Blackheath & Thornburgh College website

Blackheath & Thornburgh College was formed in 1919, in the historically significant town of Charters Towers in Far North Queensland. Up until our involvement, the College had been using iterations of the original crest and had set up its own site as a means to engage digitally with its geographically disparate audiences (it serves families as far-ranging as Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, remote WA, PNG and even China).

This initial site proved not to deliver the content or the brand experience many were looking for, so after an extended search for a suitable partner, the College came to us with the request to redesign and build a new site.

Through our process of initial immersion and review we uncovered a rich vein of insight and opportunity which informed our reverse brief and proposed scope for the new site. Firstly though, having undertaken a required band audit, it was immediately apparent the core crest – the symbol of the College – required some clean up (there were in excess of 8 different, unofficial versions in circulation). Through a collaborative process we arrived at a subtly revised mark which retained all the equity but carried forth appropriate visual cues and a better structure.

Following this we attend to the original request and planned our vision for a new website that would appeal to the College’s wide range of audiences groups. Critically, the new site had to be lightweight – small in file size and quick to download, given the remoteness and satellite-only connections of a significant part of the audience. From this we undertook several staff and audience Q+A sessions at the College and in neighbouring locations which gave appropriate direction to our planning, site architecture, design and build processes.

Additionally, rather than pull disjointed blocks of copy from disparate sources, we collated a raft of information and developed a single tone of voice and content specific to the site, while providing an immersive and appropriate experience for users which reflects the rich heritage and unique aspects of the College.

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ClientBlackheath & Thornburgh CollegeLinkhttp://www.btc.qld.edu.au