cabedge.com

As it so often is, information architecture and wireframing was one of the first tasks in the project. The client provided us with the copywriting, so we had a sense of what messages needed to be used in the site. We also planed for product photography to play a big role in the messages since Twelve South products are pretty much made to love the camera.

Through this stage of the process, we were able to work out the ecommerce experiences, the multiple locations for blog posts to appear and the best way to feature their ever-growing product line.

From the beginning, we knew the photos had to be the heroes of the site content. Shooting them to be used on a white background made sense to complement the style of the products they support.

More importantly, we worked directly with the client to make sure we got all the necessary angles to demonstrate how the products could be used and showed them in context with the Apple products they support. With the photography approach and aesthetic established, the client has been able to have additional products photographed with their own vendor that match the original photography perfectly.

Combining the existing Twelve South brand and the art direction of our photography, we created a look and feel that uses both ample whitespace and subtle textures from the product packaging. A minimal and subdued interface allows the products to retain focus while guiding users intuitively through the ecommerce functions.

As common as ecommerce websites are, they're still complicated. As we do with many of our sites needing to sell goods and services, we utilize Foxycart as the provider of the eccommerce functions and programming. They have a nicely streamlined process that works well with our custom designs.

We guided the client through the process of setting up the necessary accounts, figuring out shipping needs and other boring but truly critical needs. After all, the whole point is to sell a bunch of products, right?

So, we told you all of that to really tell you about this: the content management system. If you were to ask the client what they liked most about the website, they might talk for awhile and never mention the public face of the site.

Naturally, the backend administrative area of the site allows the client to update and add products easily, manage photos and other site content and manage user privileges. However, the real benefits come from the admin's ability to help the client track and manage orders.

The client can track orders by product type, generate reports over a specific date range and even see the comments customers have left about their purchases (usually they're glowing compliments). Even better, the fulfillment of orders is completely automated with their warehouse. As orders come in through the site, they are automagically sent to the warehouse through a datafeed, and the client never lifts a finger. And all this only scratches the surface; we could go on about the login-only retailer sections, the press management and other reports built in, but I think we've made our point.