What catches your eye

Two years ago Microsoft released the 8^th version of its operating system Windows 8 with major changes in its operating system’s platform. When Microsoft’s first advertisement was released for windows 8, it was a simple yet powerful ad which showcased the easy accessibility to media with touch gestures. For any user both young and old this medium has been simplified with a technique called user experience and user interface. There are two key roles a user experience plays in any website, product development or application. One a complete visually appealing visuals and the other flexible user navigation.

Stanford University conducted a study with more than 2500 participants to check on factors that provide people with web user creditability. The study proved that a good visual design took 46.1% of the cake, therefore most of the users viewed a particular site based on the overall appeal of the visual design of the site, including layout topography, font size, icons organization and color schemes. However a beautiful design will not always salvage a poorly functioning website, but it does majority of the work.

Here is a brilliant example of visual design aesthetics. If you have an Apple product iPhone, iPad, Mac anything in Apple, take a careful look at the design; it has rounded rectangle edges. Now you must be wondering why rounded edges. In the year 1981 graphics genius Bill Atkinson figured out that if the OS was enabled to draw circles and ellipses and not just rectangles with sharp edges it would overcome the Mac's 6800 chip's math limitations. Steve Jobs, ‘Father of the Macintosh’ asked for rounded rectangles and Bill was out with a solution. The logic behind this was simple the shape made larger machines approachable and small ones pocketable and they are simply easy on the eyes because the sharp edges don’t poke you in the eye, besides the brain captures a smooth surface than a sharp one.

The human brain’s cognitive area utilizes the five senses to interpret a complex design. The brain does not understand complicated designs instead it breaks down the images to understandable geometric images and deciphers information from that.

Just imagine your face not having geometry, no proper placement of the eyes, nose, and mouth. What would you look like? Who would look at you? In a similar way a website is the face of a companyto the world. A website is what creates the right impression to your clients.

Let us take color scheme for example and how colors play a key role. Every individual has his personal favorite color and he tends to gravitate towards it. A skilled designer will understand the importance of elevating a color scheme based on the meaning of color in relation to the product or service. A good color choice takes careful planning. When executed perfectly, influences how a visitor interprets what they see as layout and typography.

When Windows 8 first released its appealing glossy design and in-built-to-ease feature,  caught the eye of many people and a lot of users upgraded their systems to this new product. When I first updated my system, my mother who struggled to use a PC found Windows 8 amazing. A laptop or PC which has Windows 8 installed will draw the user’s sight to the multiple play of colors on the screen. The next feature which is an appeal to anyone is the touch and drag feature. My mother always found this amazing because the navigation was super easy, she knew how to locate her favorite apps, place them according to her convince and above all the colors always invite her to stay for a much longer time. 

We have taken a look at Apple’s UI and Microsoft’s UI, let us take a look at what’s behind the front end screen functionality, in simple terms the development or coding. Microsoft uses ‘Metro’ design language and Apple uses ‘Swift’. These tools help to code and design the web page or the application from the back end making sure the usability and navigation is flexible for any individual. A user will also look at the speed, back and forth navigation and the loading time, while using a site. A person or an analyst in charge of the UI of a product will carefully look into design and technical details of the product. A well designed product is structured in the following way; a good design that catches the eye at the first glance, good content which rings bells in the ear and an easy to use hassle free product.

One has nailed a product if you are able to please an eight year old child and a 70 year old man. What are those minute things that gives a good market reach of your apple pie?

These ingredients: an attractive design with just the right play of colors and topography to keep your visitors engaged. The rule of first impression is the best impression- a well dressed website with the right set of pictures, brand identity (logo, tagline or even a royal celebrity’s face) and how well you communicate with your content. Being technically strong avoiding 404 errors and above all effect those emotions.

“A picture is worth a thousand words”. Let everyone capture an everlasting image of what they have  just observed from you site. Communicate to what the eye has to catch, make your user go “awe” over those elements on your site. This will help you build a connection with your audience.

So what is that which catches a user’s eye first? It is the way your apple pie is presented. You need to make your audience take a look at the website just as one would look at a delicious apple pie and drool, make them feel the experience of your site. 

Check out our Site: www.arowanaconsulting.com

Technologies of Arowana

We are today among the fastest growing IT companies in the region. Arowana Consulting’s global footprint  spans across the Continents of Asia, Africa and North America.

We have been able to acquire new clients and also get repeated business from our existing clients due to our ability of understanding their business and delivering products within tight deadlines, with the desired quality.

We have set high standards in development and delivery. Our well-equipped off-shore centres also excel in 24 x 7 supports.

One more reason for our success is our ability to grasp emerging technologies and provide clients with products, solutions and services that compliments their existing investments. We have a continuous process improvement program in place which complements our in-house dedicated and hands-on approach to training and personnel development.

We are well conversant will most of the technologies and have established ‘Centres of Excellence’ staffed with competent technologists that deliver these practices.

We have a ‘Gold’ status partnership with Microsoft. Today we have resources working from our off-shore development Centre and also at Client sites delivering, implementing and providing solutions

We have thriving Java practice and have developed several products and solutions for clients. Besides developing Enterprise applications we also provide supports and upgrades as the evolution of Java resources are quite fast and dynamic. To de-risk customers we offer frequent upgrades based on various flexible and beneficial engagement models.

Mobile Application Development is one of our Cenetrs of Excellence. Our CoE team conducts researches and develops applications for Mobile platforms such as iOS, Blackberry OS, Android and windows.

