Redesign:
The Vera Project
Project type
School project
Duration
2 months (Oct 2022 - Dec 2022)
Role
Research
Design
Tools
Adobe Suite
Figma
OVERVIEW
Background
The Vera Project is a space aiming for promoting personal and community transformation and connection, meanwhile, engaging more people in cultural activities, such as music concerts, art workshops and classes
Goal
As The Vera Project is a youth-driven and creative community, the overall visual design would be presented in a vibrant and playful way in order to create a welcoming and fun vibe, which encourages more people to get engaged and meanwhile resonates with their motto "Always All Age".
The Vera Project - Visual Redesign
RESEARCH
Firstly, I started to look to The Vera Project's current audience, check out their competition and analyzed their existing website to identify design direction.
Audience
Although Vera is an all-ages cultural space, it is more youth-oriented. Moreover, as most of their activities are physical events, geographic location should be taken into account. Therefore, audience should be targeted at young adults aged roughly 15 to 30 and living in the greater Seattle area
Competitors
After a preliminary research, I found out that there are two competitors which have similar missions and offer services alike. However, compared to these two competitors, Vera offers more hands-on classes and workshops, which are more accessible to a wider public
ABBEY ARTS
An independent and nonprofit organization providing music and culture events. As a community-driven organization, it aims to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for people to learn and enjoy through various art mediums.
LIVE MUSIC PROJECT
A nonprofit and community-driven organization dedicated to increasing arts access and providing a platform for people to perform their creative works.
Evaluation of existing website
With regards to Vera’s current visual system, its strengths are the ease of use. First of all, the categories on the navigation bar are divided clearly and titled accurately, which helps visitors to find relevant information more quickly. Secondly, it has an in-site search bar, which could be helpful for visitors to look for certain activities. Lastly, the design and structure of each webpage is generally consistent, which would enhance visitor experience.
As for the weaknesses, its navigation bar is quite crowded. From the psychological perspective, it is hard to concentrate while receiving too much information at once. According to the article “The psychology of simple”, psychologists have found that people’s working memory generally maxes out at around 7 items of information. Therefore, it leads to the opportunity that Vera can make the most of. Some pages could be put together into one category in order to keep navigation menu short and simple
DESIGN
This project was aimed at bringing VERA a new look and fresh recognition. In the meantime, it would still maintain a visual connection to how the brand identity was seen before.
Logo
A logo identifies a brand. The objective of redesigning a logo is to maintain the core spirit and meanwhile make it recognizable by simplifying the visuals, utilizing positive and negative space, and keeping the core element of hand
Typography
Content is the typeface used in the design due to its clarity and legibility in large or small text size
Web version
Mobile version
Color
Split complementary color scheme is used to create the contrast and variety, meanwhile, strike a balance between warm and cool color temperatures
Grid System
DELIVERABLES
The grid system of the web design uses a 12-column layout. Headlines, text body and button should left-align with the column. As for background shapes, some of them could be extended outside the margin and the polka dots should follow vertical wave flow to direct users’ attention.
For mobile, the grid system would use a 6-column layout. Text body should align with headline. As for background shapes, some patterns could be adjusted according to the narrower layout
Web version
Mobile version
