FAOweb Goes Live

The Joint Foreign Area Office Skill Sustainment Pilot Program is the biggest and most important project (to date) for Ideal Imaging. Sponsored by the United States Navy, the web portal was launched globally to over 2500 Foreign Area Officers in March 2010.

What’s FAOweb?

FAOweb is an internet portal available to Foreign Area Officers (FAOs) worldwide, which provides self-paced, job-relevant education modules addressing topics ranging from the ‘interagency process’ to ‘working with interpreters,’ as well as customized language resources developed by the Defense Language Institute. FAOweb also serves as a professional community hub fostering FAO professionalization and interaction within and between the Armed Services.

The target audience for this project includes Foreign Area Officers who represent the four branches of the US Military (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines). They are high-ranking officers which may serve as a Defense Attaché, Security Assistance Officer, or Intelligence Analyst, among many other international roles. As experts in the politics and culture of their assigned country and region, FAOs provide critical guidance ition and execution of defense operations worldwide.

The message FAOweb aims to produce is to be a “one-stop-shop” for collaborative and learning experiences in the FAO field. The FAOs should feel that all necessary tools (learning modules, online discussion boards, video chat, documents, etc) are readily and easily available in one central, online location.

Functionality Must Be…Functional

One of the issues designers come across is transforming the ideas of the client into an actual working product. Depending on the type of designer you hire, you can have an aesthetically pleasing website that will be visually stimulating and engaging. However, once the site’s visitor gets over the fact that your site is “pretty”… there has to be some substance and functionality.

They came to your site for a reason, so give them a reason to stay.

If the site’s navigation is poor or the content is sparse and lacks pertinent information…then you haven’t done your job as a designer. You’ve also done a disservice to your client who is paying for your professional services.

Take their vision and make it functional. Make it applicable. Make it visually stimulating. Basically, make it work.

The Evolution Begins

If you’re an Ideal Imaging regular, you may have noticed the re-design and launch of the new website. But for those of you who are new, welcome to the Evolution. The blog will be used as an information highway into the world of web, graphic, and instructional design. There really won’t be a “set” topic that I will cover, as one never knows what strange or interesting design projects I will uncover on a daily basis.

What’s New?

One of new features added to the website is the ability to connect with us via numerous social networks. So jump on the bandwagon and follow Ideal Imaging on Facebook, Flickr, Last.FM, LinkedIn, and Twitter. We promise to keep you coming back for more!