Outstanding Website

"Journey for Answers
Behavior created an online destination for the public television series that explores fundamental issues of universe, brain/mind, religion, meaning and purpose through intimate, candid conversations with leading scientists, philosophers, scholars, and theologians. The site leverages a myriad of video content from an archive of over 2000 video interview clips and TV programs. Behavior was tasked with facilitating entry points and deep engagement for newbies, the intellectually curious and the scholarly alike.

Many questions, many paths
The two primary ways for users to navigate content: a user may elect to navigate via the top-level navigation and choose by topic or by contributor. This follows a logical route to information within categories that are cross-referenced for lateral movement between topics.

Surfacing deep content
As an alternative means of navigation, Behavior’s strategy to surface deeper content was to leverage the format of the television program where each episode is framed around a question. Behavior applied the idea to the taxonomy and grouped different kinds of content in a web-like structure that contained full episodes, subtopics videos and contributor interviews together to expose the many facets to a particular theme.

Movement and the message
One of the key hallmarks of the design is the use of video. Behavior used the elegant and beautiful cinematography employed by the series, applying video as a background movement texture as a prompt to watch the full video. Environments from the series that subtly move are used as backdrops to present the topics and visually brand sections. Movement is also encouraged through the display of a unique topical navigation."

Contributors:

Managing Director:	Mimi Young
UX Director:	Jeff Piazza
Project Manager:	Richard Weir
UX Lead:	Jenn Coonce
Visual Design Lead:	Lee Chakov
Techinical Lead:	Sang T. Lee

BEHAVIOR DESIGN

Location: USA

About the Agency:

Behavior is an award-winning boutique interactive design studio founded in 2001, and based in New York City. Our contingent is comprised of seasoned veterans and trusted, expert consultants–representing information architecture, branding and interface design, and design technologies. Behavior’s mission is to develop best-of-breed, intuitive, interactive solutions that educate, inform and entertain–always with a focus on the end user–no matter the challenge. We strive to create innovative and elegant interactive systems for our clients and partners.