Kiana Onishi

Art 155: Information Architecture

January 23, 2006

iStyles.com Creative Brief

Information on iStyles.com:

  • iStyles.com offers an array of iPod, PSP, Smartphone accessories from iPod Shuffle to the Smartphone.
  • Formally know as iPodstyles in 2005. Their name changed due to trademark infringement with Apple Computer.

Primary Objective:

  • To offer accessories to anyone who wants to dress up or add accessories to their iPod, PSP and/or Smartphone.

Our Mission Statement:

  • Our goal is to offer an alternate shopping online website that is organized and adds a great sense of usability for shoppers. We will also strive to design the website, so that it allows the customers shopping experience to be fun and easy, while still maintaining style.

Target Audience:

  • Age:5 (young ages are persuasive) and up
  • Gender:Male/Female
  • Income:Middle/Upper Class
  • Education:At least reading skills
  • Occupation:Part-time/Full-time
  • Computer Experience:None is needed, but helpful
  • Spending Habits:Impulse buyer, shopaholic
  • Special Interests:Music, Art, Crafts, Fashion, Gamers, Smartphone user
  • Location:Anywhere

Example 1:

/ NAME:
AGE:
GENDER:
EDUCATION:
FAMILY:
HOBBIES:
OCCUPATION:
INCOME:
SPENDING:
COMPUTER:
LOCATION: / Janette Hong
30
Female
High School Diploma, computer illiterate
Married, no kids
Gardening, exercising, listening to music while listening to her mini iPod, shopping
Works in a fashion retail shop
$ 25,000
Online, Mall, Groceries, Garden Shops
Husband’s Apple computer, but he helps her shop online to buy things at great prices. Internet-Cable
Redwood City, CA

Example 2:

/ NAME:
AGE:
GENDER:
EDUCATION:
FAMILY:
HOBBIES:
OCCUPATION:
INCOME:
SPENDING:
COMPUTER:
LOCATION: / Zac Powers
8
Male
Elementary School
Lives with his mom and dad
Listening to audio books and music on his mini iPod, playing with friends and loves videogames
Gets an allowance from his parents weekly for doing household chores
$25 a week
School lunch, snack from ice cream truck
Plays videogames on his PSP, Dell PC, Internet-DSL
Kailua, HI

COMPETITORS:

/ /
Pros: Podcast list, lots of products, sales, offers cases for older iPods
Cons: Ship to only New Zealand, need to contact for international shipping / Pros: Well organized, competitive pricing, lots of products
Cons: Homepage a bit long / Pros: Shopping through Amazon.com for secure payment
Cons: Descriptions are wordy, limited thumbnails on viewable screen size
/ /
Pros: Very organized, safe secure shopping, simple design
Cons: Limited products, high pricing / Pros: Coupons, lots of sale items
Cons: Unorganized, color scheme not used well, bright headline bar is distracting / Pros: Logo on front page of secure site, specials in red on homepage, shipping calculator
Cons: Unorganized, not easy to navigate
/ /
Pros: Only ones that sell waterproof cases that screen can be viewed, organized
Cons: Do not support 1st and 2nd generation iPods / Pros: Organized, nice color scheme, supports 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation iPods, offers an array of products for iPods.
Cons: Shipping is high / Pros: Organized, simple design, similar to Apple.com, easy navigation, nice photos
Cons: Shopping cart doesn’t retain items amount correctly, often items are sold out

Assets needed:

  • Testimonies
  • Mission Statement
  • Company information
  • Press Releases

Existing look and feel:

  • Feminine colors, simple, rounded edges of borders
  • Categories too small
  • Logo on the left is too small, larger logo on right is not clearly visible