Have an idea?
We can help you bring it to life!
Our Songlines
Indigenous culture accessible to anyone
Our Songlines makes Indigenous Australian history, current events, and culture accessible to anyone — in a supportive safe environment.
Client
Our Songlines
Year
2020 — 2021
Services
Project ManagementUX & UI DesignFrontend DevelopmentBackend DevelopmentBackoffice
Technology
Nuxt.js built on Vue.jsWordPressRuby on Rails
Challenge
Project Goals
What started off with the re-design and implementation of the Our Songlines map/platform organically grew to a full upgrade of the whole website and blog for a new, modern look that kept the project’s essence.
Design
Design Elements
Color Palette
Kayla sent us three color combinations that represented the Our Songlines elements: earth, water and air — we defined the website’s new color scheme by testing different combinations of them.
Typography
The goal for this project was to bring the indigenous world into the digital realm, so we handpicked the Inter font family for its easy readability in computer screens.
Illustrations
We created illustrations that highlighted the concept of the Songline — a verbal story that supersedes time or place but navigates one through land, lore and position within Indigenous Australia society.
Iconography
It was key that the platform icons kept the Our Songlines essence and style while simultaneously being easily comprehensible.
Design
Components
Once we defined the project’s design elements, we created the design system: the set of reusable components that could be assembled together like puzzle pieces to build new, consistent looking pages within the same style.
Design
Grid System
In order to achieve a solid design layout, we used a simple 16 column grid with a 32px gutter. This allowed us to place text, images, and functions in a consistent way throughout the design, for all viewport sizes.
Development
Tech Stack
The client already had a WordPress blog — where she managed the news — and an MVP for the map that was built with Ruby on Rails. We decided to maintain the data sources that were in use so we adapted the WordPress builtin API (and extended it with more data) and converted all Ruby on Rails logic into an API as well. Lastly, we connected both to the frontend powered by Nuxt.js.
New Website
Desktop
Once all design elements, components and rules were defined, we started bringing the new pages to life.
New Website
Booking Service
We created a dedicated space for users to book mindful activities that encourage cultural learnings in safe creative ways.
New Website
Blog
What was once a single-page Blog gained life by having a new main page, a page for each post, recommended sections (like Most Popular), post categories and a search functionality that allows for a better user experience.
New Website
Store
The shopping flow was created to highlight the Store’s amazing indigenous products, allowing for an intuitive purchasing process.
New Website
Mobile
All pages were designed and implemented to be fully responsive so that users in different devices all have the best possible experience.
New Website
Outcome
A colorful, indigenous inspired, modern website that highlights the Our Songlines mission and allows for a seamless navigation from and to the map.