Quantitative Content Inventory

The first phase of the research was focused on gathering a reference for existing content to keep track of what to work with for the further content development. For this purpose, a content inventory was carried out.

Learnings

The quantitative content inventory analysis identified issues related to the outdated HTML version of the website, content accessibility, findability, content structure, and SEO.

While it revealed a rich archive of past activities, it also highlighted difficulties in tracking existing categories and searching through them due to page-centric content production. Additionally, the content structure and information architecture were found to be unclear and not intuitive for users.

User Research

The second part of the research was focused on exploring the needs of Rotor’s target groups, providing an in-depth look at how they engage with digital media and content. The primary goal was to understand how people perform tasks and achieve goals that matter to them. A descriptive method of Ethnography, classified as qualitative research, was employed and conducted through semi-structured interviews.

Learnings

The user research provided a clear analysis of the target users’ needs, identifying the development of a content model for Rotor’s web presence as the most critical next step in the website relaunch. It highlighted the necessity of defining structured content to improve search engine rankings and provide better accessible and easily findable on-page content for all Rotor’s target groups.

Defining User Personas

The research phase involved defining user archetypes for each target group to capture the unique characteristics of their specific audiences. By conducting interviews with real individuals and analyzing the results, patterns emerged that helped create credible personas.

What do Rotor visitors expect to find on the site?

User research involving representatives of Rotor’s target groups provided valuable insights into how they access an art organisation’s website and what they expect to find there.

In general, they perceive the website of an art organisation as an important source of relevant and accurate information and expect it to provide official content and formal communication.

Users typically access an art organisation’s website in one of 3 ways:

1. They visit a website for more detailed information after getting initial information on social media, newsletters, or by other people’s recommendations.
2. They visit websites that are already familiar with, directly for intentional, concrete information.
3. Or they were sent to the website via a search engine.

For representatives of all target groups, the most important content on an art organisation’s website is information about current activities. They are also interested in upcoming events and value clear mission and vision statements, as well as a concise description of what the organisation stands for.

Artists and other art organisation’s representatives stated that content about former activities is also important to them and that an art organisation’s website should have an archive of past activities.

In addition to all of the above, artists need information about practicalities such as exhibition space layout, equipment specifications and open calls in progress.

Representatives of art organisations and sponsors look additional for information about the team, partners, and contacts. The general public, besides current activities, expects practical details like opening hours, ticket options, directions, and contact info.

The target groups’ representatives defined good websites practices as follows:

Mental Model Diagrams

The next step in the research was to map the target users’ thought processes and identify relevant content for Rotor’s website relaunch. To do this, I created a Mental Model Diagram for each target group.

Mental models are, in essence, affinity diagrams’ of user behaviors. From there, I was able to analyze the content structure and to define the content model – a description of all the content that the new content management system (CMS) is expected to handle and which serves as a solid foundation for the new modular-based UI.

Product Concept Statement

In the next phase of project development, I met with key representatives of the Rotor association to establish a foundation for implementing the strategy. After an extensive meeting and discussion about the issues identified in the previous phase, we developed the Product Concept Statement—a vision statement that served as the basis for identifying high-level needs, requirements, and design which is addressed to all stakeholders.

Structuring Content – Subject Domain Model “Exhibition”

The content concepts outlined in the lower half of the mental model diagrams served as the foundation for defining a conceptual model of Rotor’s subject domain.

By categorizing and organizing these content concepts, I identified key content objects within the subject domain that are valuable to Rotor’s audience.

After identifing key content objects within the subject domain I moved on to content modeling.

The goal was to show the key objects within that domain and the relationships between them. The end result that was derived was the domain model for Rotor. 

The domain model “Exhibition” emerged as the most important for an art organization’s subject domain, directly addressing the needs of its target audience. This model would serve as the foundation for the future CMS and UI design planning for the website relaunch.

Drafts of defining the the Domain Model “Exhibition” – check Miro Board

Content Modelling

“Where a domain model maps the world, a content model focuses on the structure and content you’ll actually publish.” (Atherton & Hane, 2018)*

A content model provides structure to the objects that were mapped in the domain model and consists of;

• types of content we have
• their attributes
• and relationships

A content model typically ends up being documented in a diagram that can get translated to a database and CMS structure.

Content Types

“Content type is a reusable container that describes the consistent form of similar content.” (Atherton & Hane, 2018)**

As I moved from the abstract to the specific, domain-model objects became content types with assigned attributes. Shifting from concept definitions to attributes can reveal gaps, redundancies, and unnecessary objects. Sometimes, what seems like a separate concept is just an attribute. A content type is truly useful only if it is reusable.

