Bright Blue Ink

Overview

My Role
Creative Direction, Web Design, and Branding

Key Deliverables

Improve existing branding and messaging
Develop a multi-page website designed to generate more leads for the business
Enhance search engine optimization

Project Timeline
March 2024 - May 2024 | 6 Weeks

Out With The Old...

I initially built the company website in 2017 with limited experience in web development. While I understood the basics of creating a functioning website, I lacked the expertise in creating compelling user experiences. The challenges encountered during the initial website development sparked my passion for improving my skills as a web designer, and I was excited to put my newly developed skills to the test!

Messaging Matters

My initial task is to create a dynamic brand system that effectively communicates the company's messaging and values. The original branding was flat and relied on a monochromatic blue palette, which lacked visual appeal. My goal was to develop a vibrant color palette that conveys trust and innovation while infusing a touch of playful energy. Additionally, I aimed to create a cohesive system of graphic elements that highlights the company’s competitive services and core qualities.

The Planning Stage

To begin, I start with comprehensive market research to identify a company's key competitors, their offerings, and their marketing strategies. This approach allows me to understand what strategies are effective and which are not. By analyzing these elements, I can determine how to leverage successful practices or enhance them to meet the specific needs of the current project.

Here are some key elements I wanted to focus on including for the website homepage and the following pages.

A hero image that capture's the attention of the viewer and immediately explains who Bright Blue Ink is and what they do.
A space directly below the hero image that highlights specific key qualifiers that the company offers in order to set them apart from the competition.
A dedicated section for the secondary core offering of the website - campaign webstore management.
Clearly labeled and highlighted CTA buttons to highlight BBI's online ordering feature and for requesting a custom quote.
An easily accessible quote request form for each page that asks for specific details related to the page the user is viewing, which will help the customer service team get a better overview of the client's project and mitigate the need for back and forth correspondence.

Sketch It Out

After doing my research and brainstorming, the first thing I like to do is sketch out my ideas. I use a mix of traditional sketchbooks and digital tools, depending on what feels right. For this project, I went ahead and started planning out some page layouts using the 'Mockup' app on my iPad.

Lo-Fi Vibes

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Dreaming in Hi-Fi

And lastly, the final stage, right before building the final website where the magic really happens - building hi-fidelity mockups and prototypes! This is where all of the planning starts to come together is one visual flow.

To recap from before, these were the main goals of the website redesign:

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Build out the original website to market custom union printing to all audiences, rather than just the campaign webstore hosting side of the business.
Implement an attractive, comprehensive brand strategy to use in the redesign of the UI.
Highlight Bright Blue Ink's core services and communicate their values through the messaging
Emphasize CTAs such as the online ordering feature and custom quote request forms.
Build a page that details nearly every form of custom printed merch production the company offers, and provide a way for customers to fill out specific details related to said merch in dedicate quote forms.