Kids-A-Lot

Skills Used:Website|PHP|Illustration

Kids-A-Lot wanted to keep their new website simple, with a welcoming and "homemade" feel. I used HTML, CSS, and PHP to redesign and moderize it, as well as illustrating some custom characters for them.

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Kids-A-Lot wanted to keep their new website simple, with a welcoming and "homemade" feel. I used HTML, CSS, and PHP to redesign and moderize it, as well as illustrating some custom characters for them.

Kids-A-Lot's sign.

Kids-A-Lot had an existing website that they wanted to be rebuilt. They wanted an easy way to communicate information to parents and wanted to maintain a light-hearted and homemade look to reflect their values and history.

Early character sketches, in pencil

I was the sole UX designer and developer for this project. I was responsible for determining the overall design direction, conducting design critiques and client meetings, and implementing the final deliverable.

Further developed character sketches, transitioned into Procreate.
This early castle sketch informed the design style of later assets.

We researched several similar examples in the childcare space, as well as multiple websites designed directly for children. We also collected inspirational examples focused on medieval fantasy and fairy tale themes to reflect the overall feel the client wanted to achieve. We catalogued features from many of these and decided which could be implemented and made sense for the client.

Final character designs used for each of the programs.
Early mockups drew from medieval fairytale themes, with floating pennants and parchment paper.

Our new design allowed users of the site to more easily access the information they needed on a timely basis, and provided them a source for referencing documents when needed. It also gave a more modern face to the client's interaction with their community.

Each of the programs had a mascot that captured the characteristics of that age.

An issue with this project was client technical knowledge. They hadn't redesigned their website in many years, so they needed to be educated as to current trends and best practices. We decided to act as content manager as well as designer and developer to remove that burden from the client.

The header image reflected the sense of adventure and nature that the client wanted to showcase to the user.
Later designs increased readability and accessibility with different font and color choices.

This redesign provided a modern face for the client's business. They were able to more easily interact with their community, and this modern look provided a level of trust to potential customers that they would receive the level of care they desired for their children.

Illustrative assets were used throughout to guide the user.
Bright accent colors were reminiscent of flags seen at medieval fairs and tied the new site to existing branding.

This project taught us the importance of fully realizing mockups for multiple device types, and keeping those mockups up to date throughout the implementation phase. It also taught us the power of a single photo, and to let that photo speak for itself rather than over-designing the UI.