Harvard Book Store
website design direction
website design direction
coursework at The Creative Continuum included working directly with a local area client to come up with creative solutions to real-life business challenges ... my group had the unique opportunity to help The Harvard Book Store confront the myriad of disparate changes to the bookseller industry as surfaced through the rise of huge corporate competitors, easy online shopping alternatives + the typical financial realities presented by a chaotic economic environment
here is a quick before + after, showing the original online experience for visitors coming to the online Harvard Book Store presence + then the quickly redesigned suggested direction i created for our group's presentation to the store owner, faculty + colleagues
here is a quick before + after, showing the original online experience for visitors coming to the online Harvard Book Store presence + then the quickly redesigned suggested direction i created for our group's presentation to the store owner, faculty + colleagues
Before
the original Harvard Book Store website provided a fantastic online extension of the brand ... although the overall presentation throws a clutter of visual + textual information at the site visitor, the emphasis on the store's 'Upcoming Events' really draws the eye in + gives us a sense of how important the physical location + community is to the book store ... a lot of great information 'out there', for certain, but plenty of room for improvement ... and some of the design suggestions that come to mind could bring a good deal of deeper value to the customer + provide deeper engagement with the site + the store's employees
After
my redesign for Harvard Book Store put the owner front + center, using the same amazing whitespace surrounding the previous 'Upcoming Events' block to bring the customer's attention visually on 'Free Thoughts', a new feature article spot that immediately pulls you into the pulse of the store ... the site now looks a bit deeper with the use of textures + metaphors as directly captured from the Harvard Square area ... a stack of teaser graphics on the right serve to draw customers deeper into the website experience while simultaneously letting us know about some new developments happening right on store premises ... coffee + wi-fi access ... so key to extending the experience into the olfactory + cognitive realms associated with some of the big, corporate competitors ... there is a new clear differentiation between the top utility navigation ( upper right ) with search box + the universal primary navigation bar ... in the main navigation we see an entire section devoted to 'Community & Events', providing deeper hooks for visitors to explore ... + the 'Booksellers' section, as i addressed in our presentation, implies an entire portion of the site devoted to the employees of the store that each bring their own specialized knowledge + personality to the ambience of the store experience, online + off ... giving each bookseller their own section allows them to each individually contribute to the intellectual atmosphere, on that can be leveraged in an entirely different way than a larger competitor could ever attempt
More about The Creative Continuum
There is increasing recognition in the business world that companies that will thrive in the future are the ones that will innovate radically and approach challenges creatively. This course is geared to artists and designers who would like to develop skills in applying the creativity and mindset they nurtured and developed as an artist to the business realm.
This unique collaborative effort between MassArt and Bentley University offers participants insight into the issues and workings of business through both lecture and working sessions. Lively lecture sessions, fashioned as a "mini-MBA," will quickly provide the student with fundamental principles of business. Then, in working sessions, participants put their creative skills and experience to use collaborating with representatives of select businesses on a real strategic problem or challenge they face.
Read more about The Creative Continuum
There is increasing recognition in the business world that companies that will thrive in the future are the ones that will innovate radically and approach challenges creatively. This course is geared to artists and designers who would like to develop skills in applying the creativity and mindset they nurtured and developed as an artist to the business realm.
This unique collaborative effort between MassArt and Bentley University offers participants insight into the issues and workings of business through both lecture and working sessions. Lively lecture sessions, fashioned as a "mini-MBA," will quickly provide the student with fundamental principles of business. Then, in working sessions, participants put their creative skills and experience to use collaborating with representatives of select businesses on a real strategic problem or challenge they face.
Read more about The Creative Continuum
