Experience Salisbury

We are Salisbury. Pioneers past & present. Traditional & Orginal

The Client

Experience Salisbury has been born out of a desire to create something bigger and better for the city; an inclusive and accessible platform to nurture positive working relationships for the City’s Partners - ensuring this wonderful city is promoted to residents and visitors alike.

Experience Salisbury is a new brand and user experience; housing the latest news and events, as well as showcasing the world-class attractions and local businesses that make the area a true original. With 800 years of hospitality, visitors will always receive a warm welcome in this modern medieval city.

The Brief

Salisbury is competing for visitors, shoppers, talent and investment - and the competition is intense. To succeed and attract attention, Salisbury needs a clear and distinct message and digital platform. The people of Salisbury also need to work together - with a clear understanding of what the city needs to do to achieve its goals.

This is why a cohesive digital strategy for the city is vital - just as Salisbury has always been a hub for merchants, worshippers and travellers, this new digital presence needs to serve as an inspiring & current hub of cultural, entertainment and commercial information.

Promoting Salisbury to a wider audience, both residents & visitors - through an energic, distinctive, creative & imaginative approach - promote the here and now - what’s on and what’s next.

Brand Discovery Workshops – Delivered Remotely

  • Due to restrictions, all Brand Workshop sessions with the Experience Salisbury stakeholders were delivered remotely
  • These sessions are key in enabling our Team to gain a deeper understanding of the Salisbury brand: who you are, what you stand for, who you are trying to reach and what you are trying to accomplish
  • This initial phase, comprising a range of workshops including: Brand Heart, Personas, Brand Archetype, Competitor Analysis & Brand Messaging and lays the foundation of all our Digital Partnerships – firmly positioning us as an extension of Experience Salisbury’s Team

Brand Discovery Learnings

  • There is a clear link between a city’s reputation and people’s desire to visit, study, invest, work and live there
  • A city proud of its tradition of service and shaped by its traditions of craft and care, Salisbury is also home to original thinkers, imaginative makers and independently-minded people.
  • Salisbury’s traditions of craft and care translate seamlessly into celebration of modern provenance – we must clearly encapsulate and communicate Salisbury’s values through this new website: Vision, Energy, Will, Imagination, A spirit of collaboration

User Interface Wireframe Designs

  • Beyond the learnings of the Discovery phase, our Designers could start mapping out and visualising the key user journeys; first through user interface wireframes, which strip out all styling so we are focused on layout and usability – with styling to follow
  • We want this stage to reveal challenges to be solved and in Salisbury’s case we learned that the horizontal patterns of the brand-guide across all sections/pages would be difficult for the client to maintain
  • What also became clear was that listings and key information areas would become redundant if not updated frequently
  • This resulted in a hybrid approach for category pages with 'our picks' being a horizontal scroll and defined categories being displayed within a grid, allowing users to quickly delve into the content

Applying the brand and design system

  • Our website project marked the launch of this new brand – and exciting new brand identity
  • Our Designers had to take care to ensure that the website look and feel was compatible with this new branding – resulting in an immediately impactful and engaging user experience
  • Our user interface design approach was developed in alignment with Experience Salisbury’s brand guidelines - crafting components with brand assets such as colour and shapes to clearly differentiate areas and functions and colour coded site sections
  • The bold and unique approach was conveyed through subtle interactions such as hover effects and abstract brand shapes have been used throughout to help section off and focus users throughout the site

Functionality

  • Focus on mobile-first, ease of use – reflecting brand values of being open and accessible – a search and navigation which support an intuitive user journey which excites and delights
  • The What's on-page is vital in providing fresh reasons to visit Salisbury now and plan a visit; providing users with a powerful filter system allowing users to easily refine and tailor results – especially on mobile
  • The site is based on Umbraco Open Source CMS technology - simple yet powerful website management and an expandable solution which can grow with our client
  • To enhance the UX, we incorporated an interactive & customised Google map; displaying all listings and allowing users to filter and refine results. When active, listing pop-up to display key info and allowing direct access the listing.
  • Live cycling and running routes allow users to follow consecutive points, know their current location and explore nearby routes and places of interest

This new site serves as a catalyst for change, a foundation for focused strategic development across all sectors and an inspiration for businesses and residents.

Telling the story of a city requires consistency, so this digital presence must share a tone of voice, a consistent way to talk about Salisbury that resonates with partners, stakeholders, residents and visitors alike.

"Salisbury is a city that has grown around the new cathedral, nearly 800 years old. It is long-term innovative and world-class. What an inspiring place to be!”

The Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam, The Bishop of Salisbury