After the domain model was created, the project team joined again and discussed single objects of it. The aim was to pick those domain objects and relationships that make sense for Rotor to address. 

The following domain objects were further adapted:

• The domain objects Location and Role were put aside because they were more like attributes to other objects and have no useful attributes themselves.
• The objects Exhibition and Related Event share many attributes. When we think about it, we could argue that an exhibition is an event but with a longer duration. In the CMS, it should be possible to define different event categories and their connections. A category could then be used to display all events of a specific type.
• Rotor’s directors highlighted the importance of the Collaboration domain object and requested to link it with the Event object. They maintain a broad network of partners and engage in various types of collaborations, especially when planning and organizing activities. Additionally, they have existing content for this domain object.
• The object Art Group was introduced because very often a group of authors takes part in an exhibition or event under a specific name.

From the original domain model, with 10 objects, we ended up with 7 content types.

* Some content objects, like the About or Contact pages, will appear on the Rotor website but are not included in the model as specific content types. The focus is on representing real-world and user-relevant concepts and connections, not a full content inventory.

Content Type Attributes

After identifying which objects of the domain model will serve as content types, I began describing them.  Defining attributes of these content types is the essence of the content model.

Each attribute should be supported by relevant content. When working with each content type, the goal was  to consider how it might connect to other domains and identify the attributes needed to establish those connections. The ultimate objective was to prepare the content for the future.

Taxonomies & Metadata – Categories for Rotor

By defining content structure and modular content, I’ve already started creating semantically rich content.

The process of creating taxonomies for the organization began with domain modeling, where I structured the domain, described key elements of the subject domain, and defined the relationships between them.

A taxonomy organizes information, implies structure, and establishes controlled terminology. It can include metadata that allows us to organize, categorize, and relate content effectively.

“Consistent language contributes to a professional, reliable experience, both for internal teams and end users.” (Martin, 2019)***

Categories help classify information, ensure consistent vocabulary for authors, and enable users to track content intuitively.

Content Type Templates

I used a spreadsheet to organize all content types, customized for Rotor to capture attributes and technical specs. The resulting content model is a key reference, typically handed off to designers and developers to inform them of content details and constraints.

The greatest benefit of this process is the ability to address and, if necessary, revise the content structure at an early stage. While editorial processes are underway, the design and development teams can begin working on the structure and visual layout.

Content Flow Templates

Component based UI Design

Content can appear in many places, so we should never assume it has only one destination. By breaking content into components and defining its structure, we make it ready for reuse.

Modular components are auditable, allowing us to track where, when, and by whom they’ve been used.The following content flow templates—based on the content type templates—demonstrate how modular content works and how it can be easily reused in different parts of the final product.

Visualization of the <event> content type shows how attributes can be extracted and reused in different content templates for the Rotor’s website relaunch. Each content type is represented with a different colour.

All attributes defined for each content type are displayed somewhere on the website. In the CMS, they are organized separately in chunks but connected through categories and links. The following basic content templates illustrate how content elements from different content types are combined, with each color representing a specific content type.

In my case, content type and content flow templates serve as the foundation for CMS planning and UI design, helping to create intuitive, future-friendly products that meet user needs.

New Global Navigation

By designing global navigation around core content types, defined taxonomies, and metadata, we can provide direct access to the content visitors need on the website.

The following image presents a proposed global navigation for Rotor’s website relaunch. While the navigation items are primarily based on core content types, the proposal also includes additional items, such as Who We Are (About Us).

In the foloowing figure, white sections represent custom-curated pages or pages with unique content structures that don’t require modeling beyond a single page. Grey sections indicate items mapped from the previously shown content flow templates back to the information architecture.

Low & High Fidelity Prototypes

Previously defined content templates for different pages served as a starting point for developing a component-based modular UI design—beginning with low-fidelity prototypes and followed by high-fidelity prototypes.

Responsive Design

By having well-structured content and well-designed chunks of content, we can easily determine how to restructure, publish, and display it in a way that looks and functions beautifully across various screen sizes and environments. The low and high-fidelity prototypes showcase the pages for the website relaunch, providing solutions for multi-device web experiences.

* / ** Hane, C., & Atherton, M. (2018). Designing Connected Content: Plan and Model Digital Products for Today and Tomorrow. New Riders.

*** Martin, L. M. (2019). Everyday Information Architecture. Jeffrey Zeldman.