Post on 28-Nov-2014
description
When money *is* an object
When money *is* an object
What I am going cover:
• Strategy and planning• Prototyping and testing• Ideas and tools
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
When money *is* an object
• John Benfield• Former Creative Head of Interactive Media at
the Natural History Museum• Online projects from…
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
The Beast of Bodmin Moor
Cost: Nothing
Team:2: one contentone coder
To…
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Ice Station Antarctica
Cost: £300k gallery£60k online
Team: 10 in-house30+ externals4 web externals
When money *is* an object
• Now Head of Digital Media at the Royal Shakespeare Company
• Site redesign
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
When money *is* an object
• Now Head of Digital Media at the Royal Shakespeare Company
• Site redesign
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
• 20 cross department authors• Regular video trailers and features
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
When money *is* an object
• Such Tweet Sorrow• New mobile site for the World Shakespeare
Festival
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
• Now Head of Digital Media at the Royal Shakespeare Company
• Site redesign• 20 cross department authors• Regular video trailers and features
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
What I have been really lucky to have is…
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
What I hope I am not going to do
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
1. You should be strategic in your approach2. Content is king3. You all have fascinating stories to tell4. There is nothing to stop your web presence
from being compelling and timely
Before I start, a few truths…
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
1. Masses of cash2. Ability to code in PHP, C++ or Actionscript 33. Consultants or expensive digital agencies
What you don’t need…
What you do need…1. Imagination2. Lateral thinking3. Google
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Strategy and planning:1. Write a content strategy – make digital
integral not special2. Audiences: know who they are and do your
profiles
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Strategy and planning:
1. Write a content strategy – make digital integral not special
2. Audiences: know who they are and do your profiles
3. Think about the user-journey4. Always write a simple brief:
Aims and objectives | Audience | Resources | Timescales
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Strategy and planning: Do your analytics:• Unique visitors• Unique pageviews• Above for individual sections• Search terms• Repeat visits• Mobile vs static• Exit and entry points• Filters and Boolean search• Report it monthly
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Prototyping and testing:
You don’t need UX and IA consultants or expensive user labs
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Prototyping and testing:1. Information architecture– Card sorting or post-it notes– Mindmapping – Freemind
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Prototyping and testing:1. Information architecture– Card sorting or post-it notes– Mindmapping – Freemind
2. Wireframing– Powerpoint– Pencil project
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Prototyping and testing:1. Do user testing2. Keep it simple
1. One area for testing2. 4-5 users
3. Do it regularly4. Buy this…
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Prototyping and testing:1. User testing2. Keep it simple– One area of test1. 4-5 users
3. Do it regularly4. Buy this…5. Try A/B testing using Google’s tool6. Submit to www.fivesecondtest.com
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Just a few ideas:
You will need – • A bit of lateral thinking• Basic ability to understand CSS, HTML• Ability to follow instructions – for JQuery• Regular search for ‘cool’, ‘new’, ‘best’ Jquery
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Just a few ideas: Timelines
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/timelines/british/index_embed.shtml
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Just a few ideas: Timelines
• Can get the same effect using image slideshows• 100s of example scripts available• Lightbox | Gallerific | prettyPhoto |Highslide.js• Can find many variations and sophistications• Can be simple timelines or used to tell a story
or virtual galleries
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Highslide.jshttp://highslide.com/
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Just a few ideas: Fun with imagemaps
• Old technology, hardly ever used now• Great for interpreting spaces or objects• Virtual walk-throughs (when applied to 360
images)
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
http://www.cssplay.co.uk/menu/old_master.html
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
http://www.cssplay.co.uk/menu/scrollmap.html
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Just a few ideas: Page turners
• Original Turning The Pages by the BM• Many examples – search ‘flipbooks’ or ‘page
turn jquery’• All you need are either images or PDFs• Issuu – free if you don’t mind the ads• Virtual brochures but also as way of telling
stories
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Just a few ideas: Zooming images
• Original Zoomify – costs money• Great for interpreting objects or spaces in detail• Search for ‘jquery zoom image’
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/kids-only/dinosaurs/who-was-oviraptor/oviraptor-zoomify/index.html
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
JQzoom
http://www.mind-projects.it/projects/jqzoom/demos.php
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Ideas: video
• Massive increase in online consumption• High impact way of imparting lots of
information• Now relatively cheap• Basic cameras with HD capabilities
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Ideas: video • Guided tours (welcomes or explanations)• Features• Latest news• Talking head interviews
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
http://www.rsc.org.uk/explore/60-seconds/blood.aspx
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Ideas: videoYou need:• HD camera and tripod• Invest in– an editable start/end slate– name straps– separate mic
• Edit software – simple, free, online– YouTube editor |Movie Maker | iMovie |
Creazaeducation
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Ideas: Fun with YouTube • Linking videos• Telling a story • Interactive application – decision-based
multichoice
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i5Tv6Oc0Wk
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Just a few ideas: fun with QR codes
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Just a few ideas: fun with QR codes
• Go beyond basic links to your site
Try:• Discover hidden secrets – treasure hunts• Real-world or virtual trails• Enhanced gallery displays• Promotions and incentives
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
Ideas: Free Flash
Even though Flash may have had its day, places like Flashkit have resources you can use for free
• Games | Puzzles | Word quizzes• Old versions of Flash still work (and cheap)• Require only basic ability to code
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
http://www.flashkit.com/movies/Games/Components/Simple_j-John_Ben-1302/index.php
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
More ideas:
Blogs• Plenty of platforms from Wordpress to Tumblr• Great for driving repeat visits• Make site current
Social media• Embedded Twitter – makes site look current• Using Facebook API for commenting• Pinterest for exhibtions and galleries• Storify – creating narratives out of social media posts
When money *is* an object
John Benfield, Head of Digital Media, RSC
A final biggy: Go mobile
• Check your stats for percentage mobile traffic• Create an IA based on core info/function for
on-the-go users• Basic CSS / HTML required• Big buttons, small graphics• Clear permalink to full site
john.benfield@rsc.org.ukjohn.benfield@rsc.org.uk@il_gatto_morto