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Web Applications can be an entirely different ball game. Many of the same rules of traditional websites still apply, but Web Apps require a non-linear strategy, in both planning and execution. Using agile methodologies we help you create a lasting roadmap for a truly user-centered product experience.

Finding a niche to scratch

One of our special talents is being able to take an existing product or even just a product idea and turn it into a successful long term product strategy. We look at your current markets, the present niches and try to figure out where they are heading one, two, five, even ten years from now. Starting from where you want to be, we map back to where we are today, creating a road map not based only in seizing the opportunities of today, but of tomorrow.

Features from Goals

We take an iterative approach to building web apps, starting with user needs and goals and building upon them to define features. We break down each feature into priority, complexity, importance to the user and to the overall business goals. We work this into the road map, ensuring that the short term is closely linked to the long term.

Let us find the right niche for your product that hits your bottom line.

Defining a user experience for a web application starts with an idea - the strategy - but we use interaction (or Ix) design to make it a reality. It is how the user will perform tasks within a web app. We focus on mapping out how complex interactions will work, how they will benefit the user experience and create an intuitive experience that just works.

The Core of a Web App

At the heart of any web application is the interaction model, taking users from "Hey, wouldn't it be nice if I could...." to "Wow, this is really awesome!" in the shortest possible time, creating a lasting effect on users. We do this by putting research into who your user is, and what problems they are looking to solve. Then we define it into an experience they can't live without.

It might sound a bit like magic to you, but it is just a day in the office for us. It comes down to our years of experience and hundreds of hours talking to real people about how they use the web, what they look for, when they use it and why. We've listened and now we are ready to put that knowledge to the test.

Get in touch to talk about how effective your app is.

Every user has an expectation on what your app will do and how it can help them solve their problem - many of which are noted when defining the interaction design.

With user interface design we create a visual language to express that. We ask big questions like, "what design aesthetic best suits this user, what do they expect in this product space?" Or little ones like "What color best indicates to the user where they are and what they should do next?"

It's not a design, it's a style guide

A common problem with web applications is while they start out pretty, they end up looking like they were designed by a developer, functional but not beautiful. We believe maintaining the essence of the design, to borrow the words of Carlos Segura, “is the personal hygiene for your company.”

Once we've done all this great design work, we don't want to ever see it spoiled because the application logic changed midstream. Therefore we work closely with our developers from start to finish to solve design problems on the fly and make sure that the end product is as beautiful as we initially imagined it to be.

Let's talk about your brand and bring more people to it.

We are strong believers that the prototype is a crucial deliverable in creating web apps. Seeing interactions on paper are great, but it isn’t until you can see them and use them that you really anticipate how the user will accomplish tasks. Plus it means developers spend less time with HTML and more time on the application logic.

The middle deliverable that saves time and money

We've found that building web standard prototypes using XHTML, CSS and Javascript, save considerable time and money in building new products. Trying to explain to someone how a complex user interaction will play out takes a lot of time and leaves room for interpretation.

By having designers create static prototypes, they are able to express to you (and the developers who will touch it next) exactly how things are supposed to work. We work to suss out the kinks with you before they go to dev, giving the developers a more accurate picture of exactly how this app is supposed to work.

Not only does it reduce time, but removes the costly risk that the business logic could change in the middle of development, making the prototype one of the best investments you can make.

Find out how we can build your product prototype in no time flat.

With the design in hand, we start to put the pieces together, building out a scalable web platform to execute your business logic. This is typically done as a standalone external system, designed from the beginning to integrate with your systems.

It's About Web Standards

The first step in web application development is building the front end experience using web standard XHTML, CSS and Javascript, fully separating presentation from markup. Whenever possible we use the latest standards like HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript toolkits like jQuery.

Baking the Back-end

The next step is architecting the back-end web application, either by tapping into your database, leveraging an API or creating our own architecture. We ensure that everything we build is reliable, scalable and built using standardized principles and development practices.

Let's geek out together and talk about web application frameworks.

We design and build all our web apps to be easily maintainable by our clients. We believe in a full and complete hand off to the client. We include all deliverables at no extra change (at the request of the client), from our scanned sketches, Photoshop files and of course all code.

However in some instances the client doesn't have the resources to maintain their product. In these cases we provide the option to provide all support and maintenance either until you get a team in place, or indefinitely, it's up to you. In either case we provide flexible options to keep your app tip top.

Let's talk about the long term success of your web application.