Blaekhus is a Danish company that offers top-quality accommodation in some of the best locations in Denmark, geared towards students and young professionals. The company was founded in 2018 with the opening of its first residence in Valby, and due to popular demand, they are now expanding with more properties planned for Copenhagen and other Danish cities.

Prior to the redesign, Blaekhus had a simple website that was in need of a visual update. The goal of the redesign was to create a modern and user-friendly website that effectively highlighted the high-quality accommodation provided by Blaekhus.

By implementing a clean and responsive design, the website was transformed into a visually appealing and easy-to-navigate resource for potential guests seeking accommodation at some of the premier locations in Denmark.

• Research: I began by researching the websites of Blaekhus' competitors and other companies in the same field to get a feel for the type of content and features that are typically included on such websites.

• Define the user: Blaekhus primarily caters to students and young professionals, so it was important to tailor the website to this audience.

• Gather testimonials: The client provided two testimonials from previous residents, and I asked if it would be possible to expand on these by conducting additional interviews. The client was kind enough to talk to more of their residents, and all of the interviews are now featured on the website in the "Neighbors" section.

• Seek additional insights: I also took the opportunity to talk to a few friends who had experience living in shared accommodation and gathered insights on what factors they considered when searching for a place to live. Keywords included affordability, convenience, and community.

By following this approach, I was able to gather valuable information and feedback that helped inform the design and content of the website.

I learned that students often consider the surroundings when choosing a place to live, so I requested and included information about the proximity of popular locations to each of the facilities offered by Blaekhus. This helped to give potential guests a better sense of the local area and what it has to offer.

Upon finding out that more than 80% of the current residents owned a bike and more than 50% used it every day, I decided to go with the “Distance by bike” as the reference.

With all of the insights gathered through research and interviews, I was able to craft a detailed list of the functions that the website would need to have in order to meet the needs and expectations of Blaekhus' target audience. I worked closely with the client to ensure that our vision for the website was aligned, and we used this list to create a sitemap that outlined the structure and organization of the website.

Once the sitemap was finalized, I moved on to the next phase of the project: creating wireframes. This is an important step because it allows me to map out the layout and functionality of each page in a visual way. It also gives the client an opportunity to review and provide feedback on the design before any actual visual design work takes place.

By creating wireframes, I was able to ensure that both I and the client were on the same track and that the final website would meet all of the project goals and requirements.

The visual design phase of the project progressed smoothly, with the client expressing a desire for a "somewhat elegant but modern look" that was free of animations and other distracting elements. To help guide the design process, I presented the client with a moodboard that featured a selection of buttons, typography, colors, images, and illustrations that aligned with their desired aesthetic. The client was generally happy with the moodboard and gave me the go-ahead to begin designing the website.

To ensure that the design was on track and met the client's expectations, I shared 2-3 screen mockups with them for feedback. After incorporating their feedback, I designed all of the screens and handed them off to the developers. As the developers were external associates, I had a call with them at the beginning and near the end of the development process to ensure that everything was being built as planned. This helped to ensure that the final website was of the highest quality and met all of the project goals and requirements.

The Website was designed in Adobe XD and developed through Wordpress.