ZeroDegrees Inc.

ship?And, uh, is it cool to do it on the balcony? (hint: nope)

There are a lot of decisions to make to plan a cruise vacation, and Cruise Critic has more content than anyone to help—articles, expert and user reviews, photos, videos, deck plans, booking, community and more.

Our task was to help put all the pieces together for both an experienced cruiser and a newbie.

The result, an experience that accommodates a multitude of entry points, scenarios and personas—moving users seamlessly through the conversion funnel. Please check out the site at CruiseCritic.com. Better yet, start with Google search like our users do (it does well there, too).

more so. We learned that faculty members and their research give credibility.

And we learned that no database had all this info.So we built one.Before this project, students didn’t have a clue.

Beginning with in-depth interviews with prospective students, we studied how grad school decisions are made.

The result, a huge success, the site is now the #3 most visited of the university (out of a thousand or so), and mobile traffic especially is up 69%. But most importantly, this foundational project has led to a prolonged partnership with NU. And they just called—actually—to do the next thing.

UX idea…What have I taken?

What’s next for me?What are the prerequisites?

What does my schedule look like?…and evolved it to answer deeper questions.

Where did my transfer credits go?How do I substitute a class?

Is my student Visa in good standing?And when exactly do I graduate?

It's a simple idea, but giving students new clarity and control over their classes is making them more successful in their studies.

looks right

…sends for approval

Penny

…gets notified

…views the proofs and costs

…approves

Emelia gets her cards. So proud! So easy.

This story couldn't be told on Vistaprint's old corporate solutions platform, so we helped establish a new one.

The results, a modern, compelling and intuitive commerce experience that is scaling seamlessly as we speak.

plan—of course—cause of the boys, scheduling delivery for next Saturday, paying half with PayPal, financing the rest, and using a promo code for a free floor lamp.

Oh, the lamp ships separately, by UPS, no rush.

We worked with Blueport to design and test this feature-rich cart and checkout process. These days the question isn’t what users will do with touch screens, but how can we optimize every piece of the experience to make it easy for them.

York's goals were to:

• Identify key segment types and their purchase drivers
• Understand the customer journey including triggers, actions and emotions
• Develop better-informed market strategies for each segment
• Gain deeper understanding of the risks associated with how to sell designer products online

From the initial workshop, it was clear that there was no shortage of hypotheses about types of customers. York wanted to pressure test those assumptions with a rigorous and scientific research approach. Most importantly, they needed actionable personas that had both substance and style...kinda like their customers.

Interior designers and consumers brought us into their workspaces and homes through webcams. We saw samples and tip sheets and sites they shop. We listened and watched and asked. And then, when the dust settled, we had personas.

But we didn't stop there. To validate the patterns and size the groups, we ran a large quantitative study. We asked them about attitudes and aptitudes.Then we had slightly different personas.

But we didn't stop there. We took the York style guide and mashed it up with the research outputs. What came out was persona designs that met the high bar of style around the York offices.

Now they are looking for that perfect wall to hang them on.

The result, frame-worthy artifacts that are as rigorously researched as they are beautiful.