PLATFORM HOME OWNERSHIP A new platform for a leading housing group
The brief
Platform Home Ownership (PHO), part of Platform Housing Group (PHG), are one of the country's leading housing associations. They work in partnership to help people get on the property ladder via affordable home ownership schemes such as Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy, as well as selling off-plan properties and general sales.
We were tasked with creating a digital experience that would capture the hearts and minds of the home buyer, whilst conveying PHO's brand essence of enabling better lives by building better homes. Furthermore, the website needed to provide an enjoyable yet accessible user experience and enable customers to feel inspired, whilst getting the help and support they needed to make an informed buying decision.
Services provided
- Design & Illustration
- Digital strategy
- UX & UI Design
- Website & App development
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Project team
-
Emily BarnettProject Partner -
John PikeStrategy Director -
Tom HopkinsDeveloper -
Tara WilsonCreative -
Lucy FordProject Partner -
Guy SpriggsDeveloper
The solution
Due to the diverse needs of the home buyer, it was essential that we really understood their requirements so that we could create a digital experience that revolved around them. Our discovery workshops enabled us to take a deep dive into the audiences to understand their unique challenges and how we could effectively solve them.
Due to the complexities of the scope, we needed to develop an intuitive Information Architecture (IA) that helped simplify the overall user experience through clear and concise navigational and hierarchical structures. Once the structures had been defined, we crafted a new brand visual system to embody the spirit of Platform Home Ownership and convey the positive emotional impact associated with buying a home.
Brand led visual system
Whilst we needed to ensure there was cohesion between both PHG and PHO websites, they required brand distinction from a user interface perspective. Therefore, we revised the visual system by taking inspiration from the 'home' within the PHO identity mark. This resulted in the creation of the new chevron and spotlight graphic devices that are infused throughout the interface and reinforce positivity.
Clever colours
To help users navigate the PHO website, we defined clear colour rules that were synonymous with specific user actions. To do this, we created a light and dark colour theme that provided clarity between primary and secondary actions, whilst also enhancing the overall visual fidelity of the website.
Harmony between form and function
The website not only needed to look great but also perform great too. We developed a new Help to buy application process, find a home search, affordability and mortgage calculators, interactive sitemaps and jargon buster for an enriched user experience. Each component was engineered from a mobile first perspective with performance and usability in mind.
User friendly CMS
Utilising a Powerful Drupal CMS as the preferred platform for Platform. The CMS allowed scope for bespoke data processing, customisation of unique components, integration with customer experience platforms and user permissions to safeguard content based on levels of access required.
Final thoughts
Through thorough evaluation and understanding of the client and audiences needs, we were able to provide a new digital platform for PHO that they could really call home. This was enabled by a new brand-centric visual system and a site architecture that helped PHO effectively communicate their unique brand story.
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