[CASE STUDY] Josh Wolf Multisport Coach Blog Design

The Concept

Josh wanted Rival Media Studios to create a strong brand and thriving presence on the Internet. He wanted a site that would help present himself as an experienced multisport coach with the knowledge and expertise to boost aspiring athletes performance and success in multisport events. The site needed to present Josh as an industry expert while building his brand.

About The Project

Competitive Analysis

Since Josh did not have an existing website we began our research by first conducting a complete competitive analysis of Josh’s closest competitors to determine what they were doing well as well as what they were doing poorly. Again, we made sure to stay away from obvious mistakes while gaining inspiration for additional features and requirements for Josh’s site.

Features and Requirements

Once all research was complete we then set out to document all features and requirements that were to be included in the site. This effort was greatly enhanced through the cooperation provided by the client. Each feature was prioritized and subsequent implementation phases were identified.

Information Architecture

Upon determining the features that are to be included in the site, we then began to layout the sites structure, navigation and feature functionality in wireframes. This helped us separate the sites functionality and navigation paths without the distraction of color, typography and other final polish details that would be included later.

Design

We drew inspiration from the likes of Nike and Adidas for the look and feel of the site while taking into consideration the more personal features the client required. The design was created to present Josh as the experienced, successful athlete and multisport coach that he is.

Development

We used HTML, CSS, jQuery and AJAX in conjunction with the WordPress CMS platform as the foundation for the site, then created a custom theme based on the Thesis architecture that played well into SEM/SEO practices. This allowed us to bring the site up quickly while meeting the feature requirements the client wanted at an affordable cost basis.

Email Marketing

In addition to the creation of the site for Josh, we also mirrored our efforts by creating an HTML email template that provided a consistent look and feel. We then syndicated the sites RSS feed to the email marketing service thus automating each email to populate and mail each time new content was posted on the site.

The Result

The end result was a site that provided Josh Wolf with the strong appearance of an accomplished athlete and allows him to nurture and build his own personal brand.