The Project
A Biker's Garage is a local family friendly business run by motorcycle enthusiasts in Roanoke, TX. The founder is a former CEO of Bell Helicopters, a Mechanical Engineer, and a Harley Davidson aficionado.
After seeing their current site I approached for an opportunity to work on the website design to bring it in line with their client base and business vision.
After meeting the owner and General Manager I began to do market research and sketch designs to get my thoughts on paper. I also visited the garage several times to take photographs of the building, staff, and of course the motorcycles.
While I was there I took every opportunity to interview customers to learn their likes, their dislikes and how the preferred to interact with ABG and other businesses. I developed personas that are helping guide the design, the content and have also proved useful to shape some of the future events the garage will be hosting once the pandemic chooses to loosen its grip.
Here is snapshot of their current website...
In the process of visiting the garage I took several pictures of motorcycles that owners had customized to fit themselves. These are not machines but instead extensions of their owners. I realized that I had to take uniqueness into consideration. The design could not be a copy of something else and had to stand alone, maybe defy a few rules...
I at first started to analyze their site and determine what to keep and what to update. It was quickly evident that this approach would not bring any value so I abandoned that approach. I had already learned about the business, their objectives, the problems they experience and the clients they serve.
After working with the Owner and General Manager we defined the problem we were setting to solve. Create a look and feel that would encourage a potential customer to visit the store instead of calling for a price quote.
Sketching
Being a technology geek it has taken me several years to learn the value of sketching by hand first. Trying to pop out as many ideas at once in a chaotic mode and then stepping back to see what the result is. Sometimes there might only be a couple and other times you have a eureka moment. The initial sketches of this project helped start discussions with the staff and actually led to an impromptu Lightning Design Jam. Always have post it notes with you and pens, lots of pens.
Designs
After the sketching, design session, and my photographs the client had become very visually inclined. We had a few rounds of discussions on color, typography, and iconography but at the mention of wireframes or lo-fis they resisted. Against all I had read and practiced I went to hi-fi designs.
We did have some discussion on color that took a few attempts to sort out and the visual comparison putting elements in context gave them the information they needed to move forward.
Here is the current approved design of the homepage for the website...
Prototyping
As the design process has moved forward I have provided updates via a prototype link. We are exploring some animations in this way and getting great feedback.
