Discover Sycamore Case Study
Project Info
Discover Sycamore Case Study: Create a User-Friendly Municipal Website Design for an Improved User Experience
Recently, we had the opportunity to redesign and enhance the Discover Sycamore website. The site plays an important role in helping both locals and visitors explore the area’s businesses and events, but its previous design was not user-friendly, making navigation difficult. After evaluating the website and gaining a clear understanding of our client’s goals, Green Closet Creative developed a strategic plan that included a refreshed design, an intentional logo, improved space for marketing initiatives, a user-friendly events calendar, and significantly increased site speed across both mobile and desktop devices.
Modern Design and Colors
Everything changes over time, and websites need to remain current if they want to be noticed. Design and color choices matter, and it’s the first thing we noticed about Discover Sycamore’s site. The old colors were outdated and left little room for new styles and choices. We changed the color palette to include colors that could easily be worked with or added to, as opposed to the ones that were in place. The website now has a modern edge with a new color scheme, and there is now more flexibility to add additional designs as needed.
After
Before
An Intentional Logo
A logo is one of the most important elements of any brand, especially within municipal website design, where clarity and trust are essential. Discover Sycamore’s logo needed a refresh that aligned with the site’s purpose and improved usability. We created a clean, modern logo that clearly communicates the mission of the website, helping visitors instantly understand what Discover Sycamore offers. An intentional icon was incorporated into the word “Sycamore” to represent both location and discovery, reinforcing the site’s role as a user-friendly resource for the community and visitors alike.
New
Original
A Better Calendar and a Clear Marketing Space
Sycamore, Illinois, is an active town with events and activities happening throughout the year, making it essential for the website to clearly showcase what’s going on as part of an effective city web design focused on community engagement. We designed a full, easy-to-read events calendar that allows both community members and visitors to quickly find upcoming activities. In addition, we created dedicated marketing space on the website so our client can easily highlight current and upcoming events, ensuring visitors always know what’s happening next.
Faster Speed and a Beautiful Mobile Site
If you’ve ever wondered whether your mobile site is as important as your desktop site, the answer is yes—especially when nearly 80% of website visitors browse on a mobile device. Many users have experienced visiting a website on a smartphone or tablet only to find it difficult to navigate, even though it works well on desktop. That kind of experience is unacceptable for a business or community resource, and it was a key issue we addressed for Discover Sycamore. The mobile site is now fast, visually appealing, and just as easy to navigate as the desktop version.
Website speed is critical in today’s digital space, especially in municipal website design, where residents and visitors expect quick, reliable access to information. When a site takes too long to load, users quickly lose patience, and slow performance can negatively impact search visibility. Google evaluates speed and overall user experience as part of its ranking algorithms, making performance a key factor for success. For Discover Sycamore, we significantly improved site performance, increasing mobile speed to a score of 90 and desktop speed to 94, with 100 representing the highest possible score.
Desktop speed test results
Mobile speed test results
Results
The Discover Sycamore website redesign successfully transformed a dated, hard-to-navigate site into a modern, user-friendly resource for both residents and visitors. Through intentional branding, improved event visibility, mobile-first design, and performance optimization, Green Closet Creative delivered a municipal website that is faster, clearer, and easier to use. The result is a website that better serves the community, supports local engagement, and positions Discover Sycamore for continued growth.
Looking to improve the usability, performance, and design of your municipal or community-focused website? Green Closet Creative specializes in strategic municipal website design that puts users first.