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The images show in this feature are some of the
concepts and designs that were used in the development of the design that
you see today, from April 2002 until July 2002 when the new design was finalized.
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A snowboarding friend and colleague
introduced me to Ski Japan Guide one Friday afternoon at work before my
first trip to snowboard at a proper resort.
"You can check out the snow forecast and the resort in English here",
he said.
"Wow! Information on all that in English, in Japan?"
"Yeah, but this website doesn’t have a future you know. I mean, how can
they survive? There aren’t that many foreigners who ski, and they’re not an
attractive market segment."
That was two years ago now, and I was soon hooked. I started playing around on
the Forum, checking out the data on the resorts, and taking a fetishistic
interest in snow conditions care of the Resort Watch. I had the site open all
the time at work, and then accessed it again from home.
Ski Japan Guide as it was - pre November 2002
The Traditional November
Rollout
Ski Japan Guide is updated by tradition on November 1st every year.
Up till this year, the site has gone into a sort of summer hibernation, but now
it has sufficient following to maintain a respectable level of activity year
round. Even in the fetid heat of the summer with the snow just a blissful
memory, the subject of snowboarding and skiing appears to be compelling enough
that folks will talk about it on the Forum and read articles with a snow theme.
Even as the season wound down, there was a burst of activity in the Reader’s
Gallery section with a fascinating selection of photos, including shots of
madmen taking their thing to the slopes of Fuji-san. It’s remarkable how
flexibly the small SJG team managed to respond, and get the pages up.
This year, though, the site is enough of a departure from the past to be
described as a quantum leap. First there’s the name. While it’s just got
far better as a guide, it has become much more than that, so that part has
gone. Similarly, snowboarders are big users, so the ski ‘monopoly’ has been
dropped too, although if it hadn’t been for the founders’ passion for
skiing, there would be no site today. ‘Snow Japan’ is broad and inclusive,
and quite fitting. If those funny scooters with skids on the bottom prove to be
the ride of the future, then the name will still fit.
More important than the name though, is the content. Like the new functionality
on the Forum, much of the new content is items that have been requested by
users. So, what’s new?
Design development ideas - April-July 2002
Obvious to
anyone is the
design.
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The site been completely redesigned graphically from scratch. Gone are the ‘Red
Devil’ and his snowboarding companions from PhotoDisc Series 4. Overall
presentation and navigation have been radically improved. This is an altogether
higher level of professional design. |
Perhaps the biggest change is
membership.
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By registering, you can actually own a part
of the site and control your own content (with the
INSIDER
item in the main menu).
You have your own MEMBER’S PAGE, which includes
your profile, interests and photos, as well as links to any content that you
have contributed. |
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Registered FORUM members don’t need register
again. You can use your forum username and password to start making a member’s
page. |
Snow Japan is all about user content, and
there are new features to make it even easier to air your opinions.
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RIDER’S VOICE groups together user
RESORT
REVIEWS, RANKINGS, the
FORUM,
and in season, the CHATROOM. An entirely new
concept is the JOURNAL. With this feature,
you can document the highs and lows of your season, for your own and other user’s
edification. This is a combination diary and review section that is all your
own. Information posted by users is time-stamped so that you can judge how
relevant it’s likely to be. If you wish to advertise where you’re going to
be at a date in the future, you can do that too!
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The
FORUM
has all new POLL and PRIVATE MESSAGING capabilities, as well as MEMBER RANKINGS
(hint – you can elect not to display your own ranking if you don’t like
it.)
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User content will be subject to the same light editorial touch as the Forum to
maintain the standards of the site. When content is submitted, it will be
checked quickly by one of the editorial team, and you’ll soon receive an
email letting you know that your content has gone public.
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With these functions all grouped conveniently,
your employer will be lucky to get any work out of you at all when you’re not
actually off riding. The reviews and basic ranking were available last season
too, but now everything is linked up and beautifully organized (whether
submitted by members/non-members, other reviews for this resort, other reviews
by this member, date stamps and so on), and generally much more useful. |
Design development ideas - April-July 2002
Discussion
will be encouraged further by the greater linkage.
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Feature articles will have a link directly to the Forum so that you can
immediately go and debunk everything the feature writer has said. |
Another welcome feature is customization.
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If you only go to the Yuzawa resorts, or if you live in Australia and are only
interested in Niseko, you can organize the information you view to reflect your
preferences. The information you crave is handled through the
RESORT
WATCH and EMAIL UPDATES. You can also decide who
to interact with using the BUDDY LIST. |
The guide aspect of the site has been
improved with an infusion of new information.
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Last season’s WEATHER REPORTS/ SNOW DEPTH
covered snow depths at about 100 resorts and weather in 10 regions.
This year the info will be updated 3 times a day for every resort in Japan
(about 600). This means that Snow Japan is more than ever the resource to use
for planning where to go riding. Presentation of this information can be
customized.
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With EMAIL NOTIFICATION, you can sign
up to get an automatic email sent to you whenever any of the Now! Pages that
you specify are updated online.
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The SEARCH function and database behind it have been redesigned and
reprogrammed to improve your user experience.
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The Japanese site is an entirely new
departure.
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For those users who read Japanese, the new site should be another source of
information about their favourite subject. Expect to see interesting
cross-pollination of ideas and opinions. This should also make the site more
relevant to Japanese snow resorts, and will hopefully make the opinions of
users a matter of greater importance to them. |
And of course, the site wouldn’t be complete without an advertising
gimmick.
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You can send your friends E-POSTCARDS to make them drool over the heavenly
delights of this snow country, and not incidentally, let them know about Snow
Japan. |
Design development ideas - April-July 2002
Continued
on the next page
Behind Snow Japan : An Interview with Andrew Lea
