Content Systems: Fueling Business Success Through Purposeful Design

When we speak about designed content, in its many forms, it's natural to envision stunning imagery, sleek interfaces and content blocks full of captivating copy. Yet beneath these, there’s an invisible force at play, which is crucial but often overlooked; the design of the system that powers these outputs.

With many businesses choosing to build custom dashboards and CMS solutions to meet their unique requirement, a well-designed CMS app serves as the backbone of digital content creation and distribution, empowering users with unmatched control and efficiency.

Gathering technical and user requirements is essential in building the foundations of a strong content system. This provides a solid framework within which you can design and build a cohesive structure. Within this structure, the components will interact with each other to achieve specific goals and to satisfy each identified user’s journey.

A good content management system will provide measurable outcomes, including increased engagement, speed, efficiency, and ultimately a greater adoption of the software.

Translating these technical requirements into instinctive interfaces takes practice. Designers must find the balance between meeting technical objectives and creating websites or applications that are captivating, enhance productivity, and are intuitive to use.

A well-designed system isn't just an asset—it's the backbone propelling businesses forward into their future. 

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Systems designs in practice - a use case

In 2023, a client approached Accedo to help build a custom advertising dashboard that captured their audience’s attention and reflected their unique brand. It was imperative that the designers of these interfaces had experience in taking a technical brief, and creating something unified, user friendly and highly functional as a result.

The client was looking for an efficient and user-friendly advertisement management dashboard. It had to be set up to cater to multiple users, from their employees, to various brands or external agencies that utilize their products to showcase their video and static advertisements. 

A large part of the brief focused around the need for a hassle-free experience for scheduling ads, and also analyzing ad performance through engaging and clear metrics. The design was in line with the client’s specifications, and the Accedo design team emphasized introducing features that benefit the application's stakeholders.

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To initiate the project, Accedo worked alongside the client’s internal team to thoroughly understand the business objectives and specific requirements for the advertising management dashboard. Through this collaboration and a keen focus on user experience, the team identified key features and metrics essential for effective campaign management.

The information architecture was meticulously planned, emphasizing a hierarchy that prioritizes critical data. Wireframes and interactive prototypes helped visualize the layout and gather early feedback. The UI design, incorporating the client's branding guidelines, prioritized its adaptability for multiple user types. Through iterative feedback loops, Accedo refined the dashboard to ensure that it met the client’s objectives and was user-friendly and efficient.

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Driving long-term business success with purposeful design

Following the completion of the design process, the client was delivered high-fidelity designs and a fully functional advertising asset manager dashboard. This dashboard satisfied the needs of users, and streamlined the process of creating, launching, and managing advertising campaigns. With a centralized dashboard, easy campaign setup, and tracking tools, the dashboard was an efficient campaign management tool.

The project showed that while captivating imagery and sleek interfaces often steal the spotlight, a well-designed CMS app serves as the backbone of digital content creation and distribution. By gathering technical and user requirements, businesses can build a strong foundation for their content systems, leading to increased engagement, efficiency, and software adoption. Ultimately, a well-designed system isn't just an asset but serves as the backbone propelling businesses forward into the future.

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If you are thinking of embarking on your own custom design initiative, please contact our teams to learn more.