Final Project in HCDE 508 Visual Communications
For our final project, I created new visual designs for Ignite Seattle’s website. Here is the Old site.
The redesign consisted of a desktop homepage and a subpage, a mobile homepage and a subpage, and a printed collateral that advertised an event or the organization. The objective was to create a consistent look and feel across mediums and platforms by using color, typography, form, and messaging. The goal was to demonstrate a unified visual system.
I redesigned the IA, layout, and branding based on the assumed goals and objectives of the organization.
My 3 design goals were:
- Make the speakers rockstars. This meant creating more compelling video experience and highlighting the speakers through improved layout. I used a card system to highlight the individuality of the speakers that was lost in the chronological, blog format.
- Improve discoverability of related/older content. A metaphor I used was, “It’s like a box of chocolates.” Ignite started in Seattle, dating back to 2006, so there is a lot of content. It is currently organized chronologically and archived by the month and year. I “designed for the next step” by surfacing and highlighting archived, related, and previous/next content. (Obviously, that means content strategy, IA, and metadata need to be reworked.) I also added sorting capabilities to support browsing and exploration.
- Make the site reflect the event itself and make people feel like they were there. Brady Forrest, the co-founder of Ignite, shared in a talk that Ignite should be welcoming, inviting, and warm. The website should capture that energy and warmth as well. I chose colors that reflected that and the diversity of topics brought to the stage. Tactically, I brought photos from the event into the speaker page to contextualize the talk and added commenting to help foster an open community.
Before even touching Illustrator or Photoshop, I researched the organization and its audience, and conducted a brief content audit. I also performed competitive reviews of other Ignite websites (i.e. Boulder, San Diego, Minneapolis, etc). Based on that, I created a creative brief to summarize my design goals.
Then I organized the required content, sketched potential layouts, and created wireframes before determining my design direction. After doing numerous iterations, I redesigned the logo to match the look and feel of the new site. Lastly, I designed a poster for Ignite Seattle 27 that matched the new branding and event theme.
Below are the final designs.