Denver Regional Council of Governments
The Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) is crucial in addressing regional issues in Denver, including transportation, economic development, and aging resources. To better serve the community and streamline content management, they partnered with Gravity Works for a website redesign, resulting in a more accessible, user-friendly platform that enhances how residents engage with DRCOG’s vital services and programs.
Elevating the Brand with a Modernized Design System
After conducting a thorough audit and analysis of the existing DRCOG website, we found many opportunities to enhance both its visual appeal and functionality to better reflect the organization’s important role in the community.
Gravity Works created a robust design system that reflected DRCOG's evolved branding while allowing for flexibility to grow. The new design system introduced a large library of customized components, making it simple to adjust the website to fit various types of content. This will allow the site to look polished and professional no matter how often things change moving forward. The website design is truly built to grow as the organization expands its services and programs.
We gave DRCOG a visually engaging platform to share information with their audiences, like using high-impact visuals and interactive elements. For example, we created an interactive timeline to showcase the creation of their regional plan (Metro Vision), making it easy for users to explore the content in a clear and engaging way. The updated design closely followed DRCOG’s brand guidelines, making sure that every page consistently reflected the organization’s identity, which helped build user trust and strengthen the DRCOG brand across all online touchpoints.
Unique Landing Pages
Branded landing pages for key events and campaigns, like Bike to Work Day and Colorado Clean Commute, were created to complement the larger DRCOG brand standards, while still allowing them to have their own stand-alone identity.
User Testing
Early in the design process, we gathered a group of internal stakeholders to get their input, using a tool called FigJam to see how they responded to different design ideas. This feedback was crucial in making improvements as we went along. We also surveyed 30 external stakeholders to understand how they used the existing website and what they thought could be better. Their feedback played a key role in refining both the look and structure of the new design, ensuring it truly met users' needs.
Streamlined Information Architecture: Navigating with Ease
One of the large pain points with the original DRCOG website was its convoluted navigation, which reflected the organization’s internal structure rather than the needs of its diverse user base. The redesign focused on creating a streamlined, intuitive navigation system that prioritized user needs over organizational hierarchy. This new navigation structure guided users logically through the content, making it easier for them to find relevant information, leading to higher user satisfaction and better support for DRCOG’s programs.
We conducted a tree test using tools inside Optimal Workshop to validate the effectiveness of the new navigation. This survey tested users' ability to complete key tasks, such as finding information on the Area Agency on Aging and Veteran Services, where a 94% success rate was achieved, and locating transportation planning resources, which had an 88% success rate. These metrics demonstrated significant improvements in usability compared to the previous website.
After completing a comprehensive content audit and inventory, we provided a detailed content analysis with recommendations to further streamline user navigation across DRCOG’s extensive online presence. Our goal was to help users grasp the full scope of DRCOG’s projects, programs, and services, and how they contribute to the broader vision for the region. To simplify their web ecosystem, we recommended consolidating several subsites—including Metro Vision, Way to Go, Colorado Clean Commute, and Bike to Work Day—into the main website. These decisions were based on various forms of research such as looking closely at their Google Analytics trends, current web content, and interviewing members of their team to determine the best approach for each web property moving forward, all of which was documented in our final content analysis deliverable.
Content Strategy: Guiding Visitors to What Matters Most
This website thrives on the smart cross-promotion of its services and programs to boost visibility. Rather than repeating the same content across different pages, we placed well thought out calls-to-action (CTAs) and callouts across the site to guide visitors to relevant content. To make this process easier, we provided a spreadsheet highlighting all the potential areas for cross-promotion, helping to identify these valuable opportunities.
Each landing page was designed with a solid content strategy in mind. We created detailed wireframes to shape the structure of these pages, taking into account the current content, competitor insights, potential CTAs, and the research we had gathered on audience needs and project goals. These wireframes were then transformed into high fidelity mockups, which we carefully reviewed with the client team. To ensure the most important information stood out, we also conducted content priority exercises, ranking the necessary details and CTAs by importance.
Empowering Teams with Advanced Content Management
One of the main challenges with the old DRCOG website was that it didn’t give teams much control over managing and updating content, making things difficult for everyone. The redesign fixed this by introducing new tools and workflows that made it easier for teams to create, publish, and manage content like media and events. Now, content creators can focus on what they do best without worrying about content management limitations. An integrated content planner was also developed to help administrators keep track of content, monitor drafts, review items, and schedule when things should be published, giving them better control over what goes live and when.
To make sure the new workflows worked well for everyone, we tested them with DRCOG teams and gathered feedback from focus groups. This feedback was crucial in making the workflows more intuitive and aligned with how the organization operates.
“Bike to Work Day” Event Management Tools
The new website has made managing the annual Bike to Work Day event much easier for both DRCOG administrators and participants. Bike to Work Day is a fun, free event where thousands of residents and businesses choose to bike to work instead of driving. The updated website includes several key improvements. Now, whether it’s Summer, Winter, or the off-season, all event information is conveniently accessible under a single, easy-to-remember URL: drcog.org/way-go/biketoworkday.
Participants can register as riders through a web form during the event period, and as soon as they sign up, their participation is automatically added to the participant count and leaderboard, updating with new riders and their associated organizations. Users can also sign up or log in to create, edit, or delete their stations using a custom backend form. Once approved, these stations appear on a public map, making it easier for others to find and engage with them. Additionally, companies can join the Summer challenge to see which one has the highest employee participation. The leaderboard displays companies by size, total employee participation, and effort score, making the competition fun and encouraging more involvement.
Empowering Civic Leaders: A Smoother Path to Participation
The Civic Academy Program introduces the region’s residents to important regional issues like transportation, economic vitality, housing, civic engagement and more. The new DRCOG website introduces a smoother process for applying to the Civic Academy program. Users can apply through a web form available during the registration period. They can save their application as a draft to finish later or submit it when they’re ready. After submitting an application, it’s reviewed by the Civic Academy team. Approved applicants receive a notification email and gain access to the Civic Academy portal via their User Dashboard, where they can manage their involvement in the program.
Enhancing the DRCOG Experience with Smart Integrations
To further enhance the website’s functionality, several third-party applications have been integrated. Ride Amigos is now integrated for users accessing the Way to Go Trip Planning tool, making travel planning smoother and more efficient. Microsoft CRM is used to display dynamic tables on the Board of Director and Committee pages, ensuring that all information is accurate and up-to-date. Infogram has been embedded for infographics on the Community Profiles page, helping to present data in an engaging and easily digestible format.
Award-Winning Design
Project Summary
The DRCOG website redesign was a big project that turned an outdated, hard-to-use site into a vibrant, user-friendly hub for Denver region residents. We carefully planned the content, updated the site’s structure and branding, and added new features to better support DRCOG’s goals. Now, the website not only fits with DRCOG's mission but also makes it much easier for the Denver community to connect with the services and programs they offer.
By putting user needs, accessibility, and easy content management at the forefront, DRCOG’s new website is now a powerful tool that truly serves the community, showing the organization’s commitment to improving life for everyone in the Denver region.
