.png)
%20(Duotone).png)
Knowing current design trends is one thing. But applying the right design elements to your client’s needs adds layers to the skills of creativity and public relations. Especially when it comes to a local business.
Platinum Lawyers might not be a household name, but their credentials indicate a well-established boutique law firm catered mainly to Family Affairs and Property Conveyancing in Western Sydney. However, their 15+ years’ experience doesn’t correlate with their text heavy and generic iteration of their current official website.
As a freelance designer with Clixpert Agency, I was assigned the task of upgrading the visual appeal and practicality of Platinum Lawyers official website via PC and mobile within 4 days. Brand identity needed to also be considered when partaking in this project.
.jpeg)
Assigned as the sole designer for this project required me to first prioritize the essential objective that needed to be addressed. It became apparent from the criterial needs of the client that the required product must feature an intuitive and stylish website that serves to update Platinum Lawyers’ brand identity and make the process of finding the right law firm easy for users. Incorporating front and back end UX/UI Design elements like SEO coverage and responsive design.
Encapsulating a fresh design for the website required fresh insights from the target audience. Primarily aiming to understand the needs, wants and pain points of the target audience would be essential to capturing a desired final product. It is here that the first phase of the project had me conducting a diverse research sprint comprised of a SWOT Analysis, Competitor Analysis and 3 User Interviews.
Findings obtained through the SWOT Analysis showcased a notable strength of comprehensive information throughout the site. But little consideration was found in the improperly formatted UI components, generic brand identity and subpar SEO score of 77%.
A Competitor Analysis followed by deconstructing the effectiveness of competing law firms like Lyons Lawyers and P.B. Ritz Lawyers. Both of whom presented eye-grabbing brand visuals with slick design assets and colour prominent CTA buttons. Additional strengths in the balance of visual and text-based content were also noted by the competitors.
With the raw data obtained, it meant the next phase of the project was ready to be conducted as synthesizing the raw data was crucial to understanding the pain points and needs as well as tapping into uncharted potential in the current market. Executing the synthesis phase of the project was completed with a rough affinity map that explored the current pain points, wants and needs.
Completing the synthesis phase uncovered key takeaways linked to intuitive UI systems based on minimalist principles as well as a visual style that easily symbolized a business’ core values.
When it came time to designing the website, many questions were defined by the synthesized results. This ranged from the level of priority need for a mobile design, balance in digested information in addition to the many ways to stand out from the crowd whilst maintaining the core spirit of the firm.
Constructing the blueprint of the site came out effortlessly through lo-fi wireframes. These wireframes provided a rough basis into the vast opportunities to encourage a mobile first mindset and broader implementation of validation features.
Applying all this captured data together led to the first iteration of the final product. Being that of Platinum Lawyers style guide. This iteration of the firm’s brand identity utilized a triadic colour scheme of blue, gold and white to balance a prestige atmosphere for the firm that also connects with it’s literal platinum quality by using colours associated with the mineral of the same name.
.png)
The typography library uses a balanced mixed of serif fonts (Playfair) to highlight the established brand of the firm whilst san-serif fonts (Forum and Montserrat) supply legibility for more important body content.
The logo of Platinum Lawyers also received a makeover in the form of the golden letter “P” in the style of a collum pillar. Representing courthouse architecture and the motif of a well-established firm.
Using interactive demos of the website, viewers can explore the consistent ease of navigating the site on both desktop and mobile. Whilst exploring the site, users will quickly notice the prominent complements of blue and gold that covers each page, through its statistical boxes, iconography and text. Helping to make viewing content more accessible.
Subtle use of validation signifiers for clickable options increase engagement and decrease bounce rates. Added acknowledgment goes to sticky CTA buttons for introducing the ability to return to the top of a page without manual scrolling. All elements working together to define the informative worth and established sole of Platinum Lawyers.
With the demonstrations completed, it was time to present the full efforts of my labor to the affiliated agency (Clixpert), to whom praised the visual ambition of the site as well as intuitive features that made the UX elements more streamlined for users.
What was presented was also a final product that provided more consideration for the firm’s brand as well as potential to increase SEO conversion rates. The quality of the presentation was so well regarded that Clixpert looked to adopt the many proposed features from the demos into the final design.
4 days was all I was allocated for this project as the sole contributor. Even with such a limited timeframe I was able to fully capture a hi-fi mockup that envisions a responsive site that shows a local law firm’s core principles of tailored services to each client as well as confidence in its decade’s worth of experience. Assuring a prominent presence for the firm in the ever-evolving online sphere.
Through hindsight, some visual elements like adding more white to the colour palette would have provided more breathing space between the contrasting blue and gold. Nonetheless, these considerations can’t hinder the personal achievement I feel when pushing my creative abilities within a professional and commercial environment.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
