Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
supporting operational systems to materialize. However, it is recommended
that, where possible, all of the Cs should be applied in the website creation
process of a luxury brand.
The Cs are the following:
1. Concept
2. Competence
3. Content
4. Commerce
5. Customization
6. Community
7. Computing
They may be divided into two main groups. The first group comprises the
first five Cs, which are directly linked to the front office; the second group
consists of the last two Cs, which are powered through the back office. None
of the Cs are, however, mutually exclusive and each of them needs both the
existence and the optimization of the others to be able to function in an opti-
mized manner.
The following section is devoted to the in-depth analysis of the Cs.
Concept
The website concept basically comprises the design and aesthetic ele-
ments. It is the main idea behind the design of the website and equates to
the scheme that every aspect of the website will follow. While we cannot say
that the concept is the most important C in luxury website creation, we can
construe that the concept is the starting point. It is unrealistic to evaluate the
dimensions of a website's navigation and content if the design concept is yet
to be defined. In essence, what will you be navigating?
As anyone who has been involved in a design project or product launch
knows, the first step is the idea generation, followed by the concept testing
before moving on to developing mock-ups and section testing and finally
validating the concept. This process is similar to the process of establish-
ing the luxury website's concept. However, in this case, the design concept
should follow the personality of the brand. There is no point designing a
basic and classic website if a brand has an extravagant personality. When we
visit Ferrari's website or John Galliano's, we don't expect a similar design
concept as on the websites of BMW or Hermès.
The concept of a luxury website is often confused with meaning the same
as its color or page layout, image distribution and navigational menu place-
ments. These are all essential parts of the concept but they are not what drive
the concept. It is rather the concept that drives these elements. When I say
website concept, what I mean is the overall model, idea and notion behind
