Practical User Experience
Our analysts are some of the best in the business. They know how to effectively construct the basis of your site and build upon it with real-world user research. Even better, they get out of the office to experience the real-world context of real people rather than just sitting at desks crunching through stats that will never fully capture the true experiences people have.
Audience Research
Lokion really gets to know your existing audiences to learn more about what your online presence is doing for your real-world bottom line. We talk to and observe real people through interviews, focus groups, field studies, online surveys and contextual observation. The result is knowledge – knowledge of the real people who comprise your markets and understanding of their motivations, desires and behaviors. Conscientious audience research yields clear profiles of the people behind the numbers and a prioritized list of the requirements to not only meet but exceed their expectations.
Persona and Scenario Creation
We approach every project from the perspective of the people who have to use it every day – and the people who will use (and maintain) the online experiences we create. Armed with the knowledge from our audience research, we work with you through a fun and engaging Persona Workshop to turn general audience profiles into up-close and personal sets of personas. These personas and scenarios then become our guiding muses informing business, design, architecture and development decisions along the path of any project.
Benchmark Studies
After conducting in-depth studies to evaluate your competitors’ websites and the sites of other companies in your sector, we then issue recommendations based on what they’re doing right – and wrong – and the most effective way for you to implement that information. In addition, we have vast expertise with touchpoint audits and documentation.
Usability Evaluations and Testing
If your website doesn’t work for real people, what’s the point? With years of direct experience with usability best practices, we will work with you to identify the most appropriate tactics to assess, monitor and improve the usefulness and effectiveness of your online experiences. Our usability evaluations and standard lab-based usability testing result in a thoroughly prioritized To Do List of recommendations for improvement, all fully illustrated and proven by qualitative and quantitative research. And, if a full-scale lab test is not appropriate or within your budget or schedule, we’re always thrilled to offer creative methods for gathering direct usability feedback such as remote user testing facilitated online or “guerilla” testing with a quick turnaround time. We’re flexible yet passionate about getting you the real input from real people needed to ensure the best experience possible.
Information Architecture
Just as you wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint, websites shouldn’t be built without the use cases and wireframes of information architecture. We don’t bog down the process with over-documentation, but we do reach consensus with clients regarding business, functional and interface requirements. Our IA documentation provides the level of direction and detail needed to guide design and development without constraining the decisions best made in those camps.
Content Strategy
We understand the difference between content for print and content for the digital sphere. Our experienced copywriters work with you to develop a long-term content strategy – what to say, how to say it, and when it should be said. The result is a brand-specific voice for websites, promotions, catalogs, eCommerce, help text and customer emails, to name only a few.
