The Finnish
Film Foundation

The challenge: a rigid information hierarchy

The previous Ses.fi website did not meet the requirements of a modern website in terms of user experience or visual appearance. Pages took too long to load times and information was difficult to find. The structure of the site was complex and it required too much effort from the SES team to update and present information clearly.

We were responsible for the concept, user interface design, visual design, technical implementation, quality assurance and launch of the new service. The goal of the renewal project was a clear, professional-looking and easy-to-use website where all the information could easily be found by the user. On the maintenance side, we wanted to make the work of the SES team more simple.

The main goal of the new site was to better serve the users, who mainly consist of applicants for national film grants. We significantly clarified the presentation of grant-related content. We also wanted to nurture a positive brand image by making the website more attractive. The content of the site is now presented in a variety of interesting ways to strengthen the Film Foundation’s image as an expert of the industry.

The new site had to also support the reputation of Finnish cinema internationally and to better serve the media. The site now provides comprehensive information on the foundation’s activities and and on the financing of films and makes the Finnish film industry more visible.

Aiming for a modern website that serves target groups

An outdated site sends the wrong message, especially when it comes to an organization in the audiovisual industry. Presenting information in a static text form is not attractive to the user, nor the fastest way to make the message understood.

At the center of the visuals is now the ease of finding information. The design of the new site is based on the needs of end users, like grant applicants and other professionals of the film industry. We designed the site’s navigation structure and content highlights to meet the needs and wishes of the target groups. We completely updated the Film Foundation’s visual look online and improved the search and filtering functionality as well as editing capabilities of data tables displayed on the site.

A large part of the site’s visitors are looking for information related to grant applications or release dates. All this information is now significantly easier to find. The new navigation is logical and designed with the user in mind. The structural clarity of the site emphasizes the positive nature of the foundation and creates transparency.

With detailed wireframes, we outlined the content structure and user experience on the site, after which the content design could begin. We tested what the website looks and feels like before the technical implementation with an interactive, clickable prototype. This made it easy for us to address any problem areas and iterate the site well in advance.

Cost-effective editing with Everblox

The site was implemented using the WordPress content management system and our modular, open source Everblox tool that provides powerful features for creating and editing content. Our solution makes it possible to update the site cost-effectively without the need for coding skills. The implementation complies with the requirements of the Accessibility Directive (WCAG 2.1. AA level). Accessibility was already taken into account at the design stage, for example in term of contrasts and font sizes. The main language of the Ses.fi website is Finnish, and in addition, English and Swedish versions of the site were implemented .

The site has a lot of data in the form of tables. The tables were made visually clear, easy to understand, responsive to different screen sizes and devices, and easily modifiable. Now they also have a data filtering functionality, which makes it easy for the user to find the right information.

The site’s search is one of its most important features as there is a lot of content. The proactive and fast search was implemented with the Relevance plugin that retrieves content from the entire site and documents such as pdf files. The search results can also be filtered to display only content of a specific topic or subpage.

Simple content management

WordPress provides great tools for content management, as it is easy to use, intuitive, and customizable with multiple user roles and levels. From the administration panel, all features of the site can be customized. Download times are fast and the layouts and functionalities can be customized to suit different needs.

The content of the Film Foundation website are frequently updated. Before, creating new pages was challenging due to the rigidity of maintenance. Now you can build new pages with reusable elements – creating new content elements or entire pages is easy and requires no coding skills.