Branding
CASE STUDY
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (in their own words) “is the world’s largest business organization representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions.” Their story dates back to 1912 and throughout they have supported businesses large and small across the country. The Chamber came to us with a clear strategic goal to reinvent their online identity. We were thrilled by the opportunity to support such a storied organization and set up their brand and pro-business work for continued success.
Discovery
Design & Dev
MISSION
Meet the Chamber
Together with the Chamber team, we developed the “Meet the Chamber” campaign to reintroduce the organization to the public and create a lasting identity and platform. We wanted the identity to help the Chamber fulfill their mission to engage with businesses, government, and the public. More than a facelift, the new website design aimed to put this hundred-year-old institution front and center for the next generation of American business owners.
With the previous site, the architecture largely mirrored the internal organization of the Chamber. In other words, much of the site content was created and mapped in such a way that the relationships between content were more closely connected to how two teams worked...instead of how a new user would expect to find it.
With thousands of pages of content tied to this architecture, we were ready to roll up our sleeves with our internal partners and get started.
DISCOVERY
In-Person Interviews
As always, our work started with Discovery, meeting with the Chamber team to begin research and nail down style and tone. We performed dozens of in-person interviews with external partners and site users to build on the insights of the Chamber’s user experience research and site analytics. We confirmed that the existing content navigation was making it difficult for users find the facts, advocacy tools, and messaging that they rely on the Chamber to deliver.
Collecting Information & Assets
Based on all of these inputs, we drafted a new site navigation and site map, testing it with real people to track how easy it was for them to complete their tasks. Beyond our architecture and information design, we wanted to design a welcoming environment to help people make an emotional connection with the Chamber beyond the usual factsheets. Photography, new colors, iconography and other visual elements were used to create the feeling of a room full of peers, instead of a daunting institution with a seal.
Original sketch vs final design
LAUNCH
The new Chamber website serves their interests by putting the needs of members and other site visitors above all else. A warm welcome and a new approach to content organization and navigation work together to create a smooth experience for the people who rely on the Chamber everyday to help their business grow.
For LGND, it was an incredibly challenging and rewarding project. The Chamber team—along with Trestle Media, their development partner— brought commitment, high expectations, and a great degree of design and technical sophistication to the table.