Unraveling and rebuilding complex IA and design
MOOG is an engineering company that focuses on precision motion control products and systems. We are talking space shuttles, missiles, launch vehicles and wind turbines- very cool stuff. MOOG is comprised of several different companies under the parent company, Moog. Each of the sub-companies participates in markets relevant to their expertise.
The goal of the project was to bring all of the companies together under one easy to use, easy to maintain website. This would make understanding who the company is, how to find a product and who to contact at the appropriate department easy for the user, be it an internal or external user. Pulling all the companies under one roof meant listening to many different people, their concerns and visions and then creating a website that satisfied the key personnel of each company all while maintaining the overall project goals.
Along with partner firm Vshift, who was handling messaging and technology, we flew bi-weekly to Buffalo, NY over the course of several months to interview stakeholders, key personnel, employees and the MOOG project team to listen, gain information and discuss solutions. When enough information had been gathered the wireframe process began and it was a long one. All the various sites together would create a complex, content and product heavy website. This step was vital to the success of the future website. We worked on IA for several weeks and once we had approval, we began design. All that preliminary research, explorations and hard work, but we finally got to the ‘pretty’ stuff!
We designed a website that brought all of the products to the fingertips of the user. By doing this we were able to showcase the breadth of MOOG solutions across a wide range of industries, retain their history, strengthen their brand and have it all managed by their internal staff.
It was through the immersive series of our fact finding meetings, information architecture walk-throughs and design reviews that we were able to discover that MOOG’s audience saw them differently than they saw themselves. The new website brought Moog together with their clients. It was a long road, but a successful one.