The Challenge
To ensure they were meeting the needs of the community, the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) wanted an online portal where their constituents could learn about transportation expansion initiatives, see the proposed solutions, and provide feedback.
The multi-year, multi-lingual project was a collaboration between several agencies and involved an entire brand design, outreach initiatives, social media messaging, email campaigns, and an interactive website. Since the website was a primary way to share details about the transportation initiatives and options, the information needed to be well-organized, easy to find, and engaging to read. Providing a variety of options for public engagement was also very important to the client since in-person meetings and town halls—vital sources of community feedback—were postponed due to COVID-19.
The Solution
I used Webflow to bring the brand and messaging to life. We also embedded multiple tools to facilitate public engagement, including LiveChat, Esri GIS mapping, and PublicInput. It was an interesting challenge to incorporate several different tools throughout the site while keeping everything cohesive, from the colors and fonts to the messaging and tone.
Another fun aspect of this project was working with the bright color palette crafted by the branding agency and inspired by Maricopa County's natural landscape. I wanted to pair the vivid colors and playful patterns with rich photography without creating an overstimulating website. Through careful selection, multiple iterations, and helpful feedback from the client and the rest of the team, I leveraged imagery that enhances the color palette and supports the tone of the site. The final result is a vibrant aesthetic that augments the message while staying true to the original brand.
Working on a project that spanned 12+ months provided a great chance to iterate on the original design. In the second phase, we added popups, an expanded Events page, and a new Scenario Planning page that shared even more detail about the long-term transportation plan in Maricopa County.
And of course, every stage of this project benefitted from extensive testing and debugging for cross-browser and device compatibility (even IE11!) and accessibility.
Summary
The first phase of the website launched in August 2020 and the second launched in May 2021. As of June 2021, the website has received over 35,000 visitors; 5,500 survey responses; and 1,300 comments from the community.
