Project Overview
Saxton Speakers Bureau represents world-class speakers like Holly Ransom, Ita Buttrose and Julia Gillard. Despite supplying a wealth of household names for speaking engagements, their website lacked excitement and felt more like an edition of the Yellow Pages.
We needed to transform the outdated directory-style website into a vibrant, energetic home for event speakers. They type of site that could reinvigorate the brand and help them stand out as a leading player in the event space.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Claire Reinecke (Project Manager)
Tim Anderson (UX Design)
Ember Mitchell (Digital Strategy)
Chris Ventura (Digital Strategy)
Kayleigh Martin (Copywriter)
Fran Buratti (Developer)
Jack Waller (Developer)
Project Brief
The client:
Saxton helps event and conference managers transform events from compulsory to compelling. Representing an impressive range of Australian and international public speakers, Saxton matches speakers to events to engage audiences all over Australasia.
Beyond the provision of world-class speakers, the organisation offers supporting services to help people plan and execute unforgettable events. They are known for delivering exceptional service, but their website was no longer reflecting this.
The brief:
Saxton needed a website to cut through the competition and position them as market leaders.
It would need to consider the following criteria:
1. Convey a clear brand proposition
2. Be mobile optimised
3. Easy to navigate
4. Be easy to maintain by internal teams
5. Work for Australian and New Zealand arms of the business
6. Improve SEO qualities of the website
7. Allow for future monetisation
Project Innovation/Need
Saxton has a network of speakers to make competitors green with envy. The directory-style site made it difficult to explore; with over 6000 pages, users were quickly overwhelmed and unlikely to inquire.
The talent that Saxton has on its books is what sets them apart. It was time to put the spotlight on the speakers and their wisdom. Leaving behind any notion of a stuffy corporate site, we created an energetic environment to convince and convert users.
UX research and testing were essential to ensure every part of the site works for them. A clear, logical information architecture makes it easy to discover speakers and filter results by topic or type. Rather than browsing the outdated directory, users are offered multiple pathways to explore and enquire.
The user-focused design has transformed an overwhelming website into an engaging home for speakers worthy of the Saxton name.
Design Challenge
The goal of the design was to reinvigorate the brand and act as a springboard from which users could discover speakers, learn about Saxton and enquire online. We wanted the website to feel exciting and be easy to navigate.
We brought the plethora of renowned speakers to the forefront to sell Saxton as the authority. Hero photography highlights the diversity of speakers while typographical quotes showcase their insights. Further design elements, flat and interactive icons, add a sense of energy throughout the site.
But it’s not enough to make the site look good. Saxton has over a thousand speakers, so we had to help users discover and select. Streamlined information architecture and user-tested navigation enable users to quickly refine speakers by topics and type from primary and secondary navigation.
User Experience
When Saxton first approached us, they described their existing website as archaic, overwhelming and hard to use. Listening to Saxton’s business, marketing and operational needs, we began plotting the foundations of a successful website redevelopment project.
We kicked off the project with UX research and testing. This enabled us to structure the site intuitively and ensure users could complete the tasks they needed to: discovering speakers, understanding more about Saxton, enquiring online, and finding contact details.
Algolia search integration allows users to search for speakers and topics to get instantaneous results. Search enquiries never return zero and instead show similar, relevant results. Secondary drop-down navigation and filter options allow users to delve deeper and find relevant content without clicking through multiple layers.
Modern, lively designs break the mould of corporate sites to help Saxton stand out. Responsive designs ensure the website works beautifully across mobile, desktop and tablet. Bold imagery, iconography and typography create impact without overwhelming users.
Operationally, the site was built on Craft CMS to make it easy for the client to maintain. Integration with Saxton’s bespoke CRM platform S15 streamlines the transference and management of customer and speaker data. New enquiry forms and clear call to actions will likely drive improved leads and conversions.
The new designs not only simplify the process of finding event speakers but make it enjoyable for users and impactful for the business.
Digital - Corporate
This award celebrates innovation and creativity in design of a unique user experience in the combination of text, audio, still images, animation, video, and interactivity content for websites. Consideration given to clarity of communication and the matching information style to audience.
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