Build something unlike anything.
Competitive Analysis
Messaging Strategy
Web Design
Custom Development
CMS Implementation
Mobile and Responsive
Hospitality
2018
Brutalist web design, Grungy music posters, 90s and 00s web culture
CSS - Best UI, UX, Innovation
CSS - Special Kudos
CSS - Special Kudos
Park West’s stage has seen 100+ years of iconic performances, including U2, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett, and Prince. They’ve earned the reputation of being the coolest venue in Chicago, but needed a website for their growing private events business to reflect that. With the team’s full trust, we experimented to build an experience worthy of their brand. This project shows what we can do with a blank canvas and a trusting client partner.
The Challenge
What's the story?
Park West is an iconic venue in Chicago, hosting events from concerts to corporate conferences to weddings. They needed a new strategy—one that elevated their digital brand, reaffirmed Park West as a real player in the space of private event rental, and told their story.
The Process
When everyone goes right, go left.
Before diving in, we needed to know what Park West was up against. We looked at competitors in Chicago and discovered a commonality throughout—Chicago is well known for industrial spaces turned contemporary. Rather than mimic competitors, we saw this as an opportunity for Park West to separate themselves as a little left of center.
Physical meets digital.
An event at Park West is unlike any other. A story rooted in being different, we pushed their digital brand to be different too. We anchored the strategy in their key differentiators: flexibility, production capabilities, experience of staff, and history. These became the guiding light for our design decisions.
Classic yet new.
We pushed the limits with our design and challenged industry standards. Inspired by a grungy wall covered in music posters and brutalist web design, we paired unique elements with unusual imagery. With our interdisciplinary approach to design and development, we created animations and visual effects that lead users on a cohesive, yet exciting, journey.
Exploration encouraged.
The content on the site is very informational, but we wanted users to not just read, but to engage—to have fun, explore, and find things that they weren’t expecting to find. We built “hidden” features for users to discover throughout the site, including hoverable effects, click-and-drag elements, and a 404 page worth checking out.
The Process
Start with story.
Over the past 60+ years, the organization has funded 180 of the brightest minds in cancer research. From their founding to the present day, their commitment to their mission is relentless. We drew inspiration from old black and white photographs and hand-written letters showing some of their pioneers hard at work. We wanted to balance their long history of impact with their cutting edge approach to research today. The result is strong, emotional messaging—of "fighting" and "hope" and "bold ideas"—that better tells their story and moves users to action.
Establishing a new identity.
To modernize their brand and strike the right tone with users, we crafted an entirely new visual identity—logo, typography, color palette, and style guide. We used elements of the hand-written letters and old photographs in the design itself, further driving home the organization's long history of impact.
Making an impact.
The main goal of the new site was to connect with potential donors and increase donations. We prioritized this conversion in designing the user flow. In addition, we integrated with a donation platform on the back-end to make it a frictionless process. To remove any decision fatigue, users can either donate a custom amount or choose from three benchmark sums. And it worked—there’s been an 81% increase in donations with the new website.
Making an impact.
The main goal of the new site was to connect with potential donors and increase donations. We prioritized this conversion in designing the user flow. In addition, we integrated with a donation platform on the back-end to make it a frictionless process. To remove any decision fatigue, users can either donate a custom amount or choose from three benchmark sums. And it worked—there’s been an 81% increase in donations with the new website.
The Solution
With a trusting client partner, we were able to redefine Park West Events’ digital brand and capture their unique, funky style with design and development features.
A mix of modern and old-school design to embody the distinct voice of the venue
Marquee element recreated with Javascript and duplicated text
Glitter and flame text
Old-school scroll bar
A 404 page created by combining a low-res Geocities-style gif with some glitchy animation powered by CSS
Interactive animations encouraging users to play and highlighting specific page elements
Stackable content reacts to the click of a mouse
Customizable hover states which activate pop-up image content collateral
Draggable testimonial boxes for a user to reorder them on the page
