THE WILDER EXPERIENCES
The Wilder is a social enterprise that aims to support creative immersion into nature. They create creative, hands-on experiences and opportunities for people to deeply connect with and learn about the environment and living more sustainably, and to encourage businesses to prioritize the planet over profits.
The Wilder’s existing website struggled to effectively convey the startup’s unique value proposition, serving as a weak first point of contact for potential customers.
The initial stages saw limited growth, and the startup’s unique blend of outdoor activities, creativity, community engagement, and collaboration was not effectively communicated through the existing platform. They lacked a distinctive brand identity, making it challenging to connect with its audience and stand out in a competitive market.
After conducting a thorough competitive market and industry analysis, we decided on a moodboard and a colour palette to base the brand identity on – prioritizing hand-drawn elements, earth tones, and bold, easily readable text for all of the design components.
We recognized the pivotal role of brand design in shaping the overall content strategy. The Wilder’s brand identity was carefully crafted to reflect its core values of creativity, environmental stewardship, and community engagement.
From there, I designed a site map along with wireframes for each page of the site. This was an iterative process, with user testing done with local people in the target market of eco-conscious young adults – to ensure usability, clarity of information, and a straightforward onboarding process. Edits to copy and structure were made along the way.
With the new brand identity established, we updated the company’s social media channels to reflect this aesthetic. This included incorporating the muted earth tones, lively typography, and dynamic movement into all visual content, from profile pictures and banners to daily posts and stories. By maintaining consistency across all platforms, we reinforced the brand’s identity and created a cohesive experience for our audience.
Additionally, we tailored our messaging and content strategies to align with the values of eco-conscious young adults, focusing on engaging storytelling and interactive content that promoted our outdoor education mission. This strategic update helped us establish a strong online presence that resonated with our target market and drove engagement.
• Online traffic to the site post re-design increased by 400% over 3 months from January-April 2022.
• The Wilder enjoyed the #1 spot for both competitive long-tail keywords “Events in Squamish” and “Things to do in Squamish.” for 6 months from April 2022-August 2022.
• Implementing insights from user-testing research and service design resulted in tickets selling out for all of The Wilder’s events