User interviews in site development, a case study

— Published August 18th, 2008  |  by David Moore

What the Market does

Every July, more than 100 select folk artists from over 40 countries travel to Santa Fe, New Mexico where thousands of visitors gather to admire and buy their work.

Planning this event is a year-long endeavour, during which time Market workers secure funding, process applications from artists, corral up to 800 volunteers, and organize the market itself and its subsidiary events.

Their previous website was difficult to navigate, hard to update and didn't communicate the vibrancy and creativity that marks the Market itself.

Identifying audiences

Among the first steps in planning the new site was to identify all the different audiences for the site, and learn what we could about them.

The project team gathered information from surveys, traffic data, and the experience of the Market employees. Once they had their list, they interviewed people in each of the key groups, including

• returning visitors
• volunteers
• supporters (both individual and institutional)
• artists (individuals, co-ops and non-profits, located around the world)

These interviews offered an insight into what mattered most to the different groups, including things the team could not have guessed.

Talking to returning visitors revealed that while they were interested in purchasing the folk art, their visit was much more important to them as a rewarding experience - connecting with artists from around the world, and being part of an event that makes a positive difference in people's lives.

One of the interviewees was in tears as she explained how much the experience of the market meant to her. This doesn't happen often in our line of work, and it underlined how much the Market means to many people.

Experience, not just content

The interviews dictated the content and structure of the site, as you might expect, but they also informed the look and feel of the site in a profound way.

The interviewees repeatedly referred to the way that they were unprepared for the reality of attending the market. They'd expected something akin to a trade show, when what they got was a colourful extravaganza involving not just works of art but an immersive multicultural experience.

The challenge was to reflect that in the site, which was partly achieved by using large blocks of bright solid colours in the design, copious photographs and creating an "Experience the Market" section containing slideshows, testimonials and video clips.

Match your site to your organisation

We've talked before how an organisation's site should match and communicate the values and priorities of that organization.

With the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market project, it was the interviews with the stakeholders and audience members that led directly to the creation of a vibrant and easy to use site that communicates both the content and the feel of the Market.