StudyPoint
Overview
Raka designed a new website and interactive tools for the nationwide tutoring company StudyPoint.
Challenge
StudyPoint came to Raka as they were changing their name from StudySmart, brand, website, print materials and experiencing high levels of growth. They needed a partner who could help unify their nationwide office under one website, improve their look and show off their capabilities and expertise.
Solution
They didn't want to confuse their clients with the new name, or lose ground they gained with the previous brand, so a home run was needed that made those issues nonexistent. Raka hit the ground running, first drawing up a site architecture mapping out the pages of the website, and then wireframing (sketching a blueprint using black and white lines without any images, color or content) to plan ahead for the levels of importance placed on areas of the homepage and subpages. After the site architecture and wireframes were approved, we began designing a website that spoke directly to their primary audience (which we worked with them to define), without alienating their secondary and tertiary audiences. Bright, vivid colors from their brand were used where appropriate, without excluding plenty of white space, and the content was given plenty of room to breath.
When developing the site, we paid close attention to search engine optimization (like adding the local office city names at the bottom of every page) using title tags to our advantage (adding keywords where appropriate). Local cities were each given their own section of the site, personalizing each office, and Flash animations and Javascript pop-ups were used tastefully to add some flair to the homepage, a "College Admissions Planner" timeline and an interactive "Find a Tutor" map. The entire site was developed using PHP, XHTML and CSS, and was thoroughly tested in all major browsers across both Windows computers and Macs.
Result
After launch, StudyPoint's website was mentioned in an article on the company in NY Times Online, and was received very well by everyone within the company. We will continue to partner with StudyPoint as they grow and help more and more students around the country. Alex Gramling, Chief Marketing Officer of StudyPoint, said, "Raka's design and development skills were critical to the success of our project and we're thrilled with the results. Their team worked closely and consultively with us to deliver a new website that effectively meets our needs—and the needs of our customers."
SERVICES UTILIZED
Visual design, interaction design, animation, Flash development, technical development, blog design and development, print design
View StudyPoint website at www.studypoint.com