Access Contemporary Music
Access Contemporary Music (ACM) is like the heartbeat of modern melodies in the heart of Chicago. They're all about bringing the tunes of today's composers to your doorstep. They organize cool concerts, teach music creativity in their storefront schools, and cook up exciting projects with composers from all corners of the world. It's not just about music; it's about making it a part of your everyday groove.
Challenge
Faced with the task of preserving their musical identity while embracing a modern aesthetic, ACM turned to Revere, a digital design agency, to revitalize their online presence. Users encountered pain points like navigational complexities on the existing website. Collaborating with Revere, ACM aimed to address these challenges and entrust them to create a visually refreshing, functional website resonating with ACM's identity.
The goal was to create a modern, engaging, and user-friendly website that aligned with AMC's unique beat and effectively showcase their offerings while aiming to appeal to to new audiences.
My Role
As part of the Revere creative agency, my role focused on the web design phase under the guidance of Creative Director Matt Cole. As the lead Web Designer, my mission was to orchestrate a digital transformation, transcending the limitations of their existing website.
My key responsibilities spanned a melodic spectrum of tasks:
- Meticulously reviewed the findings from the SEO audit and user research
- Crafted the Information Architecture and user flows, ensuring a smooth and intuitive navigation experience.
- Developed a mood board and style tile, providing stakeholders with a preview of ACM's refreshed digital aesthetics
- Produced wireframes for key pages, from the impactful homepage to specialized sections like learn, experience, about, blog, support, and booking/ticketing
- Worked closely with developers, ensuring the translation of design concepts into functional and visually appealing web elements
- Presented design iterations and engaged stakeholders in the evolution of the visual identity, incorporating feedback to refine the final output
- Adapted the designs for responsiveness, ensuring a cohesive user experience across various devices
- Extended the design principles to newsletters, crafting visually aligned templates for consistent brand representation
- Created a comprehensive WordPress guide to facilitated training and streamlined the handover process
In this collaborative journey, my role aimed at translating strategic insights into a visually compelling and functionally sound digital experience for ACM's diverse audience.
Solution
Revere crafted a comprehensive solution to harmonize the brand's visual appeal with user functionality. Users grappling with navigational complexities found relief as our solution streamlined the website's information architecture.
The redesign prioritized user-friendly navigation, addressing pain points identified in the SEO audit. Our approach involved creating a centralized message, infusing brand vibrancy, and optimizing back-end functionality for a faster, more efficient website. By orchestrating these changes, the website not only showcased ACM's unique beat but also provided an immersive online experience. This cohesive solution not only revitalized ACM's digital presence but also set the stage for a harmonious encounter with contemporary music, inviting users to explore and engage effortlessly.
01
Discovery
Discovering the Rhythm
Understanding ACM's Needs
We sought to tap into what makes ACM such a vibrant part of Chicago's creative scene, from its innovative commissions to the energy of its concerts and classes. Inspired by ACM's quest to push artistic boundaries, we aimed to infuse the website with the organization's ingenuity and passion. By optimizing ACM's digital presence, our goal was to showcase the welcoming, cultured spirit that makes experiencing contemporary music through ACM so enriching.
Our discovery phase involved thoroughly evaluating the user experience and performance of ACM's current website. This enabled us to pinpoint specific areas for improvement across metrics like mobile optimization, navigation flows, content structure, and search visibility. We took a multifaceted approach by conducting in-depth audits focused on:
1. User Experience & Information Architecture:
Assessing site content organization and layouts for a more intuitive and unified user journey. Key findings showed confusing navigation, content gaps in core offerings, and site flows not aligned to user goals.
2. Messaging & Engagement:
Evaluating how effectively site content engages audiences and communicates ACM's mission. Discoveries like a lack of spotlighted offerings and strategic messaging were tied to high bounce rates.
3. Technical Performance:
Reviewing backend health and benchmarks like site speed, metadata optimization, broken links and accessibility barriers. Collaborating with SEO specialists revealed actionable steps for a faster, amore discoverable site.
These meaningful insights laid the groundwork for our redesign. By recognizing pain points across the visitor experience, we could form an integrated roadmap for an improved website. One that would allow ACM's creativity to truly sing.
02
Design
Pixelated Crescendo
Crafting ACM's Web Symphony
Armed with a clear roadmap of ACM's website needs, my role shifted to conceptualizing an optimized design direction. My goal was crafting an intuitive site allowing ACM's singular creativity to shine through.
I started by mapping out an information architecture and user flows catered to visitor goals learned in discovery. Organizing site content and navigation to align with top tasks like event awareness and class registration. This provided a streamlined skeleton grounded in user needs.
Next I explored visual styles and layouts bringing ACM's dynamic spirit to life. Vibrant colors and sharp edges reflected the creative, contemporary vibe. These elements came together in a style tile and homepage wireframes centered on usability.
Stakeholder collaboration was crucial when refining designs. Their feedback drove iterations on feature prioritization and responsive layout considerations. Those candid dialogues pushed me to refine an accessible website allowing ACM's culture to resonate as profoundly online as it does in the Chicago arts scene.
The end result is a website not only aesthetically aligned to ACM's mission but functionally removing barriers to engaging with ACM's one-of-a-kind contemporary music offerings.
03
Delivery
Code Cadence
Breathing Life into ACM's New Digital Stage
With the finishing touches made on our website designs, my focus shifted to collaborating with developers to bring this vision for a refreshed ACM digital presence to life.
We chose WordPress as our platform for its robust content management tools enabling easy site updates. But new technologies also introduce new challenges. To preempt potential setbacks, I established a consolidated guide covering specific style and component expectations. This proved essential for navigating unexpected hurdles around shifting timelines that emerged as we built out site pages.
Clear communication was instrumental at every stage. Regular check-ins with both developers and stakeholders allowed me to appropriately set priorities and expectations. Adapting on the fly to accommodate new pages or tweak existing sections.
Soon ACM had a sleek, revitalized website living up to our lofty ambitions. Contemporary flair and improved discoverability now matched the welcoming vibe familiar to the ACM community. Not only aesthetically aligned but functionally removing barriers between audiences and ACM’s enriching contemporary music offerings.
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