Progress, but not perfection.

IN A NUTSHELL

We first reviewed the Adobe Enterprise Solutions site in March 2005. They've made some significant improvements since then, but there's room for improvement.

BRAVO

The good news is that they've broken with consistency for its own sake; they've clearly made an effort to tailor the content and its presentation to each audience. Construction and financial services get lots of case studies and white papers, while nonprofits and education get softer, more aspirational messages. The photography and page layouts also appear to be designed with the specific audiences in mind.

All pages have plenty of white space, and none is overly long — exactly what you'd expect from a leader in graphics technology.

TRY AGAIN

There are still some significant architectural issues with the site. In the Solutions section, which has replaced the Enterprise Solutions page, there are two subsection: Industries and Solutions. A subsection with the same name as its parent section is a taxonomical no-no. Also, why doesn't Industries get its own page and tab? The distinction seems arbitrary at best.

Also, what does Solutions mean in this context? Many users will assume that Adobe's solutions would be their products; however, that is not the case. Apparently, "solutions" actually means "tasks" or "functions." Each solution maps to a business task, such as eLearning or print publishing. Better nomenclature might help clear things up for a first-time visitor.

And they haven't let up on marketing jargon, either. They could "deliver more value to their constituencies" by just using plain English. Testing with potential users from each industry might help cut through the marketing speak and translate Adobe's messages into friendlier language.