Supporting an Economic Development District with a Website and Branding Refresh

Overview

The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council (TBRPC) is an economic development district (EDD) designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce to help lead innovation and bolster the growth of private sector businesses. It serves as a community bridge to bring together community and business leaders to help drive economic development while providing access to Economic Development Administration (EDA) backed grants to fund these initiatives. TBRPC also serves as the Corridor Management Entity for the Courtney Campbell Scenic Highway and works to coordinate all necessary related activities.

The Challenge

TBRPC reached out to Black Digital concerned that their existing website lacked proper functionality. Specifically, it didn’t offer sufficient information to serve as a true resource for the Tampa community. The homepage was overloaded with information and design elements which made it overwhelming and confusing to navigate. In particular, critical press releases as well as upcoming events weren’t organized efficiently which added to the dysfunction. Additionally, TBRPC wanted to refresh their website and update the logo.

Our Approach and Solution

Black Digital began by creating a wireframe that prioritized streamlining TBRPC’s navigation. We worked with their internal team to determine which content pages could be merged to reduce the information overload effect yet still maintain a cohesive content structure. Along with creating a more functional navigation scheme, we focused on developing a structural format that featured a more natural flow to make it easier for visitors to browse the website.

This also included reformatting event and press release information so that it was less jarring or confusing for visitors. Finally, along with a fresh website layout, we also designed a versatile logo and complementing color palette that easily translated across mediums from the website to social media, and even for marketing purposes.

Impact Numbers

After Black Digital completed the website redesign and restructuring project with TBRPC, this EDD organization was pleased to have an updated website with a fresh logo and color palette. Additionally, the website was more user-friendly, ensuring that it provided proper information without overwhelming their audience. We built strong interactive features which made navigation and discovering content significantly easier. Finally, we worked with TBRPC’s internal web maintenance team to provide best practices for maintaining and updating their website.