Designing a Digital Roadmap for AAA Hudson Valley
Challenge
AAA Hudson Valley was in need of a new website; one that would shine light on not only its famous roadside assistance, but also highlight the countless benefits of being an AAA member.
Objectives
Design an aesthetically pleasing website while adhering to AAA accessibility and brand guidelines
Highlight the other benefits of being an AAA member, but keep roadside assistance as a main focus
Improve CMS to enable the AAA team to add/remove service pages without our assistance
Project Scope
Website Redesign
Tools
Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, WordPress CMS, HTML5, CSS3, Asana
Role
UI/UX Designer (In-House)
Duration
2 Months (60 hours)
Designing the Road Map
Navigation
Creating a user-friendly navigation was crucial in our mission to highlight all the benefits that come with the AAA membership. With the wide range of discounts available, I broke them down into three categories as shown below. The end result was an experience that would not overwhelm the user while still displaying all the internal pages that lived within each category.
The AAA Hudson Valley Membership
The goal was to touch on as many pillars of the AAA membership as possible on the home page. I made sure that their roadside assistance service remained accessible and prominent in the navigation. Travel, insurance, and discounts were the main benefits AAA Hudson Valley wanted to highlight on their new website. I also added a section that would break down each of their membership tiers and serve as a call-to-action for visitors to either renew their membership (implemented later on in process) or join AAA.
WCAG Level AA Guidelines
Accessibility was another top priority of the project. When designing the interface of the website, I ensured that color contrast ratios met minimum requirements for buttons and text, navigation links and layouts were consistent throughout the website, and target sizes for interactive elements met minimum size requirements. Additional measures would be taken while uploading content such as ensuring all images contained alternate text.
AAA Brand Guidelines
AAA Hudson Valley supplied us with brand guidelines to adhere to. I ensured my designs abided by these guidelines when creating icons and selecting colors, stock photos, and fonts. The designs would reflect their brand message while providing users with a clear pathway to finding exactly what they were looking for.
Content Management
In addition to designing the website, I was responsible for uploading graphics, copy, and more. I ensured that all images adhered to best practices and that the website was optimized for SEO by nesting URLs as well as uploading metadata, page titles, and copy written by the SEO team.
Backend & Page Templates
Another goal of the new website was to create a CMS that would allow for the AAA Hudson Valley team to add or remove content with little assistance from us. I designed simple, aesthetically pleasing layouts and sections which our developer referenced when creating blocks that would enable the AAA team to edit content with ease.
Not Just Roadside Assistance
The new AAA Hudson Valley website serves as a digital roadmap through each of their diverse services. With a fresh new look and user-friendly experience, engagement increased by 113% and form submissions by 123%. AAA Hudson Valley can now offer their members a smooth digital experience when using any of their amazing services.
Enjoying the Ride
This project proved to be challenging, but well worth it. I had the opportunity to hone my information architecture and content organization skills. With a complex sitemap and an abundance of content for each page, balancing stakeholder requirements as well as design and user needs would prove to be a fun challenge. But, at the end of the road, we reached our destination. We were also nominated as a finalist at the 2023 Capital Region MARCOM Awards. I am grateful for the opportunity to help AAA Hudson Valley pave a new digital pathway for their future. Thank you for reading.
