This document outlines a six-part case study on the website design process for Hemingways Expeditions, a premier safari operator in East Africa. It includes stages such as pre-design, wireframing, creating a design document, developing moodboards, and completing the design, emphasizing the importance of planning and collaboration. The case study concludes with the transition to the development stage after client approval, highlighting the effective design's reliance on thorough preparation and communication.

1. STEPS IN A SIMPLE WEBSITE
DESIGN PROCESS
Website Design Case Study
Hemingways Expeditions

2. THIS 6-PART CASE STUDY COVERS:
#1 Intro and Meet the Client
#2 Wireframes
#3 The Design Document
#4 The Moodboard
#5 Completing the Design
#6 Wrapping it All Up

3. #1 INTRO AND MEET THE CLIENT
MEET THE CLIENT: Hemingways Expeditions
For decades, Hemingways Expeditions has
been one of East Africa's premier safari
and tour operators. They specialize in
crafting custom itineraries for adventures
seekers from around the the globe who are
looking to experience the wonders of
Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, or Uganda.
View the live Hemingways site here:
www.hemingways-expeditions.com

4. #1 INTRO AND MEET THE CLIENT
MEET THE CLIENT: Hemingways Expeditions
Homepage: Before Homepage: After

5. #1 INTRO AND MEET THE CLIENT
PRE-DESIGN STAGE: The essential first step
Pre-design work sets the stage for effective websites. During our pre-
design stage with Hemingways, we:
➤ gained a deep understanding of their company’s services, values,
target customers, and vision
➤ conducted a thorough review of their available assets (literature,
photography, promotional materials, etc.)
➤ began to consider the new site’s architecture/structure

6. #1 INTRO AND MEET THE CLIENT
PRE-DESIGN STAGE: The essential first step
The information we collected in the pre-design stage helped us make
objective, smart decisions and plan:
➤ the website's primary goals
➤ what story we wanted the site to tell
➤ how the site would be organized
➤ what type of information visitors would be most interested in
➤ what we wanted to encourage website visitors to do upon arriving
at the new website

7. #2 WIREFRAMES
WIREFRAMES: Skeleton page layouts
What do wireframes do?
➤ Wireframes allow clients to understand the relative importance
and placement of the different pieces and parts that will make up
individual web pages.
What don’t wireframes do?
➤ Address color, fonts, textures, or design styling
➤ Show the exact sizing or placement of the various pieces and parts
that will go into a page
* We typically use Balsamiq to design and generate our wireframes.

8. #2 WIREFRAMES
WIREFRAMES: Skeleton page layouts
Compare the Hemingways approved homepage wireframe to the final
approved homepage design:

9. #2 WIREFRAMES
WIREFRAMES: Skeleton page layouts
Wireframe complexity varies. Sometimes additional specifications, details
and notes are incorporated. Here are samples from other projects:

10. #3 THE DESIGN DOCUMENT
DESIGN DOCUMENT: Clear site guidelines
Our design documents are four to eight-page reports that serve as design-
direction agreements between ourselves and our clients. They discuss
details such as color palettes, textures, requirements and photography.
Design documents are a mixture of the following four key elements:
➤ site goals
➤ the vision and story the client wants to tell
➤ client requirements
➤ our expertise

11. #3 THE DESIGN DOCUMENT
DESIGN DOCUMENT: Clear site guidelines
After continuing to collect additional
information, we developed a five-page
document which detailed:
➤ Potential color palettes
➤ Focus points and guidelines for the
site’s design
➤ Details on the site’s overall look and
feel
➤ A recap of Hemingway’s feedback
competitor websites’ designs

12. #4 THE MOODBOARD
MOODBOARDS: Translate the design document
Moodboards provide clients with their first
visual sense of what their design will look
and feel like. Think of it like this:
Moodboards are the fancy clothing
“skin” that sit over the naked wireframe
skeletons.
If you’ve done your upfront planning well,
the moodboard should always delight,
never unpleasantly surprise, the client.

13. #5 COMPLETING THE DESIGN
DESIGN WORK: Putting it all together
Where to begin?
➤ Some designers prefer to start working on the design of any page
that’s not the homepage first
➤ We prefer to start designing the homepage first as it typically makes
the most sense to clients and sets the tone for the rest of the site

14. #5 COMPLETING THE DESIGN
DESIGN WORK: Putting it all together
Upon completing and receiving
approval from Hemingways for the
homepage design, we designed 2
other pages within the site for
approval before moving forward.
The thorough pre-planning we
completed upfront with Hemingways
ensured everyone was on the same
page every step of the way.

15. #5 COMPLETING THE DESIGN
DESIGN WORK: Putting it all together
To recap, this simple website design process case study moved through
these steps:
#1 Intro and Meet the Client
#2 Wireframes
#3 The Design Document
#4 The Moodboard
#5 Completing the Design

16. #6 WRAPPING IT ALL UP
FINAL STEPS: Moving forward after design
After Hemingways approved and
signed off on the homepage and
internal pages, the development
stage began.
The development stage included
coding and integration of Content
Management System (CMS) that
allows Hemingways to manage site
updates in-house.

17. #6 WRAPPING IT ALL UP
FINAL STEPS: Moving forward after design
Remember:
Effective, goal-oriented design takes planning, teamwork, extensive
communications, and a clear process.

18. GET THE FULL STORY:
Read the full Hemingways Expeditions case study:
www.timeforcake.com/blog/post/website-design-case-study-part-1-of-6/
Learn more about timeforcake:
www.timeforcake.com