Wenatchee Valley Chamber and Visitors Website & Branding

In 2013 the Wenatchee Valley Visitors Bureau was merged into the Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce to form a new organization that would take care of both promoting the Valley to visitors and taking care of businesses in town. Apt Design had a great working relationship with both of the previous organizations, so their decision to continue using Apt Design was a natural extension of a successful partnership.

Branding the new Organization

We first set to work defining a new look for the new Chamber, and indeed creating an all-inclusive brand for the entire Valley. A composite of organizations in the Wenatchee Valley contracted with Arnett Muldrow to help them create a brand for our entire area. AM flew to town for a few days and in a short time delivered most of a comprehensive brand statement for the Valley. Apt Design then stepped in to finalize the assets the organizations’ would be using. While that focused heavily on creating a variety of separate yet unmistakably parallel logos, I also created a visual design style for the Chamber for use across all their materials – including online and print ads for visitors and internal flyers and brochures for local businesses.

wenatchee-logos

 

Next we turned our attention to tackle the biggest project – the merging of the two old organizations’ websites into a single destination on the web.

 

Structuring Content

Information architecture was critical on this site redesign. We pored over Google Analytics reports to see what visitors were doing on both old sites, and strategized how we could best get every user group what they wanted as quickly and easily as possible. Weeks were spent reviewing and reassessing the content from both old sites to make it easier for visitors to find what they were looking for.

wenatchee-website-business-pageIn the end we made the main emphasis of the website centered on visitors to the Valley and separated out the Business and Relocation sections of the site into entirely different areas. Each area was then given it’s own distinctive look and feel to subtly notify visitors that they were viewing a completely different set of information.

Because there was simply so much content in each area of the site we focused on a ‘listings’ model that applies to most of the site’s content. A listing is a place of interest, business, restaurant or hotel. Each listing is easily populated with things like title, photo and description but can also store information like website, location and Facebook page. Because each listing can then be categorized and tagged, they can then be dynamically resorted and cross-linked based on what you’re looking for (example: explore all the Kid-Friendly places in Wenatchee!). This became the true power behind the new website, and one that continues to be built upon.

Staying Fresh

wenatchee-website-full-pageIn keeping with the “fresh” theme of Wenatchee’s new branding, we knew that this site needed to keep content updated and current to maintain a strong presence in the Valley. Since the homepage is by far the most-visited page on any website we paid close attention to keeping it up to speed. The giant lead images let the Chamber promote the greatest parts of the Valley, and 3 easy-to-update callouts underneath are the perfect place for preeminent seasonal topics and links. Featured Calendar events get you to the action straightaway and a blog connects you to the latest thoughts and opinions in the area. Lastly a dynamic footer finally integrates the Chamber’s rich social media experience in an easy-to-view digest.

A comprehensive tutorial gave the Chamber the power to update and edit every single part of their website. Task in hand they have been diligent to keep new content entered and keep the energy of this site alive and active!

One Calendar to Rule Them

wenatchee-website-calendar

One of the main foci for the Chamber was having a fully-featured, comprehensive calendar that would be populated with everything happening in the Valley. We used Modern Tribe’s Event Plugin to get things going, then completely customized the design to make it fit beautifully. Filling in hundreds of events would still be taxing to the Chamber’s staff however, so Nick custom-built an events aggregator that pulls in events from other participating calendars in the valley to truly create one calendar to rule them all.

jerri-barkley Jerri Barkley
Marketing & Communications Coordinator for Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce
Brad is a consummate professional for sure and as you can see others agree with that wholeheartedly.  One of the best things about Brad is that I have not known of anyone that has worked with him on a project that has not been 100% pleased with the end product but also with the process.   From the beginning of our very large project through one project after another he has been terrific.  Re designing and reworking our new website seemed like a pretty daunting task but Brad expertly worked the plan.  His skills in time/project management are as exceptional as his eye for design.  Love having the opportunity to work with him and look forward to more.

Responsive All the Way

wenatchee-website-on-iphoneThis site was built with mobile users in mind from the very beginning, which is good because the site’s mobile traffic is already above 25% and growing! The mobile site delivers up the same powerful experience, but in a simplified manner. This is where our time spent on the information architecture showed itself advantageous – users are still able to access all the site’s content easily via the responsive menu. And since mobile users are often out and about looking for something to do we made sure the Calendar button was always available.

Brad is a complete professional and a pleasure to work with — he’s intuitive, creative, responsive and reliable.

Nena Howell

Freelance Marketing Consultant

He’s nailed countless designs for my clients and he gets it every single time.

Annette Pennington

former Executive Director of the Wenatchee Downtown Association

The design work is flawless, the content is accurate and always within the project budget. He is consistently able to be reached, is open to questions and comment, and each project has been completed on time.

As an author, I wanted something that would showcase my books, but do so by telling a kind of story. And that is exactly what Brad accomplished. The finished product is beautiful, evocative and efficient, just like a great novel.

Greg McKenzie

Director of CUDA Peru

…artistic intuition that can’t be learned, keen insight into what a project needs, the people skills to lead the creative process, the organizational skills to manage the whole undertaking, and the work ethic to get the job done when and how it should be.

