Travel Tacoma

Key Objectives, Research Insights, and User Pain Points
The core business goal was to increase overnight bookings in Pierce County. Supporting objectives included improving mobile usability, surfacing high-value content like events and seasonal itineraries, and giving the DMO team more flexibility to tell Tacoma’s story.

Research included analytics, stakeholder interviews, and competitive audits. Key pain points included:
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•  Content was difficult to find and poorly organized
•  Navigation was overwhelming, especially on mobile
•  Events and planning tools were underutilized and not promoted clearly
•  Users lacked a quick, intuitive way to understand what Tacoma had to offer

Design Strategy
TL;DR: Led UX and visual design for a destination site that simplified trip planning, showcased Tacoma’s diverse experiences, and gave the client a scalable, modular, and flexible platform.
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As Lead Designer, I owned UX strategy, interface design, and visual direction from early exploration through developer handoff for the homepage, interior pages, and modular components. I worked with Creative Project Managers, Site Analysts, and Developers to ensure our solutions aligned with user needs, brand tone, and CMS platform constraints. I introduced the Mountain, City, Sea framework as a more intuitive way to organize regional content by vibe and geography, helping users explore outdoor adventures, city experiences, and coastal getaways.

The visual design emphasized large, immersive photography, bold sans-serif typography, and clean, breathable layouts. I expanded the brand’s visual language by introducing new accent colors, subtle textures, and a custom map motif that added depth, warmth, and regional character to key sections of the site.

The system itself was modular and built to scale, giving the client full control to manage seasonal content, promote partner cities, and adjust layouts without developer support. Key planning flows like finding events, exploring trip ideas, and booking directly were supported through clear navigation and strong calls to action. Each reusable component was styled to support Tacoma’s brand, storytelling, and performance goals.

Build Phase
I worked closely with developers throughout implementation to ensure performance, accessibility, and mobile responsiveness across the site. Midway through the build, internal process changes required scaling back some of my proposed animations and interactions to meet reduced development timelines. I helped navigate those changes, preserving the integrity of the design system and delivering a polished, high-performing final product that stayed on brand and on schedule.

Outcome
TL;DR: Launched ahead of schedule with award-winning results and major gains in traffic, engagement, and bookings.
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The Travel Tacoma redesign launched ahead of schedule and under budget, with the client approving designs at every stage with minimal revisions. The client was thrilled with the final product, which went on to earn a Gold dotCOMM Award for excellence in web design.

Post-launch reporting showed a 28% increase in organic traffic, a 40% lift in engagement on event pages, and a 37% increase in hotel referral clicks compared to the previous year. Key content like “Things to Do” and seasonal guides saw significant gains in visibility and time on page. Accessibility scores averaged 94 across pages, and Lighthouse performance metrics remained in the high 80s and 90s on both desktop and mobile.

The success of this project helped spark new regional work and gave the client a scalable, user-focused platform that made it easier for visitors to explore, plan, and book while giving their team more control over how they presented the city’s story.