ONLINE SOFTWARE...
401k Easy Online
First Midwest Bank

challenge...
Create templates within which 401k Enginuity's online 401k plan management and participation technology can operate. Must allow for easy branding.

solution...
The online system is an interacting series of Active Server Pages and scripts. Pixel Relish designed overall html templates within which the technology could operate. For easy branding, we used cascading style sheets — for quick global color changes — and simple html header and footer files whose artwork we can quickly revise to branding needs. "Save," "Continue," and other buttons were created using Photoshop layer effects; new sets can quickly be created by altering the master effect then applying the revised to the new site's buttons.

Two examples of branded versions of 401k Enginuity's technology are shown at right. To access the online systems, please go to the parent sites: 401k-easy-online.com (click on Demo) and fmb.com, respectively.

We've also created introductory materials for people using these systems to participate in the company 401k plans. See, for example, the e-mail ad/Web page, Welcome to Your Online 401k Plan (for 401k Easy Online users).

HELP SITE...
401kfedforms.com

challenge...
Create a guide for the client's 401k software users to help them complete their 401k-related federal filings.

solution...
Begin with graphics from the same family that Pixel Relish used in the software's marketing sites. Organize information by plan size (which determines the forms needing to be completed). Create point-and-click as well as a simple annotated version of each relevant form, because people with 480 by 640 small monitors (more common back in the late 1990's than today) could find the pop-up version cumbersome, while people with higher resolution monitors would find it very useful. Use each page's left column to provide helpful hints. Keep pages open and airy so it's easy for people to keep their spot when looking back and forth between screen and the hard-copy form being completed. Write the copy in a friendly tone, keeping it brief yet not abrupt.

ONLINE SOFTWARE MANUAL &
401K INFORMATION CENTER...
401k-management.com

challenge...
Explain in layman's language relevant 401k issues and how to use the client's 401k software. Create text from client-supplied base materials and interviews with tech support personnel. Present in a manner that blends aesthetically with the product marketing sites and collateral materials.

solution...
Organize content by task. Break instructions into lists for easy on-screen reading. Lay out pages in html (rather than PDF or other format) to give the client the flexibility to house the site on CD-ROM and/or the Web (the client has chosen to do both).

Note: The client updates content directly. While we did the original copy writing, we have no control over ongoing quality.

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