Aiming for media that creates connections. Behind the scenes of nomlog renewal

On October 14, 2022, nomlog renewed its site for the first time since its launch in 2019. We asked Editor-in-Chief Satoko Yokota about the behind the scenes and the thoughts behind the renewal.

nomlog Editor-in-Chief Satoko Yokota
After studying architecture and design, he worked as an event company, product designer, editor, and project manager at a branding agency before joining NOMURA Co., Ltd. in 2018. While working on planning that comprehensively incorporates designs of various scales, he will serve as editor-in-chief of nomlog from 2022.

Q1. How did nomlog start in the first place?

Our company has a job called a planner, and there are about 80 professionals who specialize in various fields, such as the basic concept of a newly developed facility, concept making for a specific space, and content planning such as exhibitions and participatory programs. I am enrolled.

A place for planners to present their thoughts, daily work and research results based on the ability to logically organize and analyze things used in planning and the writing skills that are indispensable for planning documents and presentations. It was born as the first blog-style media for NOMURA GROUP with the aim of creating

Raise your hand if you want to write an article about "space" and "experience" without setting formal rules! With that stance, we wrote the article ourselves, entered the article into the system ourselves, and so on, and everyone created it.

The editorial department recruits people who are interested in media management from the Nomura Lab team, which specializes in planners and digital innovation. Everyone has a full-time job, so we support each other while taking care of each other's busyness.

In this way, it started with articles by individual planners, but gradually various departments in the company wondered if they could publish articles like this. I came to be consulted. Now, in the 4th year since its launch, it has become an open medium that allows anyone in the company to write articles and make plans, not just planners. Rather than being intentional here, it feels like it happened spontaneously.

Q2. What is the purpose of this site renewal?

When we launched, we started with the stance of "let's try it first", so I wanted to organize it from a big point of view, what kind of media I wanted to become and what was the difference from other media. In addition, the themes of the articles have diversified as much as the individuality of the company's human resources is directly reflected in the articles. It was necessary to design wireframes and organize articles so that first-time visitors would not get lost.

So, first of all, I asked artless to organize and modify the logo design in order to explore the brand value of the media. When I was asked, "What are the keywords that make up media?", the core members of the editorial department gathered together and discussed, and this kind of conceptual diagram became the core of nomlog.

Conceptual diagram that guides nomlog brand core

Based on this arrangement, we designed the VI such as logo design, key color, and font. While talking with him, he came up with the design and taught me how to view media as a brand.

Q3. Please tell us about the thoughts behind the logo design and graphics.

The thought that I valued is a variety of "connections". nomlog is an online media, but we are always creating real spaces. It is my hope that nomlog will be an opportunity for you to come into contact with spaces and experiences, and that you will be able to form a connection, even if it is small.

Mr. artless picked up on that, and a design was born in which nom (of NOMURA GROUP) and log (log = record) are connected. I feel that you put our will into the clean design.

 

Q4. What kind of difficulties and ingenuity did you have in creating the new site?

Since it was an in-house media, we first asked people outside the company about their objective impressions of nomlog. I received a lot of points that are hard to see from the position of management.

Old site design

Until now, the site had a simple structure that displayed articles in order from the newest arrival, and many different tags were lined up for each article. I started by categorizing into

I had a hard time deciding on those keywords. The diversity of each article makes it unique, but I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what words would be easy for readers to understand, and whether they were linked to what I wanted to say in each article.

There was also the problem that good articles written in the past were buried over time, so we created a special section where the theme can be changed according to the season and timing. We plan to decide who will be in charge in order within the editorial department and manage it, so I was able to enjoy thinking about "what kind of theme should I use?"

Q5. What kind of media do you aim to become in the future?

Currently, most of our articles are read by our customers, cooperating companies, and within our company, but we would like a wider range of people to enjoy our articles. In addition to providing hints for space creation from a professional point of view, small opportunities such as "I want to visit this facility!" I would be happy if people who visited the site could feel something. From now on, I would like to expand the circle of connections through this media by planning and disseminating articles that many people can enjoy.

Please look forward to the upgraded version nomlog in the future!