Sarah Perry-Stout

Role: Lead Information Architect / User Experience Designer.  Worked on the website phase of LMCC's complete branding overhaul.

Site Link:  http://lmcc.net

Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, LMCC, a non-profit arts organization, needed a new website. In brainstorming sessions we heard that the various groups LMCC serves didn’t know about each other or know the full breadth of the organization.

I used existing user surveys to create simple user personas for the main stakeholders such as artists and community arts partners.

I created an entity relationship diagram which showed the seven major types of players in the LMCC world: community partners, events, places, news, people, virtual content and LMCC’s programs. The ERD remained a visual symbol of the community and the network that we were creating on the site.

Each of the entity types became a custom post type in WordPress that could be connected to any other post, creating a web of bi-directional connections that are utilized in multiple ways. The key unit on the site is this profile page which is then adapted for each of the seven entities. On the top half of the page is basic information about the entity, and on the bottom half are a series of thumbnails showing the connected posts and linking to them

Users can sort the posts by category such as year. For instance the Network list can show current artists, current speakers, all staff, or everyone that is involved with LMCC. Instead of the administration needing to create a new page for each set of data, they can link to the filter results that they want.

Site Link:  http://lmcc.net

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Avenues: The World School

Role: Lead Information Architect, Web Management Team

site link: avenues.org

Avenues: The World School is a private school for grades pre-k through 12 which opened its doors in 2012.  As a new school, Avenues needed to represent its brand through a high-end, user-friendly site that included a user login system, an events calendar and a portal to admissions services. I created a functional spec that took into account the desired user experience.

I met regularly with the client to understand their requirements and user needs.  It was important that the experience be as seamless as possible, such as combining the RSVP for admissions events with the database of applicants.  Along with the developer I designed a way to track users from their entry point to the point of sale, in order to measure the success of various print and web marketing campaigns.

When the school launched I continued to work on further iterations, helping plan the transition to a new admissions system. I continue to help on digital projects such as the Connections Video Wall which hangs in the school’s front hall.  Now that the Avenues website has been in active use for several years,  ongoing user research such as card sorting helps inform improvements to the site architecture. 

Avenues: The World School plans to open international campuses in the next few years.  I currently act as a Senior UX Manager on the upcoming expansion of the Avenues sites. I manage user research, UX and graphic designers working on a multi-site, scalable, translatable system that will serve Avenues' needs in years to come. 

site link: avenues.org

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Role: User Experience Research, Lead Information Architect, also contributed to branding work

site link: phoenixmi.com

Phoenix Marketing International is a leading market research firm. After a period of growth their website no longer represented all of the services they offered. They needed a reorganized site and revamped branding.

After extensive research of competitor sites and of Phoenix site analytics, I wrote a high level analysis which described recommendations for better user experience and a clearer presentation of their brand. Working with a copywriter and the design team,  I helped create set of brand positioning statements to re-enforce the recommended brand presentation.

The new site organization allows users to navigate either by type of advertising market (automotive, hotel, etc) or by research service required. Phoenix’s corporate divisions and widespread geographic locations remain distinct but the website maintains a unified feel.  One of the time-saving ideas that I brought to the new site: leveraging  the new company blog to replace the functionality of the events calendar, newsletter and several message areas in the previous site.

site link: phoenixmi.com

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OpenLab
Role: Information Architect, Project Manager and Manager/Mentor of the internship program

site link: openlab.citytech.cuny.edu

The OpenLab is an online gathering place and classroom tool for New York City College of Technology with over 10,000 users. After the site was introduced and had been active for a brief time, I came onto the project to assist with various improvements and initiatives.

OpenLab is an open source site built on a customized WordPress and BuddyPress foundation, which gave it great flexibility and functionality but sometimes created gaps in the user experience.  When areas of the site were not meeting user needs and needed to be tweaked I studied the user issues and created wireframes and IA as needed.

Under a provision of the OpenLab grant, I hired and supervised six CityTech student interns over four semesters. In addition to giving students course credit and hands-on training, I supervised their production of a complete set of functional specs and a branding guide for the site.  These documents became building blocks for later work.

In 2014, the grant began its final year and CityTech started looking at how to make the OpenLab portable and manageable for future use.  I managed an overhaul of the graphic design and a technical restructuring of the site, supervising a team of seven freelancers and interns.  The developer on the project used Twitter’s Bootstrap to create a site that could be more easily maintained and shared with other institutions.

site link: openlab.citytech.cuny.edu

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Digital Farm Collective

Role: User Experience Designer, Information Architect

site link: digitalfarmcollective.org

Seedlings is a program funded by the Digital Farm Collective, which combines art education with information about food production and farming.  Founder Matthew Moore wanted to create an app to help school children grow their own food and document the process.  Moore had extensive experience with stop motion, so with his input on the photographic process, I designed an app that could simplify the production of stop motion filming and apply it to classroom gardens.

