Falcon gun range
One of the ways I practice improving how I work is by coming up with mock-ups of websites for different businesses that I end up coming across or visiting in the area. Just recently, I went to a shooting range — it was a great experience just because of how hospitable they were when it came to newcomers and beginners. Considering that shooting ranges are basically tradition for Texas culture, I wanted to try out my own take on their website's landing page.
OBJECTIVES
With how it's designed in its current state, the main page does exactly what it needs to. There's a proper home page with a small summary about the range itself, social links, the location of the range, hours, testimonials - everything a customer would need to know about the business before visiting it. So how would I approach trying to improve it?
I tried to look at the website from the mindset of someone completely new to firearms - as I was prior to visiting the range itself. The goal wasn't just to try making the website look nicer; I wanted to try establishing an easier way way for newcomers to find out what they need to know before making plans to visit.
As I started working on a layout, I wrote down a few notes on where changes could be made:
Instead of the links to information on Concealed Handgun Licenses and competitive events that follow the "Welcome" introduction to the range, add a section that addresses those that might be coming to the website for the first time.
Range Rules and Pricing would now be immediately below the introduction, eliminating the need to navigate through the "About" tab to find those pages.
Bring the location and hours from the top banner/header down to a more focused viewpoint.
Leave the "Latest News" and blog posts to be accessed through the navigation bar, allowing the landing page to look simpler and bring more attention to direct information on the range.
Info
Concept Design
Work:
Rebranding
Website Graphic Design
The original layout for the website (May 2017).
The initial layout draft
PROCESS & RESULT
After completing a layout for the design, I started work on the actual design itself.
Fonts used: Neue Haas Grotesk and Proxima Nova
Primary colors: Black and Gold
The outline of the gun that makes up the falcon's wings in the logo is a based off a pistol called the Baby Desert Eagle.
The final full-length page. The concept implements a parallax effect with a background photo.
The most important thing for this redesign was that it gives a more friendly interface to newcomers visiting the website. One thing I learned early on about the range was that they heavily emphasize on following the rules and keeping safety in mind. Considering that trying something new can always be a stressful thing for people, my focus was on taking away multiple sections and leaving only the absolute basics in place for the home page.
