What We did
The Challenge
Future Medium's Strategic Expert Glen Johnson volunteered his time to assist with the development of a complete strategy to organise this process.
A key component of the rebrand was a new website. Future Medium were engaged to conduct a comprehensive redevelopment of the Port Arthur website.
Through a series of workshops with members of PAHSMA and DIPIWE the following goals were set:
- To reinvigorate the look of the site.
- To highlight the range of experiences available at Port Arthur.
- The new site would need to convey that Port Arthur is partly about the Australian Story and what it means to be Australian.
The Solution
One of the objectives of our initial strategic work was to identify several unique types of visitor to the site. Many of these visitors fitted into the traditional touristcategory, searching for pricing, package tours, location info etc. However we discovered that a second smaller though no less significant group of visitors wanted to use the site as a research tool to find out more about the history of Port Arthur and its place in Australian history. The old site had started off relatively small, but had grown exponentially over the years and was now struggling under the weight of all this additional content. It was found that most visitors to the site, be they tourist or researcher, were struggling to find the information they needed.
The first step in our solution then involved a thorough reorganisation of content to best meet the needs of visitors to the site. This revolved around the creation of "hub" pages, each of which was themed around a specific component of the Port Arthur Experience. These "Hubs" allowed users to quickly identify and access the information they needed.
Next we took a look at the visuals. The new design used strong iconic imagery of Port Arthur and it's surrounds which when mixed with a bright, rich set of colours ensured that the site effectively conveyed the heritage of the site within a fresh, modern interface.
From here Future Medium created a set of templates and worked with DIPIWE to ensure that these were integrated into their CMS with as smooth a transition as possible.
The Result
With information available in multiple languages, online booking and a wide array of research aids, the final result was more than simply an aid to tourism in the area. The site has become an indispensable tool for anyone interested in Port Arthur and its place in Australian history.
