Tyrone Pardue

BICSI is a professional association supporting the information transport systems (ITS) industry. ITS covers the spectrum of voice, data and video technologies. It encompasses the design, integration and installation of pathways, spaces, fiber and copper-based distribution systems, wireless-based systems and infrastructure that supports the transportation of information and associated signaling between and among communications and information gathering devices. The image below right shows a cover layout before the redesign (top) and after.

After completing the BICSI corporate identity redesign,
I was asked to make proposals for the redesign of their members magazine BICSI News. BICSI had carried out an informal readership survey that showed them readership was as low as 8% because members saw little value in the content:

• Stories were solely related to BICSI events and activities
• It was full of advertorial by vendors
• Writers were not identified
• Design and layout was unstructured and undisciplined

There seemed to be almost no editorial mission. I recommended that before beginning the visual redesign that the editorial committee completely rethink the purpose of the magazine. After carefully considering the findings of the readership survey a new approach was defined.
The redesigned BICSI News was to provide relevant, best practices, vendor-neutral and authoritative information to help ITS design and installation professionals to:

• Improve their skills and knowledge
• Enhance their professional stature
• Expand the scope of their work in the ITS industry

The visual approach to the redesign was to create a serious looking journal type design that looked rich in information and presented stories in a layout that could be easily read. I cut back the vendor advertorials to zero and instead recommended BICSI technical team leaders to write stories based on solutions to industry problems and spotlighting new thinking and the latest in products and services available. My goal was to have members look forward to their monthly copy of BICSI News because they learn something new that makes them smarter and better at their job.

And that is what BICSI is supposed to do as an organization. The magazine is an extension of their corporate mission.

Click Images Below to View Sample Covers and Spreads

The Internet has had a dramatic effect on the way that we navigate and consume information. This has big impacts for many kinds of traditional media from newspapers and magazines to user guides and Yellow Page directories. In this article I will try to offer you some examples of how we work with publishers to make minor design changes that can enhance their products for a new kind of user.

As usage rates are dropping, publishers have recognized they must seek ways to redesign their products to attract a new kind of user. Just like newspapers, directories must rethink their publications so that they become an extension of the online directory rather than an alternative or low-tech option. Newspapers today are surviving side-by-side with their online editions, and actively promote cross-referencing.

Directories need to transform themselves from the familiar bulky, ugly Yellow Books people tend to hideaway in the cupboard, to smaller, friendlier and more attractive publications you feel happy to have sitting on your coffee table. This is what I did for Gouden Gids and Directel’s family of directories.

On the inside, directories should begin to think like an Internet user. This means designing navigation using familiar Internet information design elements such as simple pointers, tabbed headings, and in-column cross-references that provide the user with a constant set of prompts. Internet users are becoming more impatient with difficult to follow information categorization and navigation pathways.

The Web approach to navigation (ie: breadcrumb trail) showing what section you are in, first and last entry, page number and index letter. Internet style icons such as the greater than sign used as a pointer and layered tabs to indicate levels of information help direct the new kind of user in a visual language he is familiar with.

Design improvements like addition of a tabbed in-column divider can make a big difference to usability helping the reader scan the page with ease. To improve a directory’s usability the designer must consider how a user accesses information in a directory. Users are scanners, their eye moves rapidly through an index to seek the listing they want to find. So column entries should be easier to ‘finger-read’. I achieved this in several directories by using a variety of typestyles and by eliminating all indentation within an entry keeping the left margins of each column straight and therefore better for the scanning ‘finger’ reader.

You will notice on the on the Internet that often in the middle of an article, there will be a sponsored ad, often related to the subject of the article you are reading, and sometimes not. This sort of highly targeted marketing is something I think directories can benefit from. Take my approach with in-column descriptive category ads (shown below) that define specifically what something is for rather than only providing the company name. Users like this sort of descriptive ad because it can help short-cut the entire search process leading them directly to service they need right now. Note my idea for in-column descriptive ads based on a defined category: “Interior Design for Home & Office”. Also note the cut-off left corner of the in-column headers: helps lead the eye in to the text.

A redesign is best done in conjunction with the creation of a concrete set of specifications that can be followed by art workers, and can provide a set of standards that will help groups of directories produced in different locations all have the same look and feel. When I redesigned the Directel Group’s directories in China and Africa, the design standards were a critical part of the project because the new styles have to be implemented by the individual countries themselves.
Everything from how the covers are laid out to the page structures, navigational styles, and instructions for special advertorial sections like restaurant guides (see below).

Why redesign? More usable and functional books mean more users. Creating directories that have a stronger visual connection their on-line counter parts helps create a seamless journey between the printed edition and online directories. This can only help build stronger brands and create more loyal users.

Project Gallery

Problem
Independent Bankers Bank (IBB) publishes a quarterly newsletter for customers focusing on news from IBB such as products and services, new clients, appointments, recent events and so on. Research showed that research was low and there was little if any response. Readership was just not interested. How could the publication be rethought and designed to provide some real value to the readers and improve the IBB brand proposition?

Solution
Our approach was to simplify the overall look, making better use of white space and cleaner typography. Stories were presented with three readers in mind: the scanning reader, the in-depth reader and the converged reader. Because the publication is delivered as a PDF, most readers will read it on-screen, and so particular care was taken to use fonts that look well on screen. Text mostly sits on a white background to further aid readability. Hyperlinks are used in the contents taking you straight to the story you are interested in. The overall look we are after is a contemporary and serious publication you would expect from a major financial institution.