Branding, Concept, Web Design
King Kog, a community bike shop, caters to a wide range of cycling aficionados in Brooklyn, NY and Oakland, CA. To support continued growth King Kog wanted to redesign their branding and online experience.
Branding, Web Design, Concept Work
King Kog, a community bike shop, caters to a wide range of cycling aficionados in Brooklyn, NY and Oakland, CA. To support continued growth King Kog wanted to build a consistent brand across mediums and redesign their website.
To inform the redesign I researched local competition with an online presence. I also used contextual inquiry to learn about the desires and behaviors of cycling aficionados. Personas were developed to reflect King Kog's core online users.
Persona created with User Forge.
Based on my findings I developed a strategy and roadmap with a user-centered approach.
VISION
King Kog allows site visitors to research and purchase bikes and components online, review bike maintenance and repair services offered in-store and encourages riders to engage in local community events. The site’s goal is not only to share information with the visitor, but also get them interested in the shop to make them want to visit the brick and mortar location.
DESIGN CRITERIA
K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple, stupid): Basic information about the shop and what it offers, in layman’s terms. No fancy jargon.
Make is accessible: Organize the site so that items can be easily found with few clicks.
New and used: Draw attention to both new and used products so that users can choose what to look at.
A site map was developed with balanced navigation in mind. Used bikes and parts appear under Shop but are managed via the blog so that it’s easy for site administrators to maintain on the fly.
Events are also managed via the blog so that a calendaring system doesn’t need to be maintained.
Primary pages from the homepage were designed, along with an exploration into the product details pages.
In evolving King Kog’s brand, it was important to maintain their image of being a friendly, DIY, artsy local bike shop. The new logo provides a clear and consistent trademark for their brand, usable across all assets. Colors, typography and simple geometry provide a clean and vibrant look for the brand. King Kog will continue to use their own imagery to showcase vintage and used stock on hand.
