User Interface Design

Few companies can match Catalyst's recent User Interface Design experience, including an extremely diverse array of design specialties, such as:

• Highly complex enterprise applications
• Ad-supported Consumer Portals
• Social Networking / Community
• Content / Media Sites

User interface design is about making sure that people can easily accomplish desired tasks while on websites or using applications. Is navigation intuitive? Is content accessible? Does a shopping or bill paying process actually work? Traditionally, interface design focuses almost exclusively on this kind of functionality. And, while classic design is a Catalyst hallmark, over the years we've broadened our capabilities to encompass customers' expectations, desires, and/or experience with competing products.

A User Interface Design engagement with Catalyst can include many possible steps, including:

Discovery and Requirements Gathering - We rapidly gather information and metrics relating to people using an interface and also to the operational and brand goals of that interface.

Audience Profiling - We drill down into end-user behavior, constructing scenarios that describe how people interact with a system, and even building personas that detail "who" a given user is based on their needs and behavior (rather than just demographics). Personae may have names and qualities - or they may just be general "types" (e.g. "topic diver") - and are constructed to help clients link business goals with user priorities.

Conceptual User Interface Design - As an initial step in our design process, we will explore multiple high-level conceptual designs for the site or application – i.e. different frameworks for the homepage and overall site navigation, orientation, and page layout. 

Detailed Design - Once we have finalized our design at the conceptual level, we proceed to a detailed design phase in which all the specific site functions and pages will be designed. Clients receive paper- or screen-based wireframes that de-emphasize graphic design (branded colors, illustrations, images) in favor of layout and functionality. The purpose of a wireframe is to display all a page's elements (links, advertising inventory, text, images) and make it clear how they fit and work together.

User Interface Specification - The ultimate User Interface Design deliverable, the User Interface Specification is an "instruction manual" that explains how to use the wireframes and requirements to actually render a given interface. No detail is left out, such that a development team could actually take over the job from this point and create both a usable and a beautiful site. Catalyst itself, of course, can complete the process of visual design and site development too (for more on this capability, see Visual Design).