Phil Oye

About the Project

Federated Investors, one of the largest mutual fund companies in the U.S., wanted to improve their effectiveness and efficiency at displaying products and services on the Web. In addition to redesigning their Web site, they needed to develop user interface standards that would unify Web-development efforts across business units.

My Role on the Project

Interaction designer and information architect. I even coded some of the templates.

The solution

The product was a Web-based style guide that articulated standards for producing visual elements, designing interactions, and composing pages. The style guide was designed for use by employees of Federated Investors, as well as by Web design and development consultants.

The style guide includes:

• A thorough description of the information architecture and corresponding site map.
• Standards, specifications, and rationale to guide graphic design decisions.
• A comprehensive set of templates and examples.

Ultimately, the site that launched looks nothing like what we designed, except for a graphic here or there. This was really the first time that a design that I worked on was completely ignored. It hurt. Still does. If you want to witness the carnage, you'll have to find the site yourself. I claim no responsibility for any pain you experience.

On the plus side, the style guide won an Award of Excellence at the 2000 AIGA/Pittsburgh Communication Show.