The iOS app accompanies the Seedlings program for school children.  Using the app, the kids take photos of their gardens and over time the photos become a stop motion animation of the growing plant.  As a first step, it was important to test the process with a plant that I grew in order to understand how to line up subsequent photos.  Detailed story mapping predicted various scenarios such as school holidays, classrooms where English was a second language, or shared classroom use of one iphone.

I also created a sitemap and wireframes for a website to support the app and serve as the DFC's home site. An entity relationship diagram helped to coordinate app, website and admin areas. The non-profit and the schools have limited resources, so student work needed to be uploaded easily and quickly.

site link: digitalfarmcollective.org

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Role: Information Architect

Fullbridge provides educational bridge programs to help students, recent graduates and new hires learn business skills.  They wished to clarify the message of their existing site and document the site for future changes.  I created a wireframe and site map to clarify the site organization. Simplified site organization, synchronized with a copywriter’s marketing campaign,  better targeted the user base.

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Role: Information Architect / User Experience Designer

Twyla Tharp, a renowned dancer and choreographer, wanted to update her site so that it served as an online museum of more than 150 works.  I proposed a dual approach- a timeline system as well as an alphabetical list of works.   On entering a work’s profile, the user has access to the complete information.

I worked with the client and the graphic designer to refine and simplify the design to fit the minimalist aesthetic appropriate to the content. In addition to an archive, the site design accomodates current event listings and a blog.

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Roles: Project Manager, Information Architect, Web Management Team

Site link: open.avenues.org

OPEN is the blog of Avenues: The World School.  After working as the information architect for the main school site, I was involved from the conception of the blog project. I proposed the overall structure as well as an archive system, an author bio system and dynamic connections to the social media streams. Avenues wished to integrate the blog as much as possible with the existing school website by bringing in blog post excerpts to related site pages.

In addition to my role as Information Architect, I managed the project. I was responsible for organizing the timetable, taskflow and meetings during the site’s creation.  I worked closely with the design team and with the developer to ensure that all stages of the site were completed on time and with good communication between the contributors. As the site neared completion I orchestrated QA, content population, deployment and staff training.

After the site launched, I continued for 1.5 years as a member of the management team to coordinate updates and content as well as side projects such as determining analytics and ROI for the blog. I met weekly with the content staff to suggest post topics and coordinate with social media campaigns. 

Avenues: The World School plans to open international campuses in the next few years.  I currently act as a Senior UX Manager on the upcoming expansion of the Avenues blogs. I manage user research, UX and graphic designers working on a multi-site, scalable, multi-language blog system that will serve Avenues' needs in years to come. 

Site link: open.avenues.org

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Roles:  Information Architect, Project Manager, Proposal Contribution, Intern Supervisor

Site link: early-adopter.com/about

Since 2010, I’ve worked with the web marketing company Early-Adopter to create one-of-a-kind web sites and digital projects. In addition to the work described on this site, I’ve contributed to the Early-Adopter culture and worked on internal projects. 

Supervising the internship program is a rewarding way to introduce students to the field of Information Architecture.  I have supervised nine interns, including through an internship program which I manage for City Tech OpenLab.

Since I have a fine arts and English literature background, I am happy to help out as needed with visual or written tasks.  I've illustrated blogs,  created sprites, buttons and other graphic elements, and done many mockups to show clients how a new page or element in the site would look. 

I wrangle wordpress CMS, research plugins and other services,  write CSS, and have used Git to run a local version of a site on my computer. As part of a small team, I am asked to contribute technical knowledge, coding and writing towards company projects.

Working on proposals for new clients allows me to draw from my varied skills.  I often help determine the budget, edit the write-up and calculate the projected timeframes for proposals.

Site link: early-adopter.com/about

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Role: Graphic Design, HTML/CSS

Marne Meisel is a jewelry designer and artist.  She needed a portfolio site that reflected her unique pop aesthetic and range of work. Using Marne’s art and an existing logo as inspiration, I did the graphic design in eye-popping aqua and red. Scanned textural elements such as bakery thread and jewelry charms give the design a tactile quality.   I hand-coded the site's HTML/CSS and added a php/mysql mailing list so Marne can keep track of new contacts. 

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