Jerrilea Crawford

Community Development Director, Wenatchee Chamber of Commerce

What I love about Brad is that he can capture the vision of what I am wanting designed and make it even better than I imagined. To top it all off, Brad is just a really nice guy and he’s easy to work with!

Justen Forge

Author

EVERY project he works on is the most important project to him, and that’s how he makes you feel through his accessibility, responsiveness, communication and professionalism.

Mike Caemmerer

Program Director at Icicle Creek Center for the Arts

Brad’s work consistently impresses. He has a great knack for designing material that both fits our mission and pushes our look to be new and fresh and innovative. Working with Brad is a delight. It is a collaborative venture that engages the creative process. His patience seems endless—in spite of how much we test it. Brad and Apt Design an ideal fit for us.

James Townsend

James Townsend, Author and Co-Owner of The Human Condition

Brad’s creative insight is easily accessible through constant communication and feedback. He’s concerned about your vision, and it shows in the final product. He has a consistent devotion to making your vision a reality.

Apt Design is definitely a name that fits – Brad is capable, the service is right-on, and I recommend him wholeheartedly.

Susan Hufman

Executive Director of the Leavenworth Summer Theater

…finding Brad was the answer. He listened, researched, welcomed honest responses to drafts, adapted, educated us, stayed on deadline and delivered a first-rate creative website that continues to draw rave reviews.

Kelly Allen

Insurance Broker

Working with Apt Design is like working with a genie….”Your wish is my command!” I simply had to share my vision, and, poof, just like that, it was created! Timely, detailed, and precise. It’s comforting to know that I never have to worry when working with Apt Design. They consistently come through for me, allowing me to focus my energy in other areas.

Craig Larsen

former Executive Director at the Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce

I have seen Brad’s web design work on two separate and very different projects. I was impressed on each occasion with the time he took to really understand what the customer wants and needs from each project, leading to a great website both times.

Marcia Janke

former Tourism Director of the Wenatchee Valley Visitor's Bureau

Brad is a delight to work with.

Kirk Douponce

Owner of DogEared Design

Apt Design is a pleasure to work with. They always meet or beat their deadlines with consistent creativity.

Jason Jablonski

Professional Athlete, Owner of SET Coaching

When it came time to design my website choosing Apt design was the best decision I could have made. Apt Design is always on time with all projects and the quality of work is second to none.

Reid Peifer

Creative Director at Modern Tribe

His design work and attention to detail is impeccable. He’s also pushed me, and our team to become better designers. When I look at finished work from Brad – I don’t see his face all over it. It’s not about him – it’s about the design. When I look at a finished project and see a happy client, happy budget and happy timeline – well Brad’s face is all over that.

His ability to grasp an organization’s goals and translate them into images is pitch-perfect. With his upbeat attitude and timely delivery, he is a real pleasure to work with.

Lilia Grundy

Marketing Director for Icicle Creek Center for the Arts

Working with a new designer can be overwhelming – but through Brad’s organizational systems and resources, we were able to work through various projects in record turn-around timing. Additionally, our latest posters and designs have captured the hearts and attention of the community. We increasingly receive requests such as “how can I get one of those posters?!”

Andy Dappen

Founder, Editor of WenatcheeOutdoors.org

Brad was always extremely prompt and professional in turning around what we requested. And Apt Design brought top quality design elements and ideas to the table for our consideration.

Jack Penning

Executive Director, Sixel Consulting

Brad is the ideal designer for a client that seeks excellence and speed without sacrificing quality.

Shane Pearlman

Shane Pearlman, CEO at Modern Tribe

I can count on Brad. When he says he’s going to do something he gets it done. That accountability is probably one of the most important things I can have from someone I work with. Brad is certainly one of the most accountable people I’ve had on my team.

When you hire Brad you get his creative talent mixed with dependability and you end up with someone who is really great to work with.

Brady Hudkins

freelance designer

He has solid ideas and is willing to listen, which in turn makes him an extremely effective communicator. His ability to organize the creative and administrative side of his business sets Brad even further apart from anyone

Robert Howard

Author

Brad came up with a powerful visual look and graphic design that tied together the various “chapters” in my story. What’s more, he is a pleasure to work with—a great listener and highly collaborative!

Brad made the process of developing my web site not only painless, but positively enjoyable. His enthusiastic, “can-do” attitude permeated every discussion we had. I would recommend him to any writer looking to develop a web site!

Nick Ohrn

Developer and Owner of Plugin-Developer.com

I still get compliments every other week on my site design and I think a huge reason my conversions are through the roof is because of the stellar work you did on that site. That project was by far the smoothest experience I’ve ever had with a contractor and I wouldn’t hesitate an instant to work with Brad again.

Jennifer Korfiatis

Marketing Consultant, Professor

I have always found his creativity, professionalism, and work ethic to be outstanding. He consistently meets deadlines, and is honest and up-front as to his timeline when scheduling my projects.

Jennifer Skiff

Best-selling Author

Hiring Brad Fitzgerald to create my website was the greatest gift I gave to myself in 2013. He is a pleasure to work with!

Kelly Boyle

Realtor

I would recommend him to any business that seeks to improve their image and market share. Brad is more than a service provider, he is a business partner.

Gina Muller

former Director of Sales and Marketing for Gill Diamond Hospitality

We have seen an increase in our internet revenue since having the new websites.

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