PixelMEDIA Inc.

Prior to the launch of the re-designed Mass Save website in 2010, a wide range of Massachusetts residential energy efficiency programs were spread out over six separate websites. The programs were sponsored by nine gas and electric utilities and energy services companies serving the state in conjunction with initiatives from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER). Through incentives and education, customers were encouraged to lower their overall energy consumption and, as a result, save money and reduce the demand for fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases into the environment.

The sponsors and DOER asked PixelMEDIA to consolidate the 6 separate websites into one site and to create a single branded user experience: Mass Save.

Success Factors

Mass Save’s strategic objective was straightforward: to encourage residents and businesses to be energy efficient through increased awareness and through direct energy-saving incentives offered by the Mass Save sponsors. PixelMEDIA identified three key project initiatives to achieve this goal: Read More…

As one of the world’s leading not-for-profit genetics research institutions, The Jackson Laboratory maintains a website dedicated to helping non-scientists and the general public understand the impact of the laboratory’s work: Genetics and Your Health. In 2011, the lab asked PixelMEDIA to develop a pilot online campaign to determine if banner advertising would be an effective medium for raising awareness and driving traffic to the website.

Success Factors

Banner advertising on websites that included AARP and WBUR (Boston) would drive traffic to landing pages that featured a series of video interviews with people who had been affected by cancer. The landing pages were Read More…

In 2010, Vermont-based PKC was in the final stages of realigning its business offering from a consumer-focused product to a business-to-business OEM solution. That required a radical change in the company’s value proposition, message architecture, and website, with a focus on the business benefits of incorporating the PKC medical informatics technology into healthcare information systems, including clinical decision support, online medical records, and patient portals. PKC asked PixelMEDIA to develop a new approach the company’s messaging and website. Read More…

In 2011, Massachusetts-based Empirix Technologies was in the middle of a transformation. The company was moving away from a product-focused business model and embracing a solution-based approach that leveraged the company’s network testing and quality assurance products and technologies. A redesigned Empirix website was seen as a critical tool for explaining the company’s solution architecture and communicating its new identity. Empirix asked PixelMEDIA to help define and shape the new user experience.

Success Factors

Empirix had a solid internal working group in place to drive the messaging and content of the new website, including the re-alignment of its extensive product offerings with its new solutions framework. In addition, Empirix was developing a new logo and brand identity elements that would be incorporated into the new website. PixelMEDIA identified 3 key elements needed for a successful outcome:

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Prior to the launch of the Mass Save website in 2010, customers had to visit multiple websites to learn about energy- and money-saving opportunities. The programs were sponsored by nine gas and electric utilities and energy services companies serving the state, with goals and guidelines set by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER). Because the design and navigation of each site was different, customers had to learn multiple ways to find information and application forms for energy-saving incentives.

Success Factors

The sponsors and DOER asked PixelMEDIA to consolidate the 6 separate websites into single Mass Save website and to create a unique brand identity. The new brand would serve as a recognizable focal point for a wide range of online and traditional marketing activities, and having a single brand would reduce the cost and complexity of maintaining multiple marks and identity systems. PixelMEDIA identified 3 key elements needed for a successful outcome: Read More…

What gets an information architect or content strategist excited? New audiences! What makes our jobs interesting is having the chance to learn about people, their interests, and their needs. And what make the job rewarding is making it possible for people to achieve those needs.

That’s what makes working on The Friends Project new website so interesting—and rewarding. The Friends Project is a non-profit organization in Portsmouth, NH, that organizes events and activities for people with disabilities. I met its tireless founder and president, Heidi Chase, as well as Nathaniel, a participant, and his parents, in our project kickoff meeting.

Our meeting agenda was basically the same as for a business client. Why not? The same questions and principles apply: Who is the audience? What are they looking for? What do you have to offer? What do you want them to do? We hit the whiteboards and the Friends Project team dug right in. Read More…

If you’re UNH, you find an anchor donor. If your name is Peter T. Paul, you offer to put up $25 million as a challenge – to the entire state of New Hampshire, far-flung alumnae and friends – to come up with the other half. Then you call PixelMEDIA to promote the goal: an advanced new facility devoted to advanced ideas in business and economics education that will become a national model for new ways to teach and learn.

The new building will enable new approaches to education centered around contextual problem-solving. For example, break-out rooms provide the space to allow large classes to divide into smaller discussion groups, then reform to share ideas and solutions. The building’s integration of advanced technology will further enable teaching and learning in the age of video, computer networking and the Internet. Read More…

The goal of any good web firm should be to provide clients with the best possible online face to the world.  Notice, however, that I use the term “best possible”.  The reality is that we as developers, designers, information architects, content strategists, account managers and project managers, are often limited by the budget, particularly in this difficult economy.  While a $100,000 website redesign might be off the table during tough times, “small victories” in key places can happen as part of the regular support and maintenance of your website, and often have a big impact.

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Even after all these years, a handful of reminders help me get off to a good start whenever I sit down to write or edit a web page. It’s not about being creative and using big words, it’s about respecting the time and intelligence of the reader. By the way, most of these apply equally well when writing for print, direct mail, and everyday email.

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Exploring the “what ifs…?” of the user experience is the best way to avoid the “if onlys…” once the project is completed. And working with the client to prepare and approve an experience brief is the best opportunity to ask important questions about the fundamental underpinnings of a project, including audience, message, and purpose.

Here’s a quick look at other people’s briefs. No jokes, please.

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