Integrity was recently tasked with branding the city of St. Louis via an internal iPad app for a client by creating a user-friendly document library filled with fun tidbits that highlighted the awesome-ness that is the Gateway city.

We had fun with this one.

The app was designed to highlight hotels, tourist attractions and other points of interest in the city (a stop at Ted Drewes, perhaps?). Our team presented all this yummy goodness in an easy-to-navigate format, giving access to maps, directories, contact lists, you name it. This was all streamlined with a unique menu system that remained static at the top so the user didn’t have to “back out” through a tangled web of breadcrumbs. We made the app so simple and stylish, even the iPad-challenged could zip through like pros.

We like to think of it as a personal concierge you can fit into your briefcase—but one you don’t have to tip.

In addition to leaping tall buildings in a single bound, our new interactive designer Alan Sheu can not only build you a website, but also completely trick it out with a fabulous design. Originally from Lawrence, Kansas, this superstar graduated from Washington University in 2009 with a degree in communication design. From there he freelanced as mild-mannered Alan the developer by day, and the caped design crusader by night.

When he’s not doubling up on Integrity projects in Wordpress or Photoshop, Alan or “Squeaky” as he reluctantly admitted to being called, enjoys movies, video games and fellow four-eyed hero Harry Potter. His kryptonite is stale music, and his secret weapon is his ability to travel incognito as his twin brother. Don’t worry, we put a mark on the real Alan. Bet you wish you knew where.

In the beginning, Mohealthcareers.com was an informative website full of useful information about promoting healthcare professions in Missouri, helping people find schools, scholarships and places to work. Now, the newly rebranded Missourihealthcareers.com is… still all of those things—it’s just way, way more fun! To better connect with one of the core demographics (high schoolers), Integrity rebuilt the entire website from the ground up, tweaking language to make it more conversational and approachable, updating user flows to ensure they were simple and easy to navigation and overhauling the design to appeal to a more youthful audience. Mission accomplished.

The big business question we had to answer was, “What will get people interested in healthcare?” The answer was giving them a quick, entertaining glimpse into key elements of different healthcare jobs (money, how much gore is involved, how long are you in school, etc). We accomplished this by turning all that data into an “infographic” (yes, that’s a real term, or at least it should be).

While we were at it, we added an interactive hospital and college map, a blog featuring real life success stories from healthcare professionals and the centerpiece of the new site, an interactive flash quiz designed to help you identify which healthcare career is best suited for you. Go ahead and take it. You know you want to.

So basically, we transformed the site from a manila envelope into a bedazzled trapper keeper. A really, really rockin’ trapper keeper.

There’s a common scene every morning at the local coffee house—doesn’t matter which coffee house it is. I see it everywhere. In an effort to add cream and sugar, you end up stepping on an old man’s foot, knocking over a baby stroller and wandering looking for a trashcan like Miley Cyrus looking for a career boost. The problem—the “condiment bar” lacks usability.

So do most websites. See where I’m going with this?

Here are the website usability lessons to be gleaned from your next trip to Java Joe’s:

1. Put things that people need first in a place they can easily find, and BEFORE the things they need next. Don’t put the paper cup sleeves at the opposite end from the actual coffee dispensers. People need those FIRST as to not burn their flesh off. If you want a new user to sign up for your services online, you first have to sell them on your services.

2. Group things in a logical fashion. It might be nice to find a trashcan near the stir sticks and Equal packets, rather than over by the ice tea dispenser. Websites abuse this rule when they have too many navigation items—if things relate in an obvious fashion, group them together under a single navigation item, rather than spreading them out and making people hunt.

3. Don’t crowd the table. You don’t want to have to delicately reach over the stack of giant lids to reach the human-size ones. When it comes to web design, white space is your friend. When you throw everything and the kitchen sink on a single page, the result is a noxious mess we like to refer to as “info barf.” Appetizing!

Really it’s about putting yourself in the user’s shoes. Would I look there to find that info? Does the navigation path seem clear to me? Do I need to put a trashcan closer to the damn stir sticks?

Yes. Yes, you probably do.

She’s upped the ante and we’re going all in! Erica Wenick (or ‘E’ as the rounders call her) has joined the game as a design intern after winning big as an in-house designer for Novus International where she worked on everything from print ads and monthly newsletters to web banners and online flash ads. She also had a stake in freelance design for American Image Salon and Pappas Toyota. Before that, Erica threw her chips in the pot at Maryville University where she received her BFA in Graphic Design (that’s skill, not luck). Her strategy is based on the belief that other than nature, everything on the planet must be designed.

When she’s not cashing in ideas with our design department to create banners and website designs, Erica enjoys playing Texas Hold’em and showing off her p-p-p-poker face (minus the black spandex suit and glittering headdress). This wild card also loves spending time with her boyfriend, walking her dog in Creve Couer and watching The Office. We hit the jackpot!

Ed Morrissey, Partner and Chief Creative Officer of Integrity, will be presenting “The Importance of Design” at the 2010 St. Louis Innovation Camp held at UMSL Campus JC Penny Conference Center, February 26-28.

“Every great idea starts in the design phase,” says Morrissey, who brings over 18 years of experience building and selling businesses, launching products and opening markets for both start-ups and Fortune 1000s. “And this presentation will highlight the benefits and opportunities that good design creates for start-ups, product developers and anyone interested in launching an idea.”

Please join members of the entrepreneur, information technology and marketing communities as they join forces with local businesses to offer this one-of-a-kind startup and innovation camp.

For more information, visit the St. Louis Innovation Camp site at http://www.stlinnovationcamp.com/.