Map & Area Guide

CHALLENGE:

Midtown Detroit, Inc. was the result of a collaborative merger between the UCCA (University Cultural Center Association) and the New Center Council. The organizations had similar missions and were both responsible for a remarkable number of successful community initiatives. At the time, the newly created Midtown Detroit Inc. needed a versatile website that would help them encourage new housing development, increase visitors to area attractions, increase commercial activity, and assist in their efforts to expedite other improvements in the area.

The client wanted a website presence that would be a “One Stop Shop for Everything Going on in Midtown.” The website would need to be easily updated. It would be a repository for everything Midtown, from visitor attractions to rental listings to a full directory. The site would host a massive amount of information about the district while also needing a contemporary look and feel and end user friendly interface. It would need to resonate to a diverse audience of site visitors with distinct needs.

SOLUTION:

There was careful consideration around the end user’s overall experience (UX) and immediate needs. The titles of each section were based on names that the visitor would find user friendly. The home page was created and designed as a gateway for quick access to the main sections from the top navigation and the boxes in the lower half of the page contain teasers and quick links for events, news feed, visit
and live pages. The main header has a box on the right side for upcoming events, giving instant access to that information. The site is structured around end user needs and on the types of information that the each audience type would be looking for.

A printed map and guide was also requested and needed to be consistent with the new brand image.

RESULTS:

The new website has seen a tremendous increase in traffic and usage. The new website averages over 12,000 visitors per month with 12,900 new and 6,209 returning. Users spent an average of 4.16 minutes on the site.