We have an in-house team of Functional and technical consultants that are well versed in Oracle Products and solutions. We also develop customized bolt on modules based on Oracle Technologies such as OAF and ADF.

Striving for Excellence

The term Center of Excellence (COE) has become a popular jargon in the IT stream, a way of focusing attention in many organizations. Many organizations don’t just treat this as just another ‘excellence’ fad, in fact they try to incorporate the same in their organizational structure.

A CoE can be described as a department which performs its own routine work, in addition to this work they build on improving its own expertise and knowledge resources so that in turn it can help other activity centers throughout the organization to improve.  An organization has to look at both inside and outside the organization to capture new knowledge and practices. The CoE may therefore comprise a functional or cross-functional team which sets up as a physical or virtual team. “Knowledge Management”, is a defining feature of a CoE.

Arowana’s Center of Excellence is often described as a core facility which provides leadership, fosters best practices and implements a continuous improvement process for a practice. Our vision is,“to ensure that the facility provides the best possible services in an efficient manner”, keeping up with the changing dynamics and improvements happening in the practice space- all to ensure that an Organization remains competitive. The CoE will ultimately benefit from the lesson’s learned and passed on with experience which benefits the customer.

Arowana’s Centers of Excellence are:

Oracle Practice at Arowana provides our clients with key offerings in various verticals such as Manufacturing, Retail, Airlines, and Financial Services and Insurance we are geared to deliver quality solutions with robust project management tools, and best methodologies, a team of consultants who have strong domain and process competencies. Blending our industries- leading expertise in consulting, technical implementation, training, roll outs and upgrades. Hyperion, a product of Oracle has become a vital tool for Business Analytics and MIS. Arowana has spun it off as a separate practice which covers Hyperion practice and Hyperion planning.

Cloud Computing at Arowana is just taking a simpler path to cloud solutions. Cloud computing has begun to obtain mass appeal in corporate data centers as it enables the data center to operate like the internet just through a process of enabling computing resources which are accessed and shared as a virtual resource. Arowana provides reliable, failsafe and secure cloud computing service at par with the best in the industry. The engagement modules are flexible and scalable.

Big Data Analytics are used by companies which are inundated with data every day. In order to segregate and structure data that is unorganized and large, Arowana helps these companies to structure their data, prepare easy data dashboards with the help of BI tools. Companies can then understand more about their organization and customers in a better manner.

Testing CoE of Arowana covers a comprehensive range of testing covering manuals and automated testing, including specialized services to test in emerging technology platforms. Our Testing experts will provide an objective view about the quality of the product, hence helping us deliver a quality product or service to our customers.

Training given by Arowana covers a wide area within our practices and CoE. Training is given only by our consultants and senior team members who have typically put in many man years of actual practice and so they are in a better position to impart very practical training with a ‘hands-on’ approach.

Enterprise Application Integration practice helps an organization to enable organized sharing of data and business process among connected applications or data services in an enterprise.

Application Development and Management is based on CMMI compliance development standards, helps in new product engineering, covering all services is PMLC. All of Arowana’s existing range of Products and Solutions are very specific and work across platforms and databases.

Mobile Application Development team is multi-purpose cross platform enabled well versed in all mobile application technologies. We have developed very useful tools for Stock Exchanges, retail and Hospitality Verticals in iOS, Blackberry OS, Windows and Android Technologies.

Our CoE technicians have wide experience, greater technical knowledge, specialists’ toolsand more advanced testing equipment. We diagnose a higher percentage of faults and also identify the root causes of problems. Since the company is appraised at CMMI level 3 all the product and solution deliveries run through a smooth and qualitative process. Through the process of sharing problems, information and experiences, employees learn from each other, and have an opportunity to develop themselves and the organization. Our CoE has a role in developing methods and techniques so that best practice can be disseminated.

Arowana

Our Areas of Business

The term ‘Vertical’ in business refers to a vertical market or industry. It is where businesses and marketers cater to the need of a specific group of people within an industry. Vertical Markets are those that focus on a specific niche and can be marketed to in a similar manner. An organization’s entire business can be a part of the vertical market or just an individual department such as an Airline, retail or just manufacturing.

Horizontal markets are those that focus on a broad range of customers and products that spread across industries. Arowana caters to a Horizontal market where sky is our limit with the number of products and services we will cater to according to our customer needs.

Arowana has a very good exposure in many important verticals. The Verticals we are very familiar with include Telecom, Airlines/ Aviation, Manufacturing, Real Estate and Master Developers, Government, Banking, Financial Sector & Insurance, Healthcare, Public Sector and Retail.

We have partnered with leading organizations in each segment and have implemented systems and solutions for them. We have a rich base of experience and Domain skills and therefore have an understanding of the ‘pain areas’ and challenges in these segments.

Arowana’s Bangalore based development center provides 24 x 7 supports through a team of dedicated technologists. The center is CMMI certified, well equipped and follow ITIL standards to safeguard the interests of our Customers.

We have unique products that are flexible and scalable that can be integrated with any organization’s Core systems. These products work in almost every environment and can be implemented with little or no investment in existing Hardware.

Our Business Analysts and Domain experts offer cost effective solutions that can be used to bridge gaps in the existing systems, whether it is in the ERP or any core functional system. We have cross platform development capabilities and multiple engagement models; we address your automation requirements well.

We are very Strong in Enterprise Application Integration, Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence and Cloud Computing. Our practice covers Application Development & Management with Centers of Excellence in Oracle, SAP, Training and Testing Services. We also have very good development resources in Microsoft, Java, Oracle and Mobile Application Development.