Masthead and menu

[robertocarroll]

Key points about menu implemented for ICC Alpha:

1. Device agnostic - https://www.dropbox.com/s/v7y00iq60x7qcqk/ICC-device-agnostic.pdf?dl=0 Same approach works well for many different devices
2. Detaches menu from dependance of top IA, e.g. allows for shortcuts/highlights which can be changed according to feedback
3. Different approach for home layout where we have little clue about the possible user journeys - present the many possible journeys. This is related to #21

1. Once we know more about a particular user, the emphasis is on content rather than navigation:

[robertocarroll]

ICC Alpha feedback:

Some people felt the navigation bar had too many categories and they didn't like the hidden menu, but this needs more thorough testing as much of this feedback came from users inside the Court viewing on desktops.

[kyleschaeffer]

I would suggest a navigation pattern much like what is used on NPR's website: http://www.npr.org/

Notice how (1) most important navigation items are listed in the horizontal navigation bar and (2) additional topics are listed in in the "topics" menu, which pushes page content aside upon reveal. Do you think something like this would work in the ICC site? I think it's important not to repeat items in navigation, as this confused me and may confuse users as well.

[robertocarroll]

I could see the topic pattern from the NPR example working for investigations and cases - it's a very "flat" structure which could expand unpredictably, so the topic design pattern would handle that nicely.

Just to explain a bit of background. One of the main aims of the new site is to keep the situation/case as high up as possible c.f.

http://icc-cpi.int/drc/lubanga with the current site: http://icc-cpi.int/en_menus/icc/situations%20and%20cases/situations/situation%20icc%200104/related%20cases/icc%200104%200106/Pages/democratic%20republic%20of%20the%20congo.aspx

It also keeps the country url fixed even as it moves from preliminary examination to situation to closed. See here for more detail: https://github.com/robertocarroll/icc-alpha/issues/43

Beyond that there's a couple of issues with a persistent fixed top navigation:

• the top IA doesn't really match up with the things users are interested in all the time - hence the suggestion to have a shortcuts in a hidden menu everywhere except the home layout
• leading on from that, to keep the emphasis on content rather than navigation - breadcrumb and in page links - treating the each situation almost self-contained and pulling everything in from across the site that a user would need - hence rendering cross-site journeys, hopping around different strands on the top IA, unnecessary.

Happy to discuss this further - it's vital!

[kyleschaeffer]

I think my biggest concern is the lack of consistency with the navigation. I have a hard time making sense of the navigation structure myself, so I feel like users will be confused by it as well. In my experience, navigation should be consistent throughout the entirety of the site, and I would be leery of doing anything contrary to this without additional user research to validate the system.

If we want to introduce a contextual navigation system (like the "shortcuts" menu), I think it would work much better as a sub-section of the main navigation system. Perhaps a shortcuts drop-down menu: the shortcuts would always be in the same place for consistency, but the contents of shortcuts could change contextually.

[robertocarroll]

I've been mulling over a more traditional approach to the menu - grouping the different top IA around content and calls to action. I'm not advocating this approach, I just thought I'd share it in case it was of interest. ("Archive" in this context is "resource library" and the list is NPR-style topics list)

There's a few things that strike me about this approach:

• Having "news" but no court records
• How the two-level menu would work on smaller devices.
• Lack of "shortcuts" for quick access to important (but buried stuff).

What's does everyone think?

[kyleschaeffer]

@robertocarroll, I think that could definitely work.

On the other hand, you've also convinced me that our original direction for the navigation could work very well with a few important changes:

1. The entire navigation menu should be more overt. I'm thinking a subtle animation to "push" content to the right will help, and adding some color to the menu button during creative should help as well.
2. In my opinion, primary navigation items (carried over from the home page) should always be at the top to help keep users oriented
3. Shortcuts should perhaps be confined to a hidden menu, appearing on click/touch

[robertocarroll]

I was just playing devil's advocate and personally much prefer the original approach, which I think could work really well with the changes you outline above.