Banging the design drum.(Microsoft MSN Portal design)(Company Business and Marketing)

Working on the UK interface of the MSN portal gave James Clarke a chance to experiment with the design

Working on the redesign of the user interface of Microsoft's MSN portal required a flexible approach to design, writes Martin Couzins.

For design team leader James Clarke and his two designers, the project involved taking the code for the global interface being rolled out to all MSN portals and customising it for the UK market.

The redesign took the best part of six months from conception to roll-out, and was launched in the UK on 31 January. Clarke says he was proud to have worked on the launch because he and his team had the opportunity to experiment with the design. Clarke says the UK is seen as a testbed for innovation.

And working for such a large company proved to be no hindrance to the creative process. "We are not restricted in any way. This is our market," he declares.

Clarke is keen to bang the design drum. He says the designer has to have "hardcore visual understanding", emphasising that he and his team "are all trained designers, we understand visual language".

In order to provide a look that would be well received by users, MSN previewed the site for a week before the launch. The team set up an MSN community and took feedback from users on the new interface. ...