From the success of Google, the iPod and the wii we learn: Usability and brand experience are essentially one. This simple insight was the founding idea of Information Architects Corporation (iA), an analytic design consultancy that builds and manages interactive brands.
In 1/2008 Information Architects presented the 2008 Web Trend Map: This time they’ve taken almost 300 of the most influential and successful websites and pinned them down to the greater Tokyo-area train map.
But instead of cluttering the main stations with additional information, AI elaborated on their trends by adding two new layers: brand quality and interface quality.
The consultancy named the brand quality layer “Brand Experience.” It illustrates their perception of user experience and brand management of the main stations. The group studied the usability, user value, and interface (simplicity, character, and feedback), and rated each site on a scale of eating at various types of Japanese restaurants:
- Kyoto-Style Tea Ceremony: the best grade
- Jazz Yakitori: in simple terms: very cool
- Ramen shop: still pretty pretty good
- Maku Donarudo (McDonald’s): food is okay, but you know exactly what to expect
- Food Poisoning: don’t go there
In addition to excellent food, Tokyo also sports a wild party scene. AI rated the main sites in terms of interface quality. A website’s momentum is comparable to the momentum of a dancer in action—or exhaustion:
- Hardcore Trance: With a strong, fast beat
- Rock ‘n Roll: Websites that promise to rock the boat
- Waltzing: There is no better music when driving a car than a good, old Vienna Waltz
- Snapping Fingers: …you’re just snapping fingers
- Exhausted: Dancing is for young people with lots of energy
