The Challenge
Powerlink initially sought our expertise in user experience and user interface design. Delivering on these designs, and having developed a working relationship between JSA and Powerlink, we were invited to tender for the development of the corporate site as well. Leveraging our abilities in Drupal 8 web development and our reputation as an Acquia Community Partner, Powerlink engaged us with the project.
Powerlink’s previous corporate website had not been fully reviewed since 2011 and was due for an update and rebrand. The site was seen to be content heavy and ineffective at presenting large amounts of information in a way that was engaging or easy to digest. Powerlink also sought to provide greater transparency to stakeholders, especially landholders, to search and discover whether easements had been planned near to, or on, their property.
The Solution
Working in close collaboration with the core team at Powerlink, JSAcreative initially conducted a series of user experience activities including workshops, stakeholder interviews, user interviews and surveys in order to (as a first priority) streamline the Information Architecture in a way that was more engaging and logical to site visitors.
As a cross-functional team we completed the delivery of the IA and saw it approved internally in addition to the Home Page wireframes. The success of these key project milestones were achieved due to the quality of the working relationship that had been developed between the JSA and Powerlink teams during previous work conducted on a Material Sales microsite. The Material Sales microsite saw us deliver upon outstanding user experience, while creating a user interface that showed our ability to handle their brand style in a contemporary fashion.
Designing the new interface for the corporate site, the existing brand style was carried across into a contemporary look and feel, allowing for brand recall while giving it a makeover that established authority without falling into the realm of being overtly corporate.
When it came to development, Drupal 8 was the optimal CMS for the new site due to its scalability and flexibility. It allowed for large amounts of content that had once been disparet to be organised in a way that was intuitive and user friendly. Furthermore, building on Drupal 8 brought Powerlink in line and on par with other large, reputable, enterprise level sites including Translink and Brisbane City Council.
The Outcome
Although the site has only recently become live, we are confident that site users will find it to be far more accessible than before, with navigation and structural design having a strong UX focus. The Powerlink team have expressed that there has been great feedback from stakeholders as well as their internal team. Finally, ongoing training has been provided to ensure that any content updates in the future are done with ease.