A Rafting Website Makeover
Designing a Whitewater Rafting Website
This spring, we were hired to work on a project by the guys over at River Riders, a group of whitewater rafting guides based here in Oregon (our hometown!). They were looking to redesign their main website (RiverRider.com), and were curious to see what we could come up with.
Since this was our first rafting web design project, we were thrilled with the opportunity and eager to get started.
Project Requirements
The requirements were simple; they wanted their new site to be easy to navigate, and consist of a clean and creative layout. Right away, we noticed that the current website was based on a plain white background, and lacked vitality; we were hoping to introduce some vibrant colors, custom textures, and center the layout to make the page come alive.
Of course in doing so, we were afraid we'd be taking a big risk, since the client wanted us to "keep things simple", and our concept might end up overstepping this requirement.
Before & After
The solution turned out to be an interesting one; we decided to strike a balance between simplicity and adventure, by having just one creative object on the page, and structuring the entire template around it. Our creative object became the picture of a boat paddle, which we enhanced digitally, and decided to use as the background for the navigation menu. The paddle gave the website a much needed creative edge, without overloading it.
When we finished the rough draft, we presented it to the client and waited anxiously for their reaction.
The next day we had a response. They loved it. We had their approval to continue working on the site, and fill in the rest of the pages. In the end, the client was thrilled with our work and has since told us that they've received many compliments on their new site! They were so pleased with the outcome, that they've mentioned they will be hiring our team to build another site for them in the near future.
Take a look at the before and after photos:
We hope you enjoyed this project anecdote. If you're looking to redesign your own website, give us a call at 888.707.5717 for a free consultation. We'll go out of our way to exceed your expectations and build the perfect website for your outdoor brand.