Cycle Hamilton

PROJECT

Website + Illustration

Promoting Hamilton as the best place to get around by bike.

Description

Overdrive founder and principal James Wilson has been an avid life-long cyclist, so it was no surprise when the company moved shop to Hamilton Ontario, that he would connect to the local cycling community. His travels eventually led to begin a conversation with Cycle Hamilton. The team behind the organization were informed and enthusiastic and understood that their website (their primary public-facing marketing tool) did not present Cycle Hamilton in an optimal manner. The site had confusing and non-intuitive navigation, and the esthetic was piecemeal.

The organization was eager to revamp the site, and once Overdrive received their completed Website Questionnaire, we were able to guide them in articulating their needs in the redesign process. Navigation and wireframes established a more cohesive site structure. As the only true identity asset Cycle Hamilton possessed was their logo, the design of the site acted as an abbreviated brand expression exercise, establishing fonts, type styles, and colour palettes. Not surprisingly, the site needed additional visuals to make the pages engaging. We felt that imagery needed to depict both Hamilton and a diverse and inclusive user. Instead of photography, we chose to illustrate banners for the key pages, establishing a modern and friendly style that reinforced aims of Cycle Hamilton as well as the new colour palette. The illustrations on the home page are presented as a simple animated loop for added interest, and as a reflection of cycling outdoor nature, in an ambient manner – that is the background changes to match the time of day. As the cyclists progress, they pass recognizable Hamilton landmarks. We also felt some background video of actual Hamilton cyclists was important to put additional personality into the site. Together with Cycling Hamilton we recruited a variety of volunteers, and over several days, organized live video that was executed by Justin Morris. As is often the case with volunteer organizations, the largest hurdle was obtaining new and updated content – however now that the site is live, the organizers are able to keep it current through a simple WordPress CMS.

Deliverables

Web Design, Illustration, Photography, and Videography

Credit

Overdrive Design – Creative and Design, Illustration
J Morris Media – Photography and Videography

LINKS