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Interactive Annual 13:

Converse

Launch Live Site

“A great mix of content that keeps you engaged.” —Keith Anderson

“This site is really something! A complex usage of color, navigation and product makes it one of the most unique sites I’ve seen to date. In the end, the seemingly unrelated cacophony of conjoined styles, construction and IA conventions meet in a way that is bold and unusual.” —Robin Naughton


Overview: Building on Converse’s 100-year reputation for non-conformity, this site’s interface draws its inspiration from MP3 players and video controllers. Check boxes allow users to search according to traditional options like colors, textures and styles, while rich lifestyle content is almost always a single click away.

  • Proprietary CMS system
  • User-customizable footwear
  • Viewer-submitted films

Creator’s Comments: “Converse has a reputation and a nearly-100-year history of being non-conformist. Converse also has some great stories to tell but we couldn’t forget that the product is still the heart of the brand. When we set out to define the navigation system for Converse.com, we wanted to create something different from the traditional Web conventions of top nav/left nav. We wanted to look beyond other sites for our points of inspiration, but still make something usable and intuitive.

“The Converse.com interface owes more to iPods, video game controllers and great product design than traditional Web conventions. Why shouldn’t there be a little play when you explore products? Why shouldn’t you sort through your films and shoes in the same way?

“We also did our homework (Web analytics), which told us that people wanted a less traditional approach to searching for products. So we created something that’s closer to the way people find products in a retail environment where you browse by color, texture and style. Now, a red, suede, slip-on Chuck is just a couple of check-boxes away. The site tested well with our target audience.” —Jon McVey

Credits:
Jon McVey, executive creative director
Tim Klauda, interactive director
Kristen White, art director
Jim Terry/Dennie Wendt, writers
Seth Neilsen/Bruce Yan, lead designers
Andy Hancock/Adam Wolf, developers
Cole Peterson, lead Flash programmer
Graeme Asher/Erik Falat, Flash programmers
Todd McIlhenny/Liz Valentine/Kortni Whittle, project managers
David Emmite/Jim Kemper/Swanson Studio, photographers
Beth Nouguier, executive director
Brad Lambert, quality assurance
ZAAZ, project design and development
Converse, client