Design, digital and aftercare & support

Thanet District Council

Thanet District Council is the local government body for the Thanet district. It is one of the district councils in Kent and includes the towns of Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate.

THE BRIEF

One of TDC’s key corporate objective by 2022 is digital transformation. LUV was awarded the contract to be sole, digital creative and development partner to renovate its existing corporate website (www.thanet.gov.uk). The old site was developed in 2013 and received approximately 1 million visits per year in 2016, but an extensive user research report highlighted that it was no longer fit for purpose.

OUR APPROACH

We highlighted that TDC required a solid yet simple digital framework that primarily focuses on end-user experience first as well as bringing compliance to WCAG2.1 AA accessibility. Each stage was validated by a research-based approach, with testing conducted.

Examples from a UI style guide of different elements such as a colour palette

VISUAL IDENTITY

We designed a set of website guidelines that outlined the use of typography, colours, imagery and functionalities whilst also considering AA accessibility.
Multiple examples of screenshots of responsive pages from our Thanet council website

CREATIVE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS

  • Full IA audit and sitemap overhaul
  • Content strategy / migration
  • Redesigned UX journeys validated with real end users (Thanet residents area) based on researched user flow and task prioritisation
  • Call to action (CTA) focus
  • Mobile first design
  • Fully optimised in-built search engine
  • Hero campaigns
  • HTML templates integrated into CMS
  • Managing other external supplier to update HTML templates (Jadu Forms, ModernGov etc.)
  • Infographics / video incorporation / illustrations
  • Website design guidelines (toolkit)
  • WCAG 2.0 & 2.1 AA compliancy
  • Website governance and training

SUCCESS

We have successfully launched “Stage one” creative design and development as well as meeting all client’s objectives, expectation and delivered this stage on time and budget. At present we are in midst of implement “Stage Two” of the development framework.

In addition, we have successfully achieved a maximum 4 STARS from SOCITM and as well as being listed as one of their recommended website for best practice.

End to End approach

Discovery

Communication workshop, research and analysis

Design

New brand identity and strape-line / image library / styled designs / merchandising design / online brand directory

Development

Refinement for all design stages exercise

QA & refinement

Quality assurance testing / refinement / prototyping testing

Deployment

Internal and external implementation / training

Project management

Monthly project updates meeting / Basecamp for project tasks tracking / Slack for communication / Scheduling & scoping / TeamGantt software to track, anticipate and reallocate resources.

LUV demonstrated an immediate understanding of our brief and requirements, but also shared their expertise and knowledge of the customer journey and the importance of this when decision making. They also showed their skill for clear and attractive design without compromising on the user experience.

Throughout the project LUV were professional, met deadlines and kept us informed and updated at every stage. The new website launched smoothly and has received favourable feedback and this success can be attributed to quality of work delivered by the team at LUV.

Jessica Seaward, Digital Communications Officer Thanet District Council

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