Reach out and start a conversation. We’d love to be involved in getting your ideas out to the world.
RESEARCH / COPY / DESIGN / DEVELOPMENT
Everyone gathered around the figurative table - stakeholders, other service providers and ourselves. We presented the research plan and made sure we’re all singing from the same hymn sheet. It was essential for us to learn as much as possible about business objectives, users, and competitors before even starting to design. Let’s walk you through the process we took with Brahman Hills to give you an idea of what we can do for you.
The research methods we’ve listed below were all used at the beginning of the project. These techniques helped us clarify: who we were designing for; how to design best for them; ways to improve the previous site and how to come out ahead of the competition. Only once we had gained the necessary knowledge, could we start designing.
We took the results of these research tools and used them to generate User Persona posters. These captured the needs and frustrations of a user, and we used them as inspiration for all copywriting, design and development. You may think these personas are too oversimplified when compared with the weight of the research, but don’t be fooled. They force you to remember you are connecting with real people. We need to write, design, and develop for these people - it comes across as genuine, targeted and is far more effective. It’s critical for the owners and staff of a business to embrace these when they make business decisions and a poster on a wall is far more helpful than a document in a cabinet.
Using our User Personas and User Stories - which told us what each persona wanted from the website - we went ahead and designed user flows (like the one below). This had two functions. It kept us on track with meeting the users’ needs. It also helped stakeholders understand how the website would function.
We like to tackle the copy at the beginning. Once we knew what we needed to communicate to the users and had it written down, then we could then go forward with designing around the copy. The copy needed to be relaxed, engaging and error-free (because that irks people!). We had to speak directly to our personas as if we were having a real conversation. That’s why the User Personas were so important and why we hung them around the office during the process - so we never forget the people we are “talking” to.
We now had all the pieces to start designing. Yay! We designed every page in desktop and mobile view (this is the view Google uses to rank your site, so it’s critical to get right). Prototypes were built so that we could test our designs with real users. We asked users to perform 5-second tests and defined task tests to ensure our designs worked as intended.
We developed the website around the Webflow CMS. This way, we could guarantee the blogs, client stories and specials filtered through the entire experience from a central source. The client can easily add and maintain content throughout the website. We like easy, and we especially like easy maintenance, so a double win.
We wanted the website we built to place our clients at the forefront of their industry. We needed them positioned as the people-in-the-know for weddings, conferences and spas, as well as geographic area experts. To achieve this, we used in-depth and relevant blog content which covered all of these areas. We built a set of automated emails and templates to welcome subscribers and notify them of new content. Get Set Design will be generating new content every week. This approach will see the brand grow and help the client become known as the leaders in their field.
Take a look at the live project...
www.brahmanhills.co.zaI highly recommend the team from Get Set Design. Nic’s use of user research ensured the website is attractive and easy-to-use. It now features at the top of search engine rankings. The website’s traffic has increased, the bounce rate has gone down, and the conversion rate has been boosted. Carrie’s copy and blogs are amazing; I would recommend this “wordsmith” to anyone that wants to capture an audience. Get Set Design is a world-class company producing world-class results.
Sollie Bester
General Manager
Brahman Hills felt that their old site just wasn’t cutting it. They weren’t seeing the high quality leads for weddings and conferences that they wanted. A Get Set Design and Brahman Hills powwow ensued where we decided a redesigned website was critical. A new website that would effectively reflect to users, old and new, exactly what they were all about through a smooth journey.
Here was the game plan. We know that the users are the root of our design, so we started by connecting with existing clients to find out what they needed from the site. Then kept our findings close at hand while we wrote our copy and crafted our design - so we never lost focus about who we were addressing. This culminated in a clean design based around beautiful imagery, relaxed copy that speaks to real people, a content management system centred around stories and a blog that will position them as area experts. Viola!
Stories were an integral part of the project. We wanted to bring the experiences of real people front and centre.
