Fire and Climate Conference

Fire and Climate Conference

A Global Response to Wildland Fire

The International Wildland Firefighters Association holds a conference every two years to help wildland firefighters around the globe stay up-to-date on the latest techniques for keeping us safe in the WUI (Wildland Urban Interface). They were looking for something different than the normal event website that showed images of wildfires.

Features

Instead of showing horrible images of fires destroying communities, we created original illustrations that highlighted why it’s important to keep our forests healthy, so that we can continue to enjoy Mother Nature for years to come. 

The home page leads users to pick one of the two different conference locations. We used WordPress’ multi-site feature to allow the administrators to easily update both sites and keep design and content consistent on both. 

Capabilities

Site Design

User Interface

User Experience

Site Development

Illustration

The sites were distinguished from each other by the two different illustrations used in the hero section on each page. We also used two distinct colors for the main accent for each site.
A bright color palette helped important elements contrast with the dark green background.

Credits

Fully responsive, custom site built in WordPress. 

Visit the site
More like this

Smart Commute: TDM

Smart Commute

A smarter way to get there

Smart Commute is a Transportation Management Organization that promotes smarter commute options to communities and businesses in the North Denver Metro area. Smart Commute (formerly Smart Commute Metro North), wanted to celebrate their 10-year anniversary by launching a new name, logo and website. We built them a custom, WordPress site that made it easier for users to find information and made lead generation a priority.

Features

The first order of business was a new identity. The old one had been created quite a while ago, and looked pretty dated. 

Then we gave them a new custom, WordPress site that focused on the programs and resources they offer both employers and residents in the North Denver Metro area. They also wanted a component that allowed them to gather user data, so we built a Downloads section that requires an email to get the free download. 

We used illustrations nstead of trying to use poor quality photography that maybe didn’t illustrate the content well enough, which gives the site a lot of personality, and helps them stand out in a crowded field. 

Capabilities

Identity Design

Site Design

User Interface

User Experience

Site Development

The new identity gave the organization a more modern feel, and focused more on symbolic movement, rather than specific modes of transportation. As a bonus, there's a subtle (accidental) nod to some of the now-defunct airlines in the sixties.
We used illustrations as the main graphic elements to complement the personality of the organization, and to help them stand out from other TMAs in the area.
The Programs and Resources pages are the most important sections of the site. Both residents and employers use the Programs page to learn about current offerings from Smart Commute, and the Resources page gives employers access to data compiled by Smart Commute, and residents links to important transportation agencies that service the area.

Credits

Fully responsive, custom site built in WordPress. Copy by Laura Churchman.

Visit the site
More like this

Transportation Solutions: TDM Association

Transportation Solutions

Making change. Together.

This Transportation Management Association has the goal of making it easier for residents and employees move into and out of their Denver community. They needed an updated, more modern, more professional site that speaks to three different audiences: employers, residents and land developers. Their old site had last been designed about six years ago and had become bloated with pages and a user experience that was confusing at best. We reorganized their site, bringing the focus more to their resources section where we provided the different audiences with ways to tailor their commutes.

Features

We streamlined the user experience to make it easier for users to find the information they needed easily and quickly. We also trimmed down the overall amount of information on the site into more ‘bite-sized’ chunks, to make everything less overwhelming. We focused on the Resources page that hosted important links for each of the three audiences.

Capabilities

Site Design

User Interface

User Experience

Site Development

Identity Design

We gave them a new identity that felt urban, and modern, and focused on movement rather than specific modes of transportation.
A bright accent color helped give the site some personality, and overlays let us put copy with full-width photos and still keep the pages relatively short in height.

Credits

Fully responsive, custom site built in WordPress. Copy by Laura Churchman.

Visit the site
More like this

UrbanTrans: Urban Planning Consultants

UrbanTrans

Bring on the movement

UrbanTrans North America, an urban planning consulting firm headquartered in Denver, had an outdated site that needed an upgrade. We focused on modernizing with a custom WordPress site that leaned heavily on their expertise and their team members to bring some personality to what could be a dry subject. Large type, language that was lighter in tone and some quirky photos helped drive home the message that this is a team you want to work with. 

