New York, July 24th, 2019

Based in New York, Blue Fountain Media is a digital agency that combines imagination with technology to deliver human-centric digital experiences that move businesses to the next level. They have a wide expertise on website design and developing, marketing solutions and B2B and B2C, among many other areas.

Britney Wallace is the head of UX at BFM, and a key part of her responsibilities is to work on information architecture (IA). In an interview with TIA, Wallace describes her daily responsibilities and what it means to work on IA, highlighting how it can be improved and why should brands care about it.

Could you describe your agency in a few words?

Blue Fountain Media provides end-to end digital solutions for a multitude of brands and companies across all industries. We strive to provide the most ideal experience by approaching each and every project with just the right balance between opportunity and structure.

What experiences led you to the position you hold today?

At my previous company my UX team was relatively broad and spread out. We had UX designers in San Francisco, Atlanta, Connecticut and a couple sprinkled remotely throughout the country and I was the only UX designer based out of the NYC office. Being the only representative from my team in NYC for 4 years there was a great level of responsibility and exposure due to my location.

Those projects and resource management level responsibilities expanded across the multiple locations listed during my last couple of years there. I believe with that management experience as well as being the UX lead on all of my projects helped set me up for the position I hold today.

How do you organize, plan and prioritize your work?

I like to keep it simple as possible and use the same tools I use for other tasks. Tools such as Microsoft Outlook (to block out time on my calendar or set reminders), Microsoft Excel (for items such as recourse allocation spreadsheets) as well as checklists whether written down or using online tools.

An online tool I’ve been using for almost a decade now is Evernote which I use for notes, checklists, drafts and anything online notebook related – this comes in handy as I can access this content anywhere. As for prioritization, I typically base it on the deadlines provided and work my way back from those dates.

What does it mean and what does it take to be a great UX designer?

Being empathetic. The term “empathy” as it relates to UX design was mentioned to me a few years back by one of my previous managers who is like a mentor to me, Dante Murphy. It wasn’t until around 2016 that I fully understood it in the environment UX designers work in.

Being empathic doesn’t just apply to the experiences we develop and the people we design them for, it also applies to the people we collaborate with. On a daily basis UX designers typically converse with various positions such as digital strategists, brand managers, developers, all who are working together to create the final product.

It’s a group effort and I believe that greatness comes with the willingness to understand the various point of views, opinions and work collectively to find a solution.

What is your design process? Could you please describe what methods you follow?

The 4 D’s. Discovery, Define, Design, and Develop. As UX designers we have our hands in each and every stage from end-to-end which includes everything from the requirements gathering during discovery, all the way to quality assurance (QA) which occurs during the development phase.

What role does information architecture play in your organization?

Information Architecture is a very important sub-set of the UX designer’s job responsibilities, tasks and deliverables. For most of our work here we ensure that the site architecture is solid from a business and user perspective using research tools such as card sorting, stakeholder/user interviews as well as landscape analysis.

Could you describe a regular day in your position?

On a regular day my mornings are typically filled with responding to emails, resource allocation, article “skimming” and other admin-like tasks. I then like to spend my afternoons in “production” mode. Internal and client meetings are sprinkled throughout which does require some adjusting on a daily basis.

How can information architecture help brands?

Simply put, it allows their site’s visitors to get to their goal as efficiently as possible.

What are some of the best practices in information architecture?

Providing a balanced amount of options, a clear and distinguished visual content hierarchy and categorization that resonates well with broad audiences, allowing for a more optimal user experience.

How can the information architecture be improved?

Gathering qualitative and quantitative feedback and conducting user research does wonders for information architecture improvements and for website improvements in general.

What do you enjoy most about IA work?

“Making sense out of nonsense” – Something that I love to do is identify primary, secondary and tertiary content. It’s something about finding and organizing structure that brings me joy and I know at the end of the day the work I do will be felt by site visitors as they will be able to find their content with little to no error or friction.

Is there a challenge your team is currently facing?

Like most teams, a main challenge of ours can tend to be resourcing and allocation. Work within the advertising industry notoriously ebbs and flows so the best you can do is be as prepared as possible for when it picks up.

To who would you recommend following a career in design / IA?

Those with a curious mind but can also think tactically. And, as mentioned earlier, those who are able to collaborate and communicate effectively.

Thanks Britney!

Learn more about Blue Fountain Media

Follow Britney Wallace on social media:
LinkedIn

Follow BFM on social media:
http://www.facebook.com/BFMweb
http://www.twitter.com/BFM_Agency
https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-fountain-media

Blue Fountain MediaBritney WallaceIAProfilesUX designer