure.
• Over 90 hotels & resorts worldwide.
• Mix of leisure and business travelers.
• Corporate office partners with local owners to manage the hotels
and for use of brand.
• Website managed by corporate office.

13. 13.
The assignment.
Large-scale redesign of web property & mobile experience.
Our strategy:
1. Increase SEO
2. Update visual style
3. Optimize booking flow
4. Build a new architecture
5. Personalize the experience

14. 14.
Good mobile design considers
both sides.
User
Goals
Business
Goals
• Why go mobile
• Core value proposition
• Investment
• Targets
• Use cases
• Understands the context

15. 15.
As designers, we care about two
parts of the same product.
Experience Design:
• User goals & tasks
• Features & functionality
• Navigation & flow
Content Strategy:
• Content experience
• Business case & ROI
• Content production & distribution

16. 16.
Imperatives for website.
1. Create a sense of place
2. Show me, Sell me
3. Every place has its own story to tell
4. Get me right, wow me if you can
5. Meet guests where they are
Informed the site’s
feature planning,
content planning,
and design

17. 17.
Content Strategy shifted for mobile.
Web Content Strategy Mobile Content Strategy
• Major clean up of entire holdings • Subset of holdings
• Long-term analysis & planning • Freedom in creativity with subset
• Content is managed • Content is pushed
• Tell multiple stories with content • Tell a single, focused story
• Significant editorial restructuring • Refined editorial structuring

18. 18.
For design, we focused on mobile-
specific needs.
• Understand the primary use cases & support them.
• Reduce load time by cutting videos & photos from core exp.
• Make it easy to read on a small screen.
• Expose navigation, as opposed to teaser content.
• Make form inputs as painless as possible.
• Elevate local and immediate needs.

19. 19.
For this client, booking was core.
Mobile focus:
• Find and book a property
• Get directions
Web consumption model:

20. 20.
Mobile scope: what made the cut.
1. Homepage
2. Property page
3. Booking flow pages
4. Photo galleries
5. Menus
6. A LOT of phone numbers

21. 21.
How we divided and conquered.
Experience Design:
• Optimize booking flow
• Establish a flexible navigation
for properties to accommodate
needs
• Make photos findable, but not
dominant
• Link to full site for heavy lifting
Content Strategy:
• Prioritize content that will
encourage booking
• Language must be more
instructional instead of
marketing

22. We narrowed down offerings.

23. Reprioritized experience.

24. Supported core tasks.
Mobile-only features got phased out.
1. Book tonight
2. Find nearest hotel.

25. 25.
Worked closely with developers.
1. Relationship needs to be tight.
2. We didn’t design every page, but
instead a few key pages.
3. Content model allowed us to skip
documentation and instead rely on
communication.

26. 4 Insights.
Conclusion:

27. Insight 1:
Mobile is not an add-on.

28. 28.
Businesses are thinking impulsively.
“We have $50k to burn.
This iPad thing seems cool -
Let’s try something with that!”
“…and we’ll launch it in 3 weeks!”

29. 29.
Content is your product. There should
be a payoff for investing in it.
• Clear value proposition
• Differentiation from competition
• Resources to create and manage it
• Long-term plan
= Return on investment

30. 30.
Mobile content is just one part of the
larger ecosystem.
Brand
X
Core Site
Newsletters Web
Android app
iPhone app
Print / Broadcast
Mobile
Micro-site /
Campaign site
Mobile Touch Site
Blackberry app
Marketing
Email blasts
WAP
Social
Media
Facebook
Twitter
Digital
platforms
iTunes
YouTube
Content
inventory
Roku
Game counsels
In-store digital
E-readers
Apple / Google TV

31. Various content
properties revenue
Mobile app or site
revenue
31.
Think about how mobile can
augment entire business model.

32. Insight 2:
Your core offering should drive
your mobile initiatives.

33. 33.
Primary purpose with minimal fluff.
Check flight status &
check in
Access sale slinger in
store
Book a hotel on the
road

34. 34.
A broader payoff.
Check flight status &
check in
Access sale slinger in
store
Less airport staff &
shorter check-in lines
Increased chance of in-
store purchase
Increased chance of
impulse / convenience
purchase
Book a hotel on the
road

35. Insight 3:
Mobile is less about visual design
and more about context & use
case.

37. People use mobile everywhere.
• 84% at home
• 80% during misc. downtime throughout the day
• 76% waiting in lines of waiting for appointments
• 69% while shopping
• 64% at work
• 62% while watching TV (alt. study claims 84%)
• 47% during commute in to work
Cpmpete Smart phone report.
http://blog.compete.com/2010/03/12/smartphone-owners-a-ready-and-willing-audience/

38. Cut to the chase.
1. Make it easy for people running on a network
2. Use very few images
3. Prioritize content
4. Use numbered menus for navigation
5. Vertical scroll is your best friend
38.

39. It needs to be a product people love.
39.

40. Insight 4:
Mobile moves fast.
Collaboration is essential.

41. E-­‐Commerce
Barnes & Noble
British Airways
Dish Network
IKEA
JetBlue Airways
Mattel
Nestle Water
Nutrisystem
Sigma-Aldrich
Target
Under Armour
The Vitamin Shoppe
Media & Entertainment
A&E Television Networks
Advance Publications
Fox Broadcasting Company
Macmillan
MTV Networks
NBC Universal
The New York Times Co.
Scholastic
Thomson Reuters
Time Warner
Walt Disney Company
Warner Music Group
Educa,on
&
Non-­‐Profit
Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation
American University
Amnesty International
The City of New York
Columbia Journalism School
Girl Scouts of America
Nat’l 9/11 Memorial & Museum
National Association of Realtors
New York Philharmonic
The One Foundation
The Red Cross
West Point Military Academy
Marke,ng
Pla8orms
Cisco
Electrolux
Ericsson
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Johnson & Johnson
L’Oreal Group
MasterCard
Nintendo
Nokia
PepsiCo
Samsung
TransAmerica
Our process; tweaked for mobile.

42. 42.
The mobile team.
• Extend upfront website team to mobile track
• Lean and mean
• Resource hybrid talents to maximize efficiency
• Staff team for the length of the mobile project
For this project:
• Experience Lead
• Product Designer
• Content Strategist
• Developer
• Project Manager

43. 43.
Be flexible in your working relationship
Together!
• Shared deliverables, instead of waterfall
• Sat next to each other
• Daily check-ins with broader team
• Streamlined client relationship
• Flexibility when direction changed or new ideas emerged
• Saw entire project through

44. hugeinc.com
info@hugeinc.com
45 Main St. #220 Brooklyn, NY 11201
+1 718 625 4843