HexaGroup conducted a two-day workshop with TGS’ web team and marketing department in order to thoroughly define the parameters of the new site design. The team identified the following issues:

The digital world had grown both literally and figuratively:
Much had changed in the world of websites since 2004 – average screen resolution had gone up, which meant the old site looked relatively puny on new monitors, so an increase to 1024 x 768 screen resolution was a must. A branding upgrade was also necessary. Additionally, TGS wanted to break the oil industry web design paradigm; the company wanted something that was artful and took more risks. Users were savvier – the new site also needed to meet their needs for greater interactivity.

The massive TGS data library:
Containing terabytes of geological data, the TGS library had become the digital equivalent of a gloriously overstuffed library with piled books spilling onto the floors and out the doors… As was the case in 2004, the website would serve as the portal to this library, providing maximum customer access that was both easy to navigate and simplified content delivery.

Disparate Audiences:
TGS’ audiences come from different corners of the production world: Geophysicists and geologists, each with very different information demands and--since TGS is publicly traded on the Oslo exchange (Oslo Børs)--investors. With the older site, different TGS divisions fought over Home Page real estate; the new site had to find a way to provide equal access to each group, serving their different needs while providing a unified company presence.

The new TGS-NOPEC site was launched in October 2008 after months of work. The end result is a stunning new portal into the company’s library and core offerings.

Architecture:
First, the HexaGroup’s Information Design consultants created an audience-specific architecture that gave each division within the company a space to communicate directly with its constituency. The end result was 6 specific zones: Geological, Geophysical, Investor, Careers, News and Media and Data. Each had a defined look and feel and provided the user with immediately accessible content directly related to their specific needs.

Visual Design:
It was decided that the visual design for the site needed to break the mold of traditional oil & gas websites. The client wanted something different. This is when we came up with a much more curved approach. The team wanted to show information in a more organic and natural feeling structure.

The new visual design is clean, employing the company’s color palette in a pleasing and eye-catching way. The spectacular imagery used on the site is focused on the offshore environment, where the bulk of the globe’s hydrocarbons are now being harvested. Spatially, the new site was designed for 1024x768 resolutions, which is now the industry norm, and most of the site’s information is situated above the “fold” where users can easily find it.

The most stunning design change for the new site, however, is the new 3D animation sequence (link to www.tgsnopec.com). The concept was to take their already branded “zones” and make them more tangible to their clients. We did this by transforming the zone icons into transparent cubes that seemed to live within the natural environments where the seismic information is collected. This, along with strategic branding messages, delivered an impactful and memorable introduction to the website.

The animation initiates after the site is opened, taking the viewer through a terrestrial setting, into the open water and down into the abyss where the bulk of the world’s oil reserves lie hidden. The animation piece was custom developed by our sister company, AXBG, which is the same group of animators who create the eye-catching custom animations for the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Enterprise Level CMS and Google Maps:
HexaGroup recommended the Ektron enterprise-level content management solution for the new site and implementation of Google mapping tools for the TGS data library. The new content management system enables administrators to control and protect the website’s content, even as individuals around the globe update and contribute to the site. Since HexaGroup is a certified Ektron partner, we worked with the TGS technical team to integrate the Google API and implement the Ektron framework.

It was months of work, but the end result is more than worth it. Explore the new Data Zone (link to http://www.tgsnopec.com/data.aspx); it divides the globe into three regions at the top level. Deeper down, users can interact with the library to select specific search parameters, then click directly on the map to dive deeper into the collection. By using Google maps, TGS capitalized on an existing user knowledge, which allows for immediate access with no frustrating learning curve.