WashWise
WashWise is part of Accord’s broader commitment to sustainability. Accord is the national industry association representing manufacturers and marketers of hygiene, cosmetic and specialty products, their suppliers and service providers.
The existing WashWise website was designed and built in 2009, well before the advent of responsive design. It was a graphic heavy website that had no provision for accessibility, findability or readability and was well overdue for an update.
Working with Ident (Art Direction), I undertook a full review of the existing website that left no stone unturned. I considered everything from the original purpose, content and development, through to the problems facing users on the existing site, and the tasks new or returning users would actually be coming to the website for in 2018. Aside from the design limitations, the biggest challenge was simply the sheer amount of content on offer and how best to display it.
On my suggestion, we started by restructuring the information architecture (IA) into three top-level sections (Setting up your laundry, During the wash, After the wash) with three clear sub-sections within each. This solved one of our main issues in redesigning the site, and from there, many of the other aspects simply fell into place.
We launched a slick new website that tells the WashWise story while staying true to its core mission: educating the Australian public about more sustainable approaches to washing.
The new design provokes a sense of intrigue. The landing page invites a curious user to explore and from there, to learn as they go. That said, the restructured IA also allows the user to use the menu to jump through and discover exactly what they are looking for. New ways of presenting content (eg call out boxes, modal windows, accordions) allow the user to skim through the site, easily spot key information and expand areas of interest.
Since the launch, WashWise traffic and user engagement has significantly increased, with more organic hits due to higher search engine rankings and a more user-friendly approach to the extensive content.
This well-received result secured the redesign of Hygiene for Health in 2019.
