Concrete Cashmere Web Design
Téa Mihaila | Disignr Marketing
The Need
Concrete Cashmere needed a website do-over to refresh their brand image and online presence. Their website at the time was very static, had little content, and limited call to action. The site revamping efforts used those deficiencies and relevant user research to re-create a lasting and impactful design for this Vancouver-based design-build company.
The Challenge
The website re-design project was one of many assignments I completed during my time with Concrete Cashmere, so I had the opportunity to learn the company culture and really get to know the people working there. As such, the most challenging aspect of this project was designing something that reflected the personality of the people working there. Being a female-driven and dominated workplace, the design needed to maintain a certain elegant aesthetic while inspiring confidence and showing the company’s proven experience.
The Solution
Working with the marketing coordinator, I successfully designed the UX and UI for the updated website. This new design prioritized the user experience by improving readability, providing clear CTA’s, and promoting user interaction with the website.
Tools
Sketch / Adobe CC / WordPress / Divi Theme & Builder
Team
Tea (UX/UI Designer) / Irish Pasao (Marketing Coordinator)
The Process 🛣
Defining
Client Interviews
I participated in client meetings at the beginning of the project with the CEO, marketing and engineering teams to understand the mission, vision and values of the company. Working with the CEO and marketing coordinator, we identified the direction of the website redesign.
Discovery
Internal and Competitive Research
I studied the old website and researched other design-build companies in Vancouver in order to learn common terminology and services provided. The marketing coordinator and I determined the major elements to include on the updated website.
Design
Wireframes
I prefer starting out with low- and mid-fidelity wireframes to think through the structure of web pages. I used Sketch to iterate through the design process.
Client Demos
Every week, I presented the website progress to the client using Sketch and the maintenance WordPress site. These check-ins were helpful feedback at keeping up with design expectations.
Testing & QA
I tested the website on desktop, tablet and mobile in order to discover layout and other user experience issues.
Learnings
01
I learned about the entire process of website redesign - from user research and early wireframing, to the engineering requirements and final design launch. Working so closely with the CEO and marketing coordinator was a very wholesome experience. I especially enjoyed the collaborative nature of this project, as the final design would not have reached the desired state without this highly iterative process.
02
The main challenge was meeting the specific design requirements while ensuring the design would display properly on all devices and screen sizes. Testing and QA was definitely the most intensive phase of this project, and also well worth it to ensure the best possible UX for visitors.
Feedback
I had the pleasure of working with Tea Mihaila. During her time at Concrete Cashmere she has completed various projects for us including a full website revamp, company pitch deck, Blogs/Newsletters, marketing packages, and social media content.I am pleased to say Tea is an excellent team player, a sincere and hardworking individual, and a terrific employee and co-worker. Tea always took on any challenges that were given and she is very resourceful in gathering information and finding the resources to complete the project.She always did more than her share of the work on the project she was assigned. She often took the initiative to pick up new tasks efficiently and received feedback positively and constructively.I highly recommend Tea for any position she may decide to take up. She is a talented person and good employee. I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.
~ Jennifer Zhang, Principal (Concrete Cashmere Designs)
