Make travel agents seem relevant they said…
Our team was tasked with updating the TLC website and print media to reflect our tech-forward business model.
Agency: Travel Leaders Network | Client: Travel Leaders Corporate | Contribution: Lead Designer | Year: 2017
This should be easy…
The old site (shown here) was only a few years old, but already looked fairly dated…ahem, side nav. Since it had been designed, the company started investing in technological solutions to travel problems, so the look didn’t match the company’s mission anymore.
Working with all internal stakeholders presented us with benefits and challenges we weren’t expecting.
What’s black and white and red all over?
I brought in a new typeface that reflected the tech-forward thinking and direction of the company, while sticking with the parent company colors. I used dark video headers to get a slick, corporate look, and our bright red for CTAs and important information. To further push the new branding I brought in curved elements to showcase the companies global reach.
I showed the site in development to select stakeholders, to get them excited and create a buzz about the site, as well as identifying any elements that would cause issues when we revealed the site to the higher-ups.
Old site with the dated side bar and WHAT IS THAT?!? A SIDEWAYS LOGO????
Could be better…could be worse
This was one of my first projects working directly with c-suite level management, which was a bit daunting. I never felt like I had a great grasp on the direction of the site, because we would need to pivot to make so many stakeholders happy. Including more stakeholders along the journey would have helped. This was early in my career and I have since learned the power of the phrase “This is my professional opinion. Trust me.”
The site was designed to make an aging company look relevant, five years later I think it looks better but a bit dated. I think there are much better ways to have kept the design more timeless while looking tech-forward. The company has since been bought, and the site turned into a landing page.
