NBAA’s previous website was rich in information, but the wealth of content didn’t fit its digital mold. In a world of acronyms, NBAA was not well-recognized. It was important that the organization be accredited for its positive impact on the business aviation industry, and to have a website that effectively communicates the exclusive aviation data it releases first to the public.
NBAA had all of the building blocks needed to create a successful website, it was simply in need of new digital framework and fresh design to make it effective. The leading aviation association was in need of a redesign to achieve better content management, more advanced search options, and better technologies to meet the organization’s growing needs.
Prior to this project, Bates Creative worked on NBAA’s Business Aviation Insider bi-monthly magazine in both print and digital, which helped the agency get started with a firm understanding of the overall NBAA brand, its members, its audience, and its mission.
To develop NBAA’s navigable online presence, NBAA tapped Bates Creative to redesign its website with development partner Unleashed Technologies. Bates Creative led the creative strategy and design, and teamed with Unleashed Technologies to develop and launch the new site.
Designing the New Website’s Direction
Bates Creative dug below the surface to ensure the proposed design solutions met the goals defined at the start of the project. The discovery team outlined the key components of the existing website, including everything that was working and what needed to be addressed and optimized.
With the abundance of content NBAA publishes, the ingredients for an engaging website were there, it just needed a platform that made content easily accessible, organized, and relevant to NBAA’s membership. The new website design needed to make reading content on all devices simple and user-friendly, which was accomplished by grouping content together in subcategories for users to find information quickly. In addition, it was important to highlight NBAA’s important role in its Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition, and to integrate its publication content into the website.