National Geographic Channel (NGC) is the cable network for the venerable National Geographic Society; its site is dedicated to the channel’s non-fiction programming and largely independent in purpose from National Geographic's existing news and information site.
The recent redesign, with the objectives of cultivating enthusiasm for programming and motivating viewers to tune-in, resulted in an immersive, automated experience. Graphic and interaction design elements create a casual, image-rich and seamless computer-based experience that’s a bit like TV without trying to fit into the same mold.
It’s a bit puzzling that the most important feature on a Web site would be to make TV viewing easier but that’s exactly what this site does. Its innovative online schedule allows viewers to smoothly navigate air dates and times (for all six time zones), read show descriptions and watch video previews. While most online schedules are boring, static, spreadsheet-like grids, this one is a photographic, Flash-based display with a draggable UI that allows visitors to move through the a four-week schedule in a way that exposes them to the programs and, by extension, immerses them in the brand.
Each show has its own homepage, and dedicated set of pages, for video previews, photos and interactive features. A handy pulldown menu lists upcoming episode titles and scheduling and users can click through to read overviews and view photos from that particular show. There's also, of course, the ability to send tune-in reminders via mobile phone or e-mail.
Halfway through development, NGC underwent a major rebranding initiative that relaunched on the broadcast channel; gone were all the design elements that populated the interface of the new site. Thanks to standards-based CSS (which made the conversion a heck of a lot easier) in a matter of only a few weeks, the developer turned months of design effort 90 degrees in another direction without having to re-architect (hardly) any of the code or interaction design of the site.
• More than 800 videos from NGC’s award-winning video library are viewable and offered with embeddable video links.
• The photo galleries contain 2,000 images drawn from NGC’s shows, with new images from premiering shows added every week.
• From concept to completion, site development took the better part of a year.
The recent redesign, with the objectives of cultivating enthusiasm for programming and motivating viewers to tune-in, resulted in an immersive, automated experience. Graphic and interaction design elements create a casual, image-rich and seamless computer-based experience that’s a bit like TV without trying to fit into the same mold.
It’s a bit puzzling that the most important feature on a Web site would be to make TV viewing easier but that’s exactly what this site does. Its innovative online schedule allows viewers to smoothly navigate air dates and times (for all six time zones), read show descriptions and watch video previews. While most online schedules are boring, static, spreadsheet-like grids, this one is a photographic, Flash-based display with a draggable UI that allows visitors to move through the a four-week schedule in a way that exposes them to the programs and, by extension, immerses them in the brand.
Each show has its own homepage, and dedicated set of pages, for video previews, photos and interactive features. A handy pulldown menu lists upcoming episode titles and scheduling and users can click through to read overviews and view photos from that particular show. There's also, of course, the ability to send tune-in reminders via mobile phone or e-mail.
Halfway through development, NGC underwent a major rebranding initiative that relaunched on the broadcast channel; gone were all the design elements that populated the interface of the new site. Thanks to standards-based CSS (which made the conversion a heck of a lot easier) in a matter of only a few weeks, the developer turned months of design effort 90 degrees in another direction without having to re-architect (hardly) any of the code or interaction design of the site.
• More than 800 videos from NGC’s award-winning video library are viewable and offered with embeddable video links.
• The photo galleries contain 2,000 images drawn from NGC’s shows, with new images from premiering shows added every week.
• From concept to completion, site development took the better part of a year.
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