Busse Design USA Helps Navio Deliver 'Card that Connects'

New logo and website interface features polished, innovative look and feel to elegantly convey company brand, corporate mission

EMERYVILLE, CA - May 2004 - Busse Design USA, a leader in user-focused interface and graphic design, today announced its role in helping launch Navio Inc.'s corporate website, featuring an application interface and new corporate identity, at www.navio.com . Navio, a digital commerce service provider, relies heavily on its new site to deliver its key value proposition: to enable authenticated digital goods commerce and service transaction capabilities via any connected device. Busse helped create elegant design language to support Navio's Flash-based application interface and corporate website, which features simple navigation for maximum usability.

Navio's president, Stefan Roever, had previous positive experience with Busse's design arm in Germany , so it was natural for the company to consider Busse Design USA for its new brand development work. Navio was impressed with Busse's well-organized and systematic approach to design. "Busse Design is clearly not a dashboard puppy when it comes to user interface design," explained Ron Martinez, chief product officer for Navio. "The Busse team is very talented in the art and science of user interface design. In addition to beautiful aesthetics, they offer significant value by bringing to the table a well-defined and rigorous - yet flexible - design process. This is exactly what we needed."

Navio arrived on the digital commerce scene in 2002 with the primary aim of bridging the distribution gap for a range of digital products and services across a wide variety of platforms - peer-to-peer networks, web pages, Instant Messenger messages, email messages, and mobile devices. Busse Design's objective was to convey the company's positioning and mission in a crisp, clear format that would be easily recognizable across platforms and storefronts.

Listening: The most important step in the design process
Before embarking on the design process for any client, Busse Design listens carefully to ensure that its proposed design elements and infrastructure successfully articulate the mission of its clients. This is especially true in Navio's case, where Busse Design folded a complex technology offering into a stylized, highly memorable package that captures and reinforces Navio's brand.

Working within a limited schedule, Navio needed to overhaul its existing corporate website and brand identity. Because of the "newness" of the Navio service and technology, Busse Design was presented with the challenge of effectively communicating the range of Navio service offerings and distribution channels. Busse Design conducted a series of design explorations and competitive analysis research studies to iteratively formulate and ultimately develop the redesigned Navio brand and website. The result is a visually appealing and insightful corporate communications website which more effectively portrays the Navio service and brand.

"What makes Busse Design special is that they are made up of creators who are also listeners," commented Martinez . "Our new utility mark, which appears across all of our channels - our Navio card, Navio Merchant and Navio Store - is a perfect bulls eye, illustrating exactly what it is we do at Navio. This was made possible because Busse Design functioned as a part of our team, taking the time to understand our business. As a result, our new website does an excellent job of making our products and services easily accessible and understood by a wide audience."

"The most important aspect of any innovative brand campaign is the ability to effectively communicate what differentiates your product," explained Joy Busse, CEO and president, Busse Design USA . "This can be accomplished if a company's core brand values are clearly defined, and then executed in a crisp, clear format. The Navio website encapsulates these requirements to quickly bring Navio's value-added story to the forefront."

About Navio
Navio turns buyers into sellers. Navio's digital commerce solutions enable secure, authenticated transaction capabilities for online selling. Navio's service involves the creation and distribution of certified offers that enable a mediated transaction between two parties. Using any existing communications architecture to execute transactions - email, instant messages, SMS, P2P, or Web - Navio ensures the exchange of rights and eliminates transaction risks between buyer and seller. More information about Navio can be found at www.navio.com.

About Busse Design USA
Busse Design USA Inc., founded in 1997, and Busse Design Ulm GmbH, founded in 1959, together form a full-service design agency. Busse Design USA provides a wide range of services for their clients -including user interface design, product design and development, branding and packaging design, and a wide range of usability testing services. Working from a human factors perspective, Busse Design USA combines compelling design with strong process methodologies that result in superior user experiences for both its clients and their customers and partners. Headquartered in a restored 1913 building in Emeryville, CA - home to one of the largest populations of artists studios in the San Francisco Bay Area - Busse Design USA employs accomplished designers, Human Computer Interaction specialists, information architects, as well as brand and marketing experts. More information about Busse Design USA can be found at www.bussedesign.com.