“If you’re moving forward, you’re moving in the right direction ”

After reviewing the needs of Tech Can Do Better or, TC[D]B, we were able to identify four main goals to work towards during our design sprint.

• Gain trust as an organization

• Share thought capital as it becomes available

• Create the building blocks for their website to grow along with the product

• Create a website that inspires users to turn information into action

Our research plan

• To gain trust and inspire users, we reviewed the current style guide and branding packages with four research subjects.

• In order to structure the content of the future website, we used contextual inquiries of competitors for analysis of information architecture wit han additional four users.

• We conducted a thorough competitive / comparative analysis of features and services offered in order to position TC[D]B in line with other leaders in the field

• We developed a structure and style backed by research for a prototype for TC[D]B to use as a basis for future growth

Defining the problem…

• Tech community members need a way to find actionable information so that they can implement change in their workplace.

…so we can define a better solution

• Organize the information supplied by TC[D]B in a way that will be easily accessed by those aligned with their cause.

• Provide access to thought leadership as it is produced.

• Articulate the benefits of formally aligning with TC[D]B in order to take action and affect policy.

Branding Takeaways

Subjects felt TC[D]B would largely attract:

• People of color

• Those under approx. 40yrs old

• Those already aligned with our cause

Users described an “activist” feeling that may drive away certain demographics. This was reinforced by the dramatic imagery and use of dark colors.

Subjects suggested more uplifting imagery may be attractive to “outsiders”

Subjects felt trust can be gained when the user can see that the brand is already trusted by peers or other organizations, or if they take notable actions.

Key Takeaways

Users need an organization to have a clear purpose:

• Clear mission statement / What the organization is about

• Clear intent of the organization and how it can help

• Actionable and measurable solutions offered

• Tell me why they should be trusted

Competitive / Comparative analysis

• All competitors relied on positive imagery to reinforce their messages

• Each competitor focused on a specific target demographic

• Most competitors offer career training / mentorship

• Most competitors offered access to a diverse hiring pool

• No direct competitor offer job search assistance.

Putting pen to paper

Loose wireframe concepts were presented to the client in order to convey potential layouts for future development.

Sketches focused on:

• Graphic layout of the landing page

• Info-graphic and research article hierarchy

Putting research into action

Although reluctant at first to adjust their branding, TC[D]B was swayed by our research and agreed to move toward a less aggressive brand positioning.

• V1 had a dramatic use of the color palette and more intense imagery

• V4 has a greater use of white space and more uplifting imagery

Global Navigation and Site mapping

How we organized the information:

• Content audit of copy materials provided

• Categorizing copy into landing page headers - One page per header

• Establishing “Who, Why, What and How” to represent TC[D]B

• Planning ahead for future expansion

Basic Prototype

This clickable prototype was made in Sketch. It is limited in scope, but illustrates the basic building blocks for how TC[D]B would effectively organize their information, so that they could easily flush out their services in the future.

Going forward

TC[D]B is still getting ready to launch their V2 website. What we did was supply a foundation for them to build upon. Although the content and the hierarchy will likely need to be added to and adjusted as you grow and produce more content.

Going forward, we would recommend using similar research methods presented here, as well as A/B testing, to build out contents for your site as it pertains to potential network members and formal corporate partners.