Richer Online User Experience and the New Multimedia

October 27, 2009

BALTIMORE, MD—As much as we at The Berndt Group love to delve into the world of information architecture for huge, content heavy web sites, we are equally fascinated by the impact that can come from a compelling, decisive use of multimedia. While it's true that usability requires that we not make users "learn how to use our new web site" afresh, richer interfaces can sometimes provide surprise, pleasure, and, dare we say it... better usability. For that reason, The Berndt Group has spent considerable time developing richer user interfaces that work, and that provide refined ways of getting at content.

For instance, in developing the National Aquarium's Online Trip Planner application, The Berndt Group used sophisticated drag-and-drop and animation functionality through Adobe Flash. Users can construct their trip plan from a set of up-to-date options that change daily. The entire web experience is rich and entertaining, but also highly functional, and gets considerable use from Aquarium patrons. It's an example of an interface which is both rich (looks and sounds good) and also makes possible quick and accurate access to information in a visually appropriate way. Even better, the application is content managed via RedDot.

Another example of this side of The Berndt Group's work is new interfaces we are developing for the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia. The organization has an excellent archive of materials associated with the history of chemistry that are of broad interest to specialists and scientifically-minded lay people. The Berndt Group is developing a series of animated interfaces that allow users to drill down in the collections to greater detail, see the relation between different objects that are grouped together, and move visually through the collection. Using Flash, advanced JavaScript, and the Crown Peak Content Management System (CMS), the system will allow for a richer, more animated interaction between the user and the collection. Because the content is stored in the CMS, and makes use of the extensive metadata capabilities of the system, it blends the best of both worlds, allowing users to have a richer browsing experience while content can still be used in search, related links, and linked content throughout the site.

At the end of the day, it's really about picking the right tool for the right job. There is plenty of content that is best displayed as text, as a series of relationships between regular pages. This content has the benefit of building usability from the user's tacit understanding of "regular" Web interfaces. At the same time, there are places where conventional Web interfaces can hold content back, being either ill-suited to the richness of the content itself, or failing to resonate with the user, who expects the content to be accessible in a way that clicking through a series of Web pages doesn't capture. In these cases, the challenge is creating a Web experience that is novel, but also appropriate to the content itself.

It's important to sort out the good ideas from the gratuitous. As with much of Web strategy, it's necessary to have the depth and knowledge to understand what is possible and what works when making these decisions—which is where experience comes in. In the absence of formulas, understanding what will work and what is necessary is a matter of many finely tuned judgments, that are best when grounded in significant real world experience—experience that The Berndt Group can provide.

About The Berndt Group

The Berndt Group has been a leading Web design, development and brand communications firm since 1991. The firm provides an integrated set of creative services, including strategic consulting, brand and application development, software implementation, web site design, and internet marketing. Based in Baltimore, MD, the firm services a diverse international and regional base of over fifty active clients, including: The National Aquarium, Johns Hopkins Institutions, SafeNet, Inc., Raytheon, U.S. Immigration, The Federal Aviation Administration, The U.S. Forest Service, The Abell Foundation, and many others. For more information, visit www.berndtgroup.net.

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email: michelle.geczy@berndtgroup.net