Is this legit? Establishing legitimacy through design
Problem
BC Unclaimed has $190 million waiting to be claimed, and their work is mandated by the Province of British Columbia. But some people have dismissed their website or social media posts as the work of scammers.
Our approach
Brand voice and values
UX writing
Graphic design
Infographic design
User testing
Solution
We established brand values for BC Unclaimed: trustworthy, professional, and helpful. We developed key messages and examples of how to write (and how not to). Then we rewrote the website, from the home page right on down to every label and navigation item.
The BC Unclaimed mark combines BC’s mountains and a shield, denoting security and trustworthiness, with leaves of paper representing financial assets. A subtle checkmark at the bottom of the mark illuminates on hover.
We developed a graphic look-and-feel that inspires confidence. It includes new fonts, colours, imagery, stationery, and a new website layout. (See the brand guide we developed.)
Before: The previous website was text-heavy and had no prominent call to engage
After: The new website is visually engaging and clearly explains BC Unclaimed’s value proposition
We introduced a dynamic infographic to clearly communicate the steps involved in returning money to rightful owners.
We conducted live user testing at key steps in the development process. In this case, a user tests an early prototype of the dynamic infographic. (User face replaced by AI for privacy.)
At key steps in the development process, we conducted live testing with BC residents. After each test, we made further refinements to ensure that each aspect of the design inspired confidence and was easy to use.
The end result is a website that conveys professionalism and legitimacy. Here are some direct quotes from our live user testing:
“It’s a nice-looking website. It feels solid and reliable. It fits the domain.”
“I like how professional the language is. It’s easy to understand; it’s easy to use.”
“I would send this website to my friends and family, because it seems legit.”
Read next case study in this series on BC Unclaimed: