OVERVIEW
Oasis Skateboard Factory
Creating an alternative school’s first website, by getting to know it’s teachers and students.
PROCESS
UX STRATEGY: Learning the client’s needs
Since this was their first website I was able to create the UX strategy from scratch. I spoke with the teachers running the program to understand their needs: we determined who their target users are, and what they hope to achieve with this website.
Prospective students (ie. teenagers) were the main audience, which fuelled the decision to use a mobile-first approach with copy and visuals that appeal to a younger audience.
Teachers told me they were frequently emailed the same questions from prospective students. I ensured the website answered certain important questions, thus allowing the teachers to spend less time responding to emails.
Services
UX Strategy, UX/UI Design, Icon Design, Wordpress Build
The Problem
Oasis Skateboard Factory (OSF) is an alternative secondary school program, part of the Toronto District School Board. They needed a more professional web presence to replace their Blogspot.
Results
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A mobile-first experience that appeals to their youth audience
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Pages that answer certain key user questions, thereby reducing the teacher’s time answering emails
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An aesthetic that is cohesive with existing brand guidelines
BUILD AND BEYOND: Keeping the site fresh
It was important that the website remains current, without the expense of additional updates to the design. To achieve this, I used the following approach:
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Embed their Instagram feed, to effortlessly bring in new content from their social media.
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Easy content updates for the client: I built the site using a visual editor and provided the client with a custom user manual. This has allowed the client to do some basic updates on their own, like editing copy, updating photos, or adding new links to their media page.
Client's existing artwork
My artwork, designed to match the client's style
DESIGN: Working with an established brand
Oasis Skateboard Factory had existing branding, including logo, colours, fonts, and graphic style. While they already had some graphics I could use on the website, I also created some new icons using their style, to correspond with the desired message.