Problem

With the iconic 2023 Sydney World Pride (SWP) festival coming up, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (SGLMG) needed to uplift their digital marketing capability to expand their reach to the global community. Their outdated site, with little-to-no marketing tech or events booking function was a far cry from the edgy and digitally-enabled organisation they aspired to be. A recent branding redesign for both organisations which only targeted print executions, meant that AA accessibility requirements hadn’t yet been accounted for. Lastly, due to their not-for-profit status, ongoing maintenance costs limited the choice of tech for their upgrade so WordPress ultimately made the most sense for them – providing its own set of constraints to consider.

Approach

Myself, 1 junior UX and 1 BA worked with key stakeholders to define the IA, prioritise a set of core features based on user needs and business goals. I lead the co-design of key page templates from low to high-fidelity UI, running weekly cross-stream ‘design jams’ to build the other streams’ requirements into our designs. I worked closely with the artists who created the brand guidelines to design an interface which respected the original intent of the creative but leading with best practice, considering usability and performance. I delicately balanced unique visual flair, while meeting AA accessibility standards – which proved a challenge at times with stakeholders of varying levels of digital maturity.

Value delivered

Leading the Design stream I worked alongside the Marketing and Customer Data Platform (CDP) streams to deliver 2 distinctly styled websites, using a shared suite of components tailored to meet both organisations needs. I supported the Marketing Stream with enabling website features, and the uplift of all existing marketing emails to align with the 2023 Festival theme, enabling our client to deliver targeted and engaging marketing comms to their audience. I helped the CDP stream share their vision for a connected marketing capability through compelling pitch packs, helping secure buy-in from senior stakeholders.
Services provided
// Stakeholder alignment
// Competitor landscape analysis
// Feature prioritisation (DVF analysis)
// Information Architecture design
// UX Design
// UI Design
// Prototyping
*Detailed deliverables available on request