Our initial goal was to clean up the HCC website, adding in clean white spaces and a simplified navigation. HCC’s website was already parsed into logical sections (Medical Stop Loss, Group Term, etc). To further accentuate this schemata, we created section personalities, each with a vibrant corresponding images representing strength and their eye-of-the storm theme as well as a corresponding highlight color. That way, you always know what section of the site you are on.
Another focus of the HCC redesign was search engine visibility. To this end, we redesigned their website without drop-down menus. Why no drop-downs? Such JaveScript menus are not usually follow-able by search engines (among other usability concerns). The new site contains content-rich sidebars for each section that lists quick links, departments, important resources and quick contact information – all clearly visible from any page in the site.
For this project, we spearheaded the design and art direction and then handed off our HTML and CSS files (along with a comprehensive design document) and…waited. As a designer, it is always hard to hand-off your work and let someone else put it together. But, the HCC Life production team did us proud – take a look at the online project. It is exciting to see some of the new site imagery applied to their print material as well!
