Musings in Four Dimensions
Musings in Four Dimensions
24M Technologies is an MIT-founded tech company who's intent is revolutionizing the Lithium-Ion (Li+) battery cell. When they approached Create and Conquer, 24M was coming out of 4 years of venture-funded R&D "stealth-mode", and they needed a web presence to speak to what they are working to achieve. When it came to understanding what it is they (24M) do, the Create and Conquer team was all ears - ready to learn about 24M, so we could figure out how to position 24M's web presence. But when it came to understanding web UX strategy and information architecture, we had to do some serious hand-holding with the guys from 24M.
The primary hurdle to get past - in 24M's eyes - was explaining their R&D into Lithium-Ion (Li+) cells to a wide audience. They were hesitant to be overly esoteric in how their technology worked, but also didn't want to give away too much of the "special sauce" of their Li+ Cell technology. The UX/IA workshops that we held with 24M ran much longer that usual (the average time for one of these workshops would be about 3 hours with a break in the middle), but we got them through the exercises to get the information we needed to design and build the solutions for their website. The extra time with 24M (and figurative hand-holding) proved useful for 24M as it gave them an insight into a realm that they knew very little about, and had a limited understanding of.
During the design phase of the project, once the sitemap and wireframes were approved, my role shifted into more creative-direction. I worked closely with the Head of Design at Create and Conquer to provide creative direction on the "overview film" that is featured on the 24M Technologies website, as well as the overall aesthetic and design if the iconography on the website. Majority of the overall design of the website was leveraged from the wireframes created for 24M; The way the website feels, performs, the transitions and animations were all established ahead of the design phase.
Overall, 24M was quite happy with the website - once it was completed and launched. The reception of their technological advances in Li+ cells, and the website explaining their mission and R&D, were off to a fantastic start.