21st Century Expo Group
Mission———
21st Century, a tradeshow and event company located in the DMV area, is dedicated to unlocking the Secret for Success in every partnership. Believing in the empowerment of value, innovation, responsiveness, and teamwork to elevate a brand’s presence in the event industry brings all clients the full Expo Group Experience. With unwavering commitment, they have cultivated a lasting relationship built on understanding and respect with all their clients. As a trusted one-stop-shop for event and exhibit excellence, drawing from over two decades of proven expertise to deliver creative, customized solutions that set new standards in the exposition and event management industry. Their clients’ success is their mission.
Project Overview———
When 21st Century approached Marstudio, they were growing fast, but their brand wasn’t keeping up. Our Chief Creative Officer took the lead, creating a dynamic new logo inspired by geometric structures and vibrant colors, infusing the brand with new energy and sophistication. As the Art Director, I delved into the market research and analytics, pinpointing user needs to craft a new information architecture and design. With this solid foundation, I developed a responsive website and fresh marketing collateral. This transformation set the stage for success, ensuring the brand could keep pace with their rapid growth.
Deliverables included
- Discovery deck (assessment overview)
- Information Architecture
Tactics included
- Analytics review
- Site performance testing
- Accessibility testing
- Stakeholder interviews and surveys
- User survey and heatmapping
- Content audit and ideation
- Creative Brief
Tools Used
- Google Analytics
- WebAIM
- Hotjar
- Google PPT
- InDesign
- Illustrator
With the job of enhancing the usability, overall organization, and visual impact of their existing website, we at Marstudio began the process with our initial research. Our methodology embraced a data-driven approach, beginning with the strategy phase, also termed “Discovery,” where we meticulously explored opportunities for development and design implementation to improve the overall user experience and create space for the new brand. This involved thorough data collection, stakeholder, and user surveys. With the qualitative and quantitative insights that surfaced from both external and internal users, we relied on a scaling approach, listing usability issues in order of priority; task criticality, impact, and frequency.
Deliverables included
- Final logo concept
- Defined color palette
- Typography selection
- Branding sheet & guidelines
- Print collateral
Tools Used
- Illustrator
- Photoshop
- InDesign
- Google Suites (Presentation)
We embarked on a creative journey to revitalize the 21st Century brand, capturing the dynamic energy and unwavering quality they consistently deliver to their clientele. We achieved this through a harmonious fusion of vibrant colors, captivating visual elements, and a revitalized messaging strategy. The meticulously designed structured logo, composed of blocks, mirrors the industry they operate in, symbolizing the reliability and solidity of their services. This transformation not only reinvigorated their brand but also underscored their commitment to excellence, helping them distinguish themselves in the competitive event industry landscape.
Deliverables included
- Moodboard
- High fidelity Wireframes
- Responsive designs
Tools Used
- Google Suites
- Figma
- Photoshop
- Illustrator
We began by using insights gathered during discovery to establish clear project success expectations, which guided the restructuring of the website’s information architecture and the creation of user journeys based on well-defined Personas. This transitioned seamlessly into the visual and structural planning of the interface, where we prioritized visual exploration through a single mood board to streamline the design phase. This mood board served as the guiding inspiration for crafting high-fidelity wireframes.
Throughout the project, our collaboration with the client and development team played a pivotal role in determining the solution scope, pushing boundaries in functionality, and enhancing visual presentation. The high-fidelity wireframes provided a strong foundation for infusing the design with the newly established brand, implementing a full-color strategy, harmonious typography, and cohesive aesthetic elements across the website. We carefully addressed identified pain points and essential features, resulting in an engaging and user-friendly website that successfully captured the desired visual style while delivering an impactful user experience, aligning perfectly with the project’s goals and aspirations.
After crafting a fresh logo and branding elements, we used a comprehensive mood board to guide the visual direction of 21st Century’s web design, seamlessly aligning with the client’s vision and brand identity.
When selecting a diverse array of pages to structure during wireframing, the primary objective was to ensure the inclusion of all necessary components and functionality. Explore the key wireframes that set the foundation for the design.
*site may appear slightly different due to client management
The final project’s success marked a profound transformation in 21st Century’s rebranding efforts, encompassing the development of a visually captivating, user-friendly, and responsive website, along with a range of marketing materials. This revamped visual identity effectively conveys the company’s enthusiasm and unwavering commitment to delivering high-quality services and products across both print and digital platforms. Through a steadfast focus on accessibility, the website was optimized for mobile devices, broadening its reach to a wider audience. The refined site structure ensures streamlined user journeys, while thoughtfully reorganized and emotionally engaging content deepens the connection between the company and its customers. Overall, the project achieved its goals of elevating 21st Century’s overal presence and positioning the company competitively in the event industry market.