Skills
Research & Strategy
UX/Ui design
Web design

Tools
Illustrator
Photoshop
XD

Date
Spring 2020

The Brief

The Cloud 9 ranch is a gaited horse ranch with an experienced team specializing in horse training, breeding, and equine therapy.

The Opportunity

The Cloud 9 Walkers horse ranch was in need of an up to date website and rebrand. A trustworthy homepage, clear navigation, scheduling system, and contact forms were among the needed improvements.

The Solution

As a UX team of two, my colleage Ryan Hardy and I researched and drafted improvments to the user interface that would improve the overall user experience. I designed a new, user centered website that was simple, navigable, and trustworthy with a cohesive look and feel.

A User-Focused Approach

Our research and preparation prior to the final redesign focused on
the user journey. We prioritized user perpective in our comparative
analysis, strategy workshop, content mapping, sketching, and
wireframing. We predicted touchpoints such as social media and
word-of-mouth recommendation would guide users to the website.
The landing page was designed to include all of the important calls
to action for the user to find the information they need, to schedule
visits, purchase horses, or contact the ranch with any inquiries.

Crafting the Look and Feel

I took a lot of inspiration from modern western motifs, postcards, the
riding trails, colors, and textures found in nature and in clouds. I wanted
something that had a nice balance of femininity and masculinity. I also
wanted it to be rustic, yet sophisticated. I kept the overall feel airy and light
to adhere to the original “cloud”  motif from Cloud 9’s original branding. For
the fonts I chose Avenir Roman because it’s a clean, thin, sans serif font that
emanates the light and airy aspects of the brand identity. I paired it with the
handwritten font, Emily Austin, because it provided warmth and character,
which was another facet of the brand’s personality. The Emily Austin font was
actually created as a replication of the hand of Texas pioneer woman Emily
Austin Perry in letters she wrote her husband in the early days of the Republic.
I felt this was perfect, and quite the coincidence that the Cloud 9 ranch resides
in Texas.

goals and mood board ︎︎︎

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