Our Approach
The Solid Digital team worked closely with several core stakeholders from the National Safety Council and the University of Iowa. We encouraged meeting in-person with the group as frequently as possible. Although much of what we do is grounded in crafting virtual experiences, the irony is that nothing beats face-to-face interactions. We’ve found that much of the ambiguity gets wiped out when you’re talking through and demonstrating interactions in real-time (especially to a group of strangers). So in order to save on time and avoid costly rework, our collaborative work sessions included things like sketching layout options, presenting interactive samples, pontificating over page hierarchies and navigational workflows and devouring a whole lot of snacks.
Also during the planning process, we performed extensive keyword research to ensure the proper nomenclature was used throughout the site’s copy and code. We also utilized Google Trends to further identify and inform our content writers as to phrase variations and timing on related categories and topics. We also used feedback from a research study to guide our decisions on how we ultimately prioritized the top 10 (out of the total 28) vehicle safety features on the homepage, and the global navigation.
During our post-launch phase, we learned that the majority of people who visited the microsite were between ages 45-65. Also, an overwhelming 49% of users browsed the microsite via their smartphones, 32% browsed on a desktop and 18% on a tablet. Based on these statistics, we were pleased in our original decision to accommodate a mobile-first experience that an older demographic would also appreciate.
Next, we collaborated with NSC’s MyCarDoesWhat graphic designer to create and reuse icons to best meet the original objectives of standardization. Our core objective was to have a clear, compelling and standardized set of icons that were easily recognizable to the general public.
Lastly, to make the site more engaging and provide an alternative way to steer users to crucial car safety information, we integrated educational quizzes to reinforce the key concepts.
