Art.com Paints a Clearer Picture for Shoppers - BY DESIGN - WebBusiness Magazine October 1, 1999

<body bgcolor="WHITE"> <table width="730"> <TABLE BORDER=0 cellspacing=6 cellpadding=6 width=730> <tr><td colspan=3> <p align=right> <font size="-1" FACE="Verdana,arial,helvetica,geneva"><a href="100199_toc.html" target="_top">Oct. 1, 1999</a> Issue of <a href="http://webbusiness.cio.com/" target="_top">CIO Web Business Magazine</a></font> </P> <img src="http://images.cio.com/archive/images/web_bydesign_hdr_0499.gif" width="436" height="125" border="0" alt="By Design"> <br clear=all><BR> <img src="http://images.cio.com/archive/images/100199_wbbydehed.gif" width="404" height="115" border="0" alt="Art.com Paints a Clearer Picture for Shoppers"> <BR> <BR> </td></tr> <tr><td valign=top width=150> <P><BR><BR> <P><BR><BR><font FACE="Verdana,arial,helvetica,geneva" size="-1"> <FONT COLOR="#660033"><B>COMPANY</B></font> <BR> Art.com Inc., Lake Forest, Ill. <BR> <br> <FONT COLOR="#660033"><b>DESIGNER</b></font> <BR> In house, with user testing assistance from Human Factors International Inc. <BR> <br> <FONT COLOR="#660033"><b>REASON FOR REDESIGN</b></font> <BR> To expand product line and make the shopping process more explicit <br> <BR> <FONT COLOR="#660033"><b>WHAT'S NEW</b></font> <BR> Uniform navigation, better delineation between searching and browsing </font> <P><BR><BR> <A name="finding"><img src="http://images.cio.com/archive/images/finding_it_online.gif" width="123" height="14" vspace="4" alt="Finding it Online" border="0"></A> <BR> <B>Art.com Inc.</B><BR> (<font size=-1><a href="http://www.art.com/" target=_top>http://www.art.com/</a></font>) <BR><BR> <B>Human Factors International Inc.</B><BR> (<font size=-1><a href="http://www.humanfactors.com/" target=_top>http://www.humanfactors.com/</a></font>) <BR><BR> </TD> <td width=40>&nbsp<br></td> <TD valign=top width=370> <img src="http://images.cio.com/archive/images/100199_wbbydedrop.gif" width="87" height="75" border="0" align="left" alt="W"> HEN ONLINE ART SHOP ART.COM DECIDED to broaden its selection from 9,000 items to 100,000 items, Vice President and CIO Don Fosen knew the company had to make it easier for shoppers to find the perfect print. Usability tests helped the company understand that online shoppers fall into two categories: searchers, who come to a virtual store knowing exactly what they want, and browsers, who want to surf until they find what suits them. The site's redesign in March 1999 aimed to develop clear navigation paths for each. <BR><BR> In response to user research showing that shoppers often want a second opinion on art before they buy it, Art.com also added a My Gallery feature that lets shoppers select and store links to art images; that way, they can store images they like and share them with friends or family before purchasing them. The redesign stubbed out navigation areas for features that were added later in the year, such as auctions and gifts. Even with these improvements, the site is still a work in progress. In time for the holiday shopping season, Art.com plans to unveil another redesign this month featuring a wizard that walks customers through selecting, framing and buying art. <BR><BR> </td> </tr></table> <br> <TABLE BORDER=0 cellspacing=0 width=590> <td width=150>&nbsp<br></td> <td width=440> <img src="http://images.cio.com/archive/images/100199_wbbyde1.gif" width="438" height="307" border="0"> <BR> <p align=right> <a href="100199_bydesign_content_2.html"><IMG img border=0 SRC="http://images.cio.com/images/right_red_arrow.gif" alt="--> " border=0></a> <font FACE="Verdana,arial,helvetica,geneva" size="-1"><BR> <a href="100199_bydesign_content_2.html">art.com<BR> AFTER...</B></a> </p> <BR> </td> </tr></table> <br> <br> <TABLE BORDER=0 cellspacing=0 width=590> <tr><td valign=top width=150> <IMG SRC="http://images.cio.com/images/ads/cio_serv_ctr_1.gif" WIDTH="150" HEIGHT="56" BORDER="0" ALT=""><BR clear=all><a href="/archive/webbusiness/100199_bydesign_content.html?printversion=yes" 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