GPD redesigns glassfiles.com for user friendliness and flexibility

The new design is part of the ongoing GPD mission to collect and distribute educational information on the properties, processing and use of architectural and automotive glass and encourage cross-functional networking within the industry. The new design was launched just before the Vitrum show in the beginning of October 2005. The main improvements of this newly designed site are related to user experience. The “drop-down” navigation logic was abandoned to make it easier to perceive the structure of the versatile and extensive information provided on the site and to facilitate the finding of the information most relevant to the site visitor. The new design also highlights the latest information and provides easy reference to source materials.

Easier authentication for continued learning
The login procedure, required in some parts of the site, was changed to become more user-friendly. With the new system the users are authenticated based on e-mail address and password. This eliminates the need for specific, separate user names. The users can also log in permanently so that they are automatically authenticated next time when they come to the site from the same computer.

The new design is aligned with the mission of the GPD to establish forums for open sharing of educational information within the industry. The idea of the web service is to complement the recurring physical Conferences and provide constant access to the extensive library of educational information - anywhere, anytime.

- glassfiles.com, the concept we launched in 2001, is an important part of our concept and mission to support continued learning within the industry, says Jorma Vitkala, Chairman of the GPD Organizing Committee. It is important to improve and modernize the site continuously to reflect the developments within the industry as they are documented at GPD conferences and in the time period between them, Vitkala underlines.

New design builds the ground for future developments
- There are many newly designed features on the site and the back-office processes were also redesigned for improved efficiency and flexibility, says Teemu Mäkitalo, Concept Developer of glassfiles.com. The development project was marked by an abundance of new ideas. It became obvious that we needed to proceed step by step to ensure that our improved service and versatility could be launched in a balanced and easily-conceived way. Our new technical platform offers the features that are now needed for updating the site and the continued integration of new features for the benefit of our users, Mäkitalo explains.
Currently, the article library at glassfiles.com consists of over 6,000 pages of technical articles and conference papers. It has over 13,000 registered users and over 20,000 monthly visitors.