On Design & My Work
Benjamin Mailian

The potential of a great
user interface

With a little coding we
can turn this...

With a little coding we
Into this...
can turn this...

By putting the user at the
center of the development
process, we can focus on
usability.

Consider the difference between these two
essentially identical selectors...

Consider the difference between these two
essentially identical selectors...

Consider the difference between these two
essentially identical selectors...

Standard
user inputs

Standard Enhanced
user inputs user inputs

Here is what a little styling can
do for this...

Here is what a little styling can
do for this...

A good interface makes software
easy to use and boosts its
adoption rate.
A poor user interface can
make an excellent technology
unusable.

I design for ROI
ROI: Returns On Investment
Approach inspired in part by Web Design for ROI by Lance Lovday and Sandra Niehaus (2008)

Your web project is not an
end, it is a means to an end.

Your web project is not an
end, it is a means to an end.
Define your organizational
objectives for your project

Great design achieves your
objectives while being user-centric
Who are you building this for?
What do these people want?
What’s the best way to give it to them?

Designing for ROI is
concerned with
• Your organization’s objectives
• Your visitor’s expectations and questions
• Unique issues based on the design
component
• Metrics that can be used to measure
efficiency

Here is the process in
action

Client
• Flight of the Gibbon - An eco-friendly
rainforest zipline adventure tour company
in Thailand
• Component: the homepage

Organization
Objectives
• Online sale of eco-friendly adventure tours
in Chiang Mai and Bangkok, Thailand
• Capture bookings before travel agents do
to save 25% on commission payouts
• Reach tourists before they get to Thailand
to avoid high marketing costs in the
crowded Thai tourist market place

Visitor expectations
and questions
• Does this look safe and trustworthy?
• What does this company do?
• Does this look like something I want to do?
• What actions can I take now?
• Hmm, that’s intriguing, how do I learn
more?

Unique Issues (for the
homepage)
• Appeal to many types of visitors
• Establish credibility
• Meet expectations of diverse types of
visitors
• Write compelling copy
• Have clear call to action
• Use big clear buttons

Appropriate Metrics
• Abandonment/penetration rate of the
homepage
• Number of tour bookings

Here is how it
translates into design

In this case, the logo does
not explain the activities of
the company so we add a
tagline that immediately tells
visitors what the company
does.

We engage the user to click
on a slider presentation that
requires no page reload to
explain the product in an
engaging and fast-paced way.

We address the most
important points clearly and
concisely right on the home
page.

We establish safety and
trustworthiness with
standards, testimonials and
secure online booking

Keeping in mind our objective of
bypassing travel agents through
direct booking, we highlight
internet-only benefits

We use big buttons that
stand out from the rest of
the site. Each button
describes a clear action.

In the scope of establishing our
credibility, we list media
coverage of the company

We make it easy to
contact and follow us

We place information for fast-paced visitors
above the fold, and we use the footer to
display content for visitors that will take the
time to scroll down to find out what we’re all
about.
This is also a way to incorporate search
engine strategy into the home page without
compromising persuasion architecture.

More of my work

Proposed upcoming redesigns of Petrossian.fr utilizing
the exisiting underlying display logic.
(I handle the web operations of Petrossian worldwide)
This site is powered by a custom PHP e-commerce
platform. I managed the development and deployment
of the platform.

Concept Skin for Petrossian.fr

Concept Skin for Petrossian.fr

Sounds of The
Ancestors
Experiential E-learning Site powered by Drupal

ISDSI Proposed
Redesign

Thailandclimbing.com
This client had 3 very different sectors
in mind: rock climbing adventures,
experiential education programs and
corporate teambuilding
We designed 3 different templates, one
for each sector, while preserving
continuity and brand image.
This site is powered by Joomla!

The Rock Climbing Adventures Template

The Experiential Education Template

The Sanctuary Thailand
This site is powered by Wordpress

VeteransGreenJobs.org
VGJ has a1% bounce rate. For every 100
visitors, only 1 person leaves without clicking
through to another page on the site.
For most sites, 30% is a low bounce rate. In
VGJ’s case, it means that visitors were
immediately engaged in the site.
This site is powered by Wordpress

iPhone GUI

Web banners

Web banners - VGJ

Web banners - Petrossian (animated)

Web banners - Yablok

Email campaigns

Email campaigns

Email campaigns

Email campaigns

Other Design Work
Samples available upon request
• Print ads, banners, brochures, flyers
• Stationery
• Van and bus graphics

Closing note
I am a designer and...
• I have skills that extend into management, marketing, coding and server
administration.
• I usually work with PHP & MySQL on Linux servers, often with
Wordpress, Joomla and Drupal.
• I have developed a custom multi-lingual e-commerce platform for a MNC
• I can interface with other technical partners and have experience
managing projects and meeting deadlines.
• I am fluent in English and French.
• I am an entrepreneur, a creative thinker and a solution finder.
• I teach multimedia technologies and film.
• I can learn new things.

Thank you for your interest in my
work.
My name is Benjamin Mailian
You can contact me at
sendben@gmail.com
I work with Jeff Friesen who is an
SEO and e-business consultant. You
can contact him at
momoblackblack@gmail.com