Features

The whole site is an ad for the company, with the goals of selling their services and to get possible clients to reach out and start a project. We placed large, full-width company-personality-driven CTAs at the bottom of the main pages to keep users engaged, and tease other types of content.

Because the client wanted to be seen as experts in their field, we used Expertise as a navigation item and focused on their portfolio site-wide. We also created custom icons that represented each of the capabilities the client is an expert in.

Capabilities

Site Design

User Interface

User Experience

Site Development

Because the company is more service oriented than product oriented, we did not have very many photos to use of specific project details. Instead, the site uses large type to reduce the reliance on photography.

We also gave them a way to distinguish projects that were more important to them by treating case studies differently than the regular portfolio. Each section naturally expands as the client adds more content.
Each individual project included the appropriate icons that represented the services provided on that project. We created an easy way at the bottom for users to move onto additional work.

Credits

Fully responsive, custom site built in WordPress. Copy by Laura Churchman.

Visit the site
More like this

elle.b academy: Beauty School

elle.b Academy

Because beautiful hair is measured by the inch

elle.b Academy—a digital storefront that sells hair styling classes to stylists and salons—wanted more control over design and functionality than their old site, built in Shopify, would allow. They also needed to integrate the classes shopping experience with the ability to sell actual physical products needed by the stylists in order to take the classes, so we moved them over to WordPress and let WooCommerce do the heavy lifting of building out the shopping experience.

Features

Patterns were used extensively throughout the site as a background element, and as a way to distinguish the classes from each other. We also built two different navigation headers that changed on scroll from a more uniquely designed menu to a more traditional hamburger. We integrated Square to allow them to accept payments directly on their site for a more seamless shopping experience. The site is fully responsive and was built mobile first. 

Capabilities

Site Design

User Interface

User Experience

Site Development

The navigation is a little unusual in that it is vertical, and doesn't run alongside the content at first. Once the user scrolls, it turns into a compact version that uses a slide out instead of listing the pages horizontally.
Classes were differentiated with color and patterns.
The store includes both classes and products. We built it in WooCommerce with a slide out shopping cart and an integrated Stripe function for credit card payment.

Credits

Fully responsive, custom site built in WordPress. Built in conjunction with EnZed Design. Copy by Carla Carwile.

Visit the site
More like this

Colorado Enterprise Fund: Small Business Loans

Colorado Enterprise Fund

Helping small business make it big.

Colorado Enterprise Fund is a non-profit that helps small businesses in Colorado get loans—often when banks won’t—and in turn, thrive. They wanted a more modern-looking site—their current site was more than five years old—and one that would allow them to more easily make updates. Both to the blog and to the different sections of the site. We switched them over to WordPress and gave them a custom-built design with different templates for similar sections of the site.

We highlighted their Success Stories by placing them up at the top of each page.

Features

The most important goal of the site, other than giving loan prospects a place to find out more about the company, was to encourage them to apply for a loan. We used strategically placed CTAs throughout the site that lead users to the loans page. We also included a step-by-step application process that walked users through exactly what they would need to do in order to fill out an application. Because there were so many items the client wanted in the nav, we simplified the menu by placing it behind a ‘hamburger’ icon on all screen sizes—not just mobile. Then, to give more attention to the loans page, we provided a ‘Start Here’ button right next to the menu icon.

Capabilities

Site Design

User Interface

User Experience

Site Development

The home page houses a bunch of CTAs that let users get to interior content very quickly, with a main focus on the loan application page, as that's the most important part of their business.
Each of the pages of the site highlights a different customer story in the hero section which reinforces the good the client does throughout the region.

Credits

Fully responsive, custom site built in WordPress. Copy by Laura Churchman.

