The experts all say that, in a large organisation, a standard look and feel to an intranet is a benefit to everyone. Easy to learn navigation means you know what to expect. The look and feel is easier to manage as templates are centrally owned and brand changes can be applied across the intranet with little fuss. Everyone knows that they are part of "the company".
It is said that the look should come second to the information that is actually on the site and that most users don't care where the information sits, just that they can find it.
Now I agree with the need for a consistent navigation, Office products would look a little silly if the menus were all in different places. Headers, footers and menus all in the same place – I totally agree. Information architecture is key to a successful intranet.
But….
Should Department A have exactly the same look as Department B, Department C and the rest, all the way through to Department Z? I'm not so sure that is such a good thing. Yes, they may all work for the same company but that common identity could be placed in the header or footer of the page. The users and customers of Department A may have different needs to that of Department C. The purpose of Department B's intranet may be different from Department D's.
The point I am trying to make is that, yes, we all belong to the same company, but that company is made up of different departments. If they all did the same thing then why isn't there just one big department?
There is also a staff engagement issue here – as members of staff we like to feel like we belong not just to the company, but to our departments and to our teams.
My solution? Consistent navigation should be used for ease of use but the "theme" of the site should be varied. This can be done through using different colour schemes and slight variations in graphics. While still maintaining an overall "brand" departments will have their own identity.
Microsoft are a good example. Go to their home page and look at the Products & Related Technologies link on the right hand menu. It shows a series of screenshots of all of the different sub sites. Same company, different look and feel….
Now, according to the experts, Microsoft have got it wrong. Ah, but the experts are talking about intranets not internets. I have seen Microsoft's intranet about four months ago and while it is a very useful for its staff, there isn't a great deal of consistency across their sub sites.
In meetings and discussions I have been involved in this has proven to be a very emotive subject. There are those who insist that consistency and sameness is necessary for ease of use. I am totally against sameness. I like individuality and I like to belong to my team and my department. I want to be able to promote team and department successes. Our uniqueness and the good things uniqueness brings can get lost when everything is viewed as one.
I'm keen to hear what you think about this subject. Have you implemented a consistent look and feel on your intranet? Has it worked? Do your staff feel more or less engaged? Has content suffered because too much time was spent on the aesthetics of your site?
Until next time…
petermorath