This past week has been spent putting together designs and concepts for some of our new partners. Specifically, creating the bridge pages that lie between our partners' sites (where the content originates) and our Reverse Publishing Platform where a professionally printed book is created. These pages bridge the gap between the two systems, but serve a key function to our consumers - customization.
The SharedBook platform allows users to pick and choose through many different options on a bridge page to create a one-of-a-kind book built on demand. In order to develop this process (which is different for each and every partner) we think through what a user might want. Early in these conversations, we start to list all of the possible combinations - from lists of news articles and blog entries stored in partner databases, to hi-resolution images that will make beautiful covers. We review them all.
Then comes the time to put together the User Interface that will offer all of these options. We envision what can be comprehended in a simple interaction and determine what is too complicated. We combine different options together to make nice "bundles" and continue refining things until we arrive at a simple page or two.
This is when I always stop myself and say, "Why did this take so long?" The resulting page becomes so obvious that it is hard to believe that there was ever a question of how to design it. Anyone who looked at it wouldn't give it a second thought.
This is when I know we've succeeded. We've arrived at the goal that is crucial to a user experience.
Should I quote Shakespeare - "Much Ado About Nothing"? No, it's more appropriate to quote Leonardo da Vinci - "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
Comments