Portfolio

Tarka Trail Website

The Brief

In 2017 we were invited to tender a proposal for a new Tarka Trail website organised by the North Devon Council’s Economic Development department and funded by multiple, local environmental organisations.

Although there is lots of information on the web about the Tarka Trail, it was felt that it would be an advantage to consolidate all of the information into one place. There was also a need to draw attention to the local businesses that relied on or benefitted from the Tarka Trail for custom.

The solution

There are two main components to the Tarka Trail website. There are the route maps to help visitors navigate the trail and the business directory to promote the businesses along the trail. During the research and development stage we were able to identify a system that incorporates and combines both. Based on Google’s mapping service, businesses can be added to the directory and then will appear as an icon on the route maps.

Once the architecture and framework were in place we began designing the theme. We took inspiration from existing signs, leaflets and marketing material for colours and typefaces, but we all agreed that a new logo design would help to lift the site. The logo needed to have a more modern look and appeal to families. Rather than go for a completely new look, we simply updated the existing logo as this exists in many places along the trail and on the web.

Information was supplied by many of the organisations supporting the site, local businesses, the web and existing material. This was all collated and added to the site using photographs from a variety of sources including many taken by ourselves. This was a great excuse to get out and walk parts of the trail none of us had visited before.

For launch we have included a handful of businesses to get the site started but we are now in the process of advertising and promoting the site to encourage more business owners to add their own business and hopefully we will end up with a comprehensive list of all businesses that benefit from the Tarka Trail.