Client Highlight:
Lauren Crain Freelance
Yes, the site you're on right now
Goals
There were three main goals:
1. Create a website that communicated consistent and authentic voice
2. Create a logo that created a visual identity for the brand
3. Create branding and marketing materials consistent with the visual and vocal identity of the brand.
Research
The most important goal to start with was redesigning the website. because that's how most clients and potential clients interact with the brand. Research showed that users were most likely to visit the About page. Realizing that potential clients were extremely interested in getting to know who I was guided the design of the website redesign. The redesign needed to incorporate my personality and my brand’s personality throughout.
Research also showed that Writing and Design were the second-most popular pages. However, most users seemed to not really know where to go, simply bouncing about. It was clear that visitors wanted to learn about who I was and what I could do. But the previous site didn’t allow visitors to easily achieve those goals. The previous site was focused on showing what's been done rather than asking what I can do for the user.
The redesign needed to set concrete audiences and provide each audience with information on what can be done for them. This forced me to define my clientele: small businesses in need of digital strategy, brands in need of content marketing (writing and editing, and brands in need of visual designs.
Work Performed:
Website Refresh
The new website needed to provide a clear avenue for each audience to achieve their goals.
The new website needed to visually exhibit my personality as well as my brand’s personality throughout.
Sitemap
In the previous site, there was a lot of hidden information. This required that users follow clicks down rabbit holes to get to what they were looking for. This also meant that unless a user was specifically searching for that information, it's likely they wouldn't happen across it unintentionally. This proved to be detrimental, as users would be unable to get the whole picture of services.
The new site eliminates convoluted paths by adopting a 2-click-deep capability throughout the site. This means that at no point does a user have to click more than twice to get to information from the homepage. This was achieved by displaying information in a more comprehensive fashion.
The previous site had contact forms at the bottom of each page without a single, clear conversion point. This allowed users to convert at any point in the site, however, with a goal on each page, it didn’t really provide the user with a journey-ending conversion spot. The new site guides users with their goal in mind toward a goal-specific contact form.
Homepage
Imagery
There was absolutely no personality to be seen with the previous homepage was far too plain. The alternating cool colors provided a minimal, professional feel but they also encompassed a cold, distant quality that may not have seemed to bode well to potential clients.
The new homepage works to provide a warm introduction to the brand’s personality with the font and visual imagery. Long gone are the cold, stock photos. Say hello to hand-drawn vector art.
Navigation
The previous homepage had a lot of options for users, but no real guidance on where they should go. The new homepage provided three separate avenues for the three audiences.
Sections
The previous homepage had a hero section, a services section, a contact form, and a section with an image. The new homepage needed to only have a hero section, a services section, and a small about section. Included in the new homepage are links to view my external writing portfolio, for editors and others wanting to see examples of writings.
About
The previous About page didn’t supply much information about who I was or what my brand represented. It didn’t even include a picture, because there was an incorrect belief that the pictures needed to look a certain, professional way.
The new About page communicates a real sense of who I am, including my values and my journey. This allows potential clients to understand the values my brand embodies and decide if I’m the person they want to work with.
New about page
Services
Each services page on the old site required the user to scroll to see all of the services offered instead of presenting the information in a comprehensive and succicnt fashion. The old site also required users to click indefinitely to find the information they were looking for, segmenting services based on miniscule details.
Each of the new services pages are much shorter, presenting the information the users seeks in a concise and simple design.
New content marketing services page
Old homepage hero
New homepage hero
Old about page
Old content marketing services page (services cropped)
Before and After Gallery
Old Site
New Site
