Westlake Hardware

 UX audit • site mapping • wireframing • design • art direction • production

Ace Hardware Corporation owns and operates the Westlake Ace Hardware chain, and is one of the largest hardware retailers in the United States. Headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, Westlake Ace Hardware has been in operation for over a century and operates over 130 neighborhood stores located throughout the US. 

Westlake’s website lacked a clear user journey, was difficult to navigate and was full of outdated content and functionality which created an unfriendly online experience. They needed a fresh site to help customers find resources, promote their in-store sub-brands as well as make it easy to find a location.

The first step in creating a user journey was designing clear points of entry. Because there are locations across the US, we had to make sure to serve the correct promotions, departments, and featured brands that were relevant to the user’s location. Using IP detection we were able to display location specific content. The next step in our entry points strategy was to quickly lead them down one of three main paths; find a location, find a product or service, or find a resource. To do this we created a modular system that included designed content blocks with promotions, brands, and services that could be repeated on any page to help the user always have a next step. Creating modules this way also allowed us to easily swap in location based content.

The result was a series of templates that were flexible and user-forward.

Halls Kansas City

 UX audit • site mapping • wireframing • design • art direction • production

Halls is a luxury department store in Kansas City that has been around since the early 1900s. Originally, a showcase store for Hallmark products, in 1916, it reopened carrying a variety of high-end merchandise, which is what it remains today. Selling exclusive designer brands not found elsewhere in KC.

With the strategy, we had several factors to consider. The first was Halls lack of e-commerce. Because of the nature of its luxury inventory, Halls orders limited stock of each item which does not stay in the store long. Knowing this, we came up with what we call capsule collections, which would include a curated set of items that were put online for sale.  

The second strategy centered on promotions and the ability to showcase major sales, multiple promotions, and exclusive events. The solution was a tiered system allowing each department page to have up to three options for promotion. Each promotion module allowed varying levels of information with major sales and events having a landing page, secondary promotions, copy only and tertiary a button and a headline.

Dysart Taylor Law Firm

 UX audit • site mapping • wireframing • design • art direction • production

Dysart Taylor Cotter & McMonigle, P.C. is a well-established Kansas City law firm serving clients across a wide range of industries and services. The firm pride themselves for being well known for its involvement in the community both as a business and with its staff.

For Dysart Taylor’s new website, we focused on two main goals – the exemplary attorneys plus their achievements, and their broad range of capabilities. To feature the attorneys, our first step was to create an extensive bio. Each attorney had a wealth of content to showcase. To keep the page from feeling overwhelming, I utilized key functionality within Wordpress and created visual cues with color.

To better allow potential clients to not only understand their practice areas, but also align them within industries and their associated attorneys, we created a capabilities landing page that allowed users to filter by industry or practice area which lead to individual landing pages.