More like this

Korgy App

Korgy

Swipe that job

KJ Technical Recruiters saw a hole that needed to be filled. People in the service industry (think servers, baristas, bartenders) didn’t have a good way to find available jobs in their area. We built an app based on the Tinder model that would allow them to swipe quickly through available jobs. Search filters allowed them to set a mile radius (a lot of these people aren’t willing to travel far for work) that would limit their search results, as well as filter out by job type. The app automatically sends their application to the hiring manager, and lets them keep track of applications they’ve sent. After two weeks, open positions refresh which allow them to reconsider jobs they may have swiped past in the past.

Capabilities

Design

User Interaction

User Experience

App Design

Branding

A new brand

The owner wanted something unique and memorable, so we started with several ideas for names. Once we landed on three different options that he liked, we started in on identity concepts.

From the beginning, the owner was pretty set on the name Korgy. He really loves those weird, little dogs, and he thought it would provide a memorable name for the app. 

Round Two

We landed on two different options that the client wanted to see in color. Each had completely different personalities—both fairly playful, but one more traditional, and the other more contemporary.

Color exploration

The client decided that the options from the previous round were too playful, and didn’t speak enough to the service industry aspect of the app. So, we went back to one from the first round that highlighted that more strongly, and used it to explore some color palettes.

The app

While we had been exploring logo options, we started working on possible designs for the app.

User Dashboard

For easy management of job openings, we built a dashboard that hiring managers could use to build wanted ads and post them to the app.

Credits

Built in React by Joseph Chambers. Copy by Laura Churchman.

More like this

Elevated Computing

Elevated Computing

Elevate your IT

Elevated, an IT firm, was tired of their old site. They hated nearly everything about it, but mostly they felt it was hurting their business. The thing Elevated has going for them that makes them better than all the other IT companies out there is their level of customer service. That and, unlike most IT companies, they are not vendor specific and will use whatever products work best for their clients. Add that to 24/7 customer support and offices distributed across the United States (which allows for faster response times), and they truly are a head above the rest. They wanted a site that better reflected what made them stand out.

Features

Their only constraint was that it had to be a one-page, parallax site. I convinced them that they also needed a new identity, so we started there, and finished up with a new, fully responsive site built in WordPress and a whole mess of Javascript. We also built a dual navigation system that lets users move through the site in either a traditional way, via a header nav, or chronologically with little banners that drop down at the bottom of each section.

Capabilities

Art Direction

Branding

Site Design

User Interface

User Experience

New identity

We convinced Elevated that if they really wanted to revamp their brand, they needed to start with their identity—which looked like it had been designed back in the ’90s. For the first round of new identities, Andy and I came up with three initial ‘buckets’ under which we fit three taglines and quite a few visual concepts.

We presented computer roughs, but kept them black and white, hoping that would help them focus on concepts rather than content.

Bucket One: IT Supports Your Business. We Support Your IT.
Bucket Two: What IT Should Be.
Bucket Three: A Higher Form of IT

Further refinement

For the next round, I explored several of the visual concepts the client liked from the first round, as well as some new ideas we had to fit the tagline. I focused on refining the icons and explored different typefaces that I felt would complement the icons.

Final color

Once the client landed on one of the concepts from the second round, I moved into color exploration. These are just a few of the many, many combinations I tried. I only wanted to show the client color palettes I felt fit the objective of a professional firm in a technical field that was easy to work with. I limited what I showed the client so the options wouldn’t be overwhelming.

The site

Once an identity was settled on, I moved on to the website. Because of a smaller budget, I didn’t have the luxury of really exploring content and functionality through wireframes and user flows, so I limited our interaction exploration to two simple wireframe options and a site map that helped us plan out the majority of the site before we moved into developing content and design.

We ended up with a parallax, one-page site that has some interesting little touches. The line and circle graphics move on different levels, at different speeds as the user scrolls through the site. Each section has a banner that alerts the user to the next section that will load as they scroll. Users can navigate using the more traditional nav bar, or chronologically using the banners.

Credits

Fully responsive, custom WordPress site built in conjunction with e9.

Visit the site
More like this