Switching Protocols is Frances Botsford, an information architect and a web designer located in Portland, Oregon who is currently Senior Web Designer at Simmons College and consultant at Story+Structure.
Frances' professional interests include user experience design, information architecture, semantic and standards-based coding, usability, accessibility, and web strategy. She has worked with clients ranging from individuals and small businesses to national institutions and is particularly interested in information-heavy sites that require special attention to information access and navigation.
Frances likes to make technology effortless and enjoyable for everyone. She uses information architecture, thoughtful interface design, and considered web strategy to make great websites toward that end.
Case Studies
Simmons College Redesign
The Simmons College homepage was last redesigned in 2003, when the web was a more static place. A new design, incorporating interactive and dynamic elements, was needed to unify and guide users through the variety of programs and schools within Simmons. In addition, feedback from users and heat map testing showed that the current architecture and navigation was not working.
As lead Information Architect, Frances used surveys, card sorts, and interviews with users and institutional stakeholders to create a new structure.
The result: A topical navigation system that centers around user needs and expectations rather than the organizational divisions of the schools. New cross-school topical sections were developed to help define Simmons as a whole before leading the user to the school or program of interest. Branching inquiry forms make it easy for prospective students to get in touch with the right admission office, right away. And of course, all pages are valid strict XHTML and CSS, gracefully degrade for older browsers, and are semantically coded to be accessible for all users.
MySimmons Portal Project
With an increasing amount of important information being published online, Simmons needed to improve its distribution tools to be able to deliver personalized content and seamless access to its array of existing online resources and provide a safe space for the community to publish and collaborate online. After a review of available products, the school decided to develop its own portal, MySimmons, using Drupal, an open source content management system, to deliver personalized news and single-sign-on capability to current students, faculty, and staff.
As project manager, Frances bridged the gap between design and technology, coordinating the team of designers, front-end developers, Drupal developers, and network administrators. She kept the project on track, working to realize all aspects of the interaction, user interface, and roll-out stages of the new MySimmons Portal. In addition, she created an extensible set of CSS documents, a repository of the various page templates, and ensured that all pages complied with usability and accessibility guidelines.
The result: A personalized portal into Simmons for each student, faculty, and staff member that increased user satisfaction, enhances efficiency and reduces costs, established competitive parity with other institutions, and improved online collaboration for teaching, learning and business purposes.
Google Custom XSL
Simmons College implemented the Google enterprise search system but had not customized the tool, leaving users lost and confused when searching. As an increasing number of site visitors used search to find the content they were looking for, an integrated interface was needed to keep the user experience and branding consistent.
As lead experience designer and programmer, Frances customized the XSL, identified and optimized commonly searched terms, and set up a schedule of search reports exports for review and maintenance.
The result: Search results that seamlessly fit into the Simmons brand and provided tailored results to help users to find what they were looking for on the first search.
Bogli Consulting
Bogli Consulting, a national health education consulting firm, needed a web presence to connect with potential clients and foster open conversations on health in education. Working with the existing identity and palette, Frances provided creative direction, communication and web strategy, search engine optimization, and web development for the site, including a custom WordPress theme.
The result: A clean and simple site that focuses on Bogli Consulting services, with a blog where CEO Jess Bogli can build her business by connecting with clients and community members.
Innovative Interfaces
Frances has made major contributions in the area of interaction design and implementation while at Simmons. She has produced useful and innovative solutions using Javascript, jQuery, and PHP that gracefully degrade to ensure both a usable and richly interactive experience for all site visitors, and created standards and tools that will get future projects off the ground faster.
Project Management and Documentation
Project Management and documentation are the linchpins of a successful project. Establishing proper constituents with sign-off authority, a timeline of goals and deliverables, and satisfactory outcomes renders the entire process transparent and unambiguous. Good documentation—including competitive analysis reports, site maps, wireframes, discovery, and flow charts—ensures that projects are implemented right the first time and show ROI on project completion to clients and stakeholders.
Frances has not only successfully lead projects from concept to completion, but also created documented standards and best-practices, including a Web Application Assessment Guidelines document, which helps departments evaluate tools before purchasing, and a User-centered Design Process, which helps create websites that involve users in the design process to ensure that their needs are met and enhances the user experience.
Testimonials
Frances is that rare web designer who marries graphic design and communication skills, with a deep understanding and affinity for technology and code. Shaun Gummere, Director of Web Design, Simmons College
Frances' desire to seek out and learn technology/practices that are cutting edge in her field is only matched by the great efforts she makes when transforming this knowledge into well thought-out solutions on the projects she works on. It's this attitude and aptitude that allow Frances to excel within all realms of Web Design. From conceptual to visual to technical, Frances' passion, knowledge and practice create rock-solid results. Brian Talbot, User Experience Designer, Viget Labs
Frances is a visionary in the world of web cohesiveness. Her technical knowledge, project management and design skills blend together to create synergy on all her projects. Jake Berry, Assistant VP of Enrollment & Online Marketing, Simmons College
Professional background
Frances graduated from RISD with a BFA in Illustration, with a short detour through Pomona College. After several years as a freelance graphic and web designer, she went on to study information architecture, information retrieval, and advanced web technologies, including XML, XSL, XHTML, CSS, PHP, and AJAX, and attained a Master's in Information Science from Simmons College. She joined the Simmons College Web Design team and put those tools to work, soon rising to be the lead information architect and web strategist on the team.