The Rock Creek Blog // Industry News, Trends & Insights
Rich Tradition, Fresh Look: Rock Creek Helps Law Firm Gagen McCoy Launch New Website
Posted by: Angela Mitchell, Art Director Mar 03, 2010 2 Comments
We’re excited to announce the launch of the newly redesigned www.gagenmccoy.com. Gagen McCoy, a West Coast law firm specializing in criminal defense, civil litigation, and land use law, was looking to increase market share and communicate more effectively with clients and prospects. One of our main goals was to create a website consistent with the excellence and dedication of the firm’s attorneys while also reflecting Gagen McCoy’s unique and vibrant culture.
The design showcases the effectiveness and sophistication of Gagen McCoy’s work while also communicating the personal, hands-on service that has helped define the firm’s success. To meet the ever-changing needs of the client, we developed an information architecture flexible enough to expand over time. Vibrant color and photography help convey the firm’s warmth and approachability.
To enhance the user experience, we added a number of technical features to encourage browsing and facilitate a higher level of engagement. A jQuery-powered image carousel integrated into the homepage offers a scalable view of the practice areas while allowing the page to present a great deal of content in a tightly limited space. Progressive disclosure on the attorney detail pages helps keep the initial content at a manageable level while still offering users the ability to expand and read full biographies.
Collaborating with the folks at Gagen was tremendously rewarding, and the site is receiving rave reviews. Congrats!
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Comments
Dharma Pachner Mar 08, 2010
@Chris - excellent questions. The redesigned Gagen McCoy website just launched a few weeks ago, so it will take some time to determine clear usage patterns. We will be monitoring the traffic to see how users are interacting with the new site, and where there are opportunities for improving the user experience.
The redesign does several things to help showcase the firm’s expertise and personal touch. First, we wanted to direct users to the practice areas—arguably the most critical element of any law firm website. The homepage carousel offers a highly visual, immediate overview to the practice areas. The carousel images are sophisticated but welcoming at the same time.
While the content of a page is ultimately the most critical element, a smart and effective design helps support that content.
In the practice areas for example, the content has been kept at an optimum length, and we use several typographic elements such as subheads, pull-quotes, and bulleted lists to break up the text into manageable pieces.
The design uses a warm color palette of oranges and blues, which is inviting and approachable, and we have chosen typography that’s modern but with a hint of tradition and sophistication.
Using relevant attorney quotes throughout the practice pages helps address the hands-on aspect of the firm’s work by immediately showing real-world results. As the site grows, Gagen McCoy will be able to add quotes easily through the content management system. Listing related attorneys on each practice page is another way to demonstrate that the firm has attorneys who can immediately begin solving a prospective client’s problems. As the “In the Community” section grows, it will be another place to showcase the firm’s hands-on approach by showing their involvement in various organizations and projects.
Please let us know if you have any follow-up questions, and if we can work with you to develop a proposal for your new business.
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Chris Birchall Mar 06, 2010
I found your firms web site after reading an article in Practical Web Design magazine. I took the time to read through your web site and blog. In doing so I saw your presentation for the redesign of the Gagen McCoy law firm.
I have a tendancy to look for zero ambiguity in any form of advertizing. When i saw the small pictures of wine bottles, iron fence tips and the ionic capital upon the column I didn’t get it. I went to the law firms web site and saw that the smaller pictures were scrolling across the larger screen with descriptions of the type of law the firm is practicing. Have you tracked data that indicates the redesign has increased traffic or made usability easier by current clients.
I’m not an expert in branding or advertizing I am searching for a company to design/create a brand for a start up of an online background screening business. I will need a design for business cards, staionary, web site, web design.
Would you mind explaining to me how the design for Gagen McCoy showcases the effectiveness and sophistication of their work and communicates a personal, hands-on service.