Pressbooks
Content reorganisation for a reputable online publisher
Client
Pressbooks
Year
2018 - 2021
Expertise
Pressbooks is book production software. Pressbooks hosts and maintains individual PressbooksEDU networks for academic institutions, presses, and consortia. You can also use Pressbooks as an individual faculty member or as an independent author.
Why this project was a success
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1
Streamlined the resource library to be easily searchable, and navigable.
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2
Refreshed branding to give it a more modern feel.
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3
Clearly defined audience types and their pathways.
By the book
Plank’s mission was to give the Pressbooks website a modern refresh. Using an open source font we made the vast amounts of content easier to read. The site’s colour scheme was enhanced making it richer and more engaging. The goal was to create a look and feel that represented Pressbooks’ mission to captivate and inform its users.
In writing
As a publishing platform Pressbooks works with a significant amount of content and information. Plank worked to organize that content into something more cohesive. Using seamless navigation and a clear strategy, users are now able to find information easily and get where they need to go quickly. Blog posts on the site were also broken down into fewer categories, and an archives section was created dating back to 2012.
Plank helped us modernize our website and better communicate Pressbooks’ value proposition to different audience segments in a well-organized and visually compelling way.
Elizabeth Mays, Director of Sales and Marketing, Pressbooks.
Showcasing who you are
Pressbooks has multiple products designed for three target audiences: educational institutions, faculty authors, and self-publishers. Plank’s design helped to differentiate each product’s benefits for its audience segment. For Educational Institutions, Plank created a working table that clearly outlines the variety, features and options available. Icons were also customized for each section providing visual indicators for all services and support available including infrastructure, training, backups and open communication.
The last word
Plank modernized the Pressbooks site, bringing its content up to date, improving organization and breathing new life into its look. The site is now clean, clear and a pleasure to use.
About the client
Pressbooks builds software to support new models for book publishing with an emphasis on helping make educational resources (aka digital textbooks) free for all. They are passionate about open source, open content, open knowledge, open education, and the intersection of books and the web.
