Information Design – Week 8

Topics: Paper Prototyping, User Personas, Keyword Research
In-class Activity: Video Response, Choose either Personas or Keyword assignment
Homework due this week: Site Blueprint
Homework due next week: Site Wireframes

*NOTE: in class today, you may do the “personas” assignment in my Faculty Out-box, OR you may do the “keywords” assignment listed here below the homework.

Please turn in all homework, in-class work, revisions, and late work in a folder with your name on it to my Faculty In-box in the “Information Design” folder.

Due week 9: Site Wireframes (10pts)
Next week, we will test out a paper prototype of your company’s site. Research your company’s competitors for inspiration. You may draw your Wireframes by hand, or you may create digital files. See examples on pages 284-285

Create Wireframes for the pages involved in the following user tasks:

a) Finding 2 Specific Items
Choose 2 items on the site from 2 different categories, and create wireframes for the screens the user would see while looking for each product. (homepage, category pages, individual item pages, etc.)

b) Shopping Cart and Checkout
Create wireframes for the screens the user would see while viewing his/her shopping cart, and purchasing the product. (view/update shopping cart, entering payment information, confirmation of purchase, etc.)

c) Returning an item
Assume that a user has purchased an item and wants to return it. Create all the screens necessary for them to return the item. (Will it be under a “help” or “customer service” or “FAQ” section? Include a form where the user can explain the reason for their return.)

GRADING: Site Wireframes (10pts total)

__ (2) Unity: use a consistent layout on all pages
__ (2) Navigation: information is organized into an intuitive hierarchy
__ (2) Finding 2 specific items: pages are organized and intuitive
__ (2) Shopping Cart & Checkout: pages are organized and intuitive
__ (2) Returning an Item: pages are organized and intuitive

OPTIONAL IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENT: KEYWORDS
For week 8, you may do the “personas” assignment in my Faculty Out-box, OR you may do the following assignment:

Information Design: In-class Assignment: Finding Keywords
“Keywords” (aka “Search Criteria” or “Tags”) are words that define your product in order for it to be found by search engines. Keywords should be as specific as possible, but be careful: it’s good to check and see how often a keyword is being “searched for”. Below is a series of tools that analyze keywords and how often people are searching for them.

In class today, define keywords for your company’s site.
Use the list of similar terms that you developed last week as a starting point.
Turn in your lists of keywords as a word or excel document.

1) List 10 keywords for your company’s home page:
(General terms that apply to the company as a whole)
List the estimated search volume of each keyword.

2) List 10 keywords each for 2 of your company’s products:
(More specific terms, related to each particular product.)
Choose 2 products from your company’s inventory,
and find 10 keywords to use on the pages related to each item:
List the estimated search volume of each keyword.

*Note: Consider Location!
If your company is location-based (real estate, doctor’s office, restaurant, etc.),
it is important to include the address and name of the city in your keywords.

Check how often a keyword is searched for:

Google Keyword Analyzer:
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Overture Keyword Suggestion Tool:
http://www.vretoolbar.com/keywords/

Analyze an existing website to find search terms:
http://seokeywordanalysis.com/seotools/Default.asp

Open Directory Project:
submits your site info to most major search engines.
http://www.dmoz.org/

Top searches: What are people searching for?

MetaSpy
http://www.metacrawler.com/info.metac/searchspy/results.htm?filter=1

Google ZeitGeist
http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html

Yahoo Buzz
http://buzz.yahoo.com/

AOL Hot Searches
http://hot.aol.com