A family-oriented dental practice that strives to give patients a comfortable experience and a feeling of being right at home

Background

Willow Smile Family Dental (WSFD) is a dental clinic located in Calgary, AB that is committed to providing patients with a comfortable and positive dental experience. As a family-oriented practice, they strive to give their patients the best smiles.

The challenge and opportunity

WSFD offers a wide range of dental services and payment options. However, their previous website was limited and not user-friendly, making it difficult for the clinic to publish up-to-date information on their website. The goal of this project was to increase leads, attract new patients (especially those in their early to late 20s), streamline appointment booking, and provide patients with a more informative and accessible website.

Project objectives

• Design and implement a resourceful website that provides patients with information about WSFD's services and sets them apart from other dental clinics.
• Modernize the website to be responsive, relevant, and easy for patients to navigate.
• Offer current and prospective patients the ability to learn about WSFD's services and book appointments online.
• Strengthen WSFD's online presence in the dental landscape to attract more patients of all ages (e.g., millennials, Gen Z).

Tools

Whimsical, Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop, Notion, Miro

Brand personality

Family-oriented, Friendly / Approachable, Innovative, Professional, High-quality, Transparent / Honest

Audience

Patients, New patients (aim to target early to mid 20s), Vendors, Labs, Prospective employees

Live site

willowsmiledental.ca/

Research and strategy

Willow Smile Family Dental (WSFD) was in need of a website that could better reflect their family-oriented and approachable brand. With the goal of attracting a wider range of patients and providing a more user-friendly experience, I was brought in to revamp their online presence.

Competitor analysis

A competitor analysis was conducted to better understand the dental clinic landscape in Calgary and to consider how WSFD can stand out. Insights from the analysis included:

• Avoiding the use of blue as a primary brand color.
• Using custom photography to help them differentiate from others and feel less generic.
• Exploring non-standard website layouts for a custom, innovative but intuitive look.

Brand strategy

A discovery board was created to explore design inspirations that fit WSFD's target audience and brand persona. The design direction aimed to establish a strong hierarchy with clear type, incorporate custom icons, use small pops of vibrant colors, and utilize a full-screen menu navigation. The goal was to simplify the layout, make the design modern, and appeal to younger audiences.

To effectively communicate Willow Smile Family Dental's unique brand attributes, design recommendations were made to incorporate the following elements:

• A strong typographic hierarchy using a combination of sans-serif and serif fonts to balance professionalism and playfulness.
• Custom icons that are approachable and appealing to younger audiences.
• Vibrant color accents or tinted brand colors to create visual interest.
• A full-screen menu navigation to simplify the layout, modernize the design, and make it stand out from competitors.

Art direction

To gather custom photos for the website and marketing assets, I supported the art direction for WSFD's photography sessions. The focus was on featuring patient interactions with healthcare professionals and showcasing the clinic and team. The custom photos, taken by Gian Sarino, aimed to visually represent the brand attributes and help patients connect with the clinic.

Design concept

The website design was developed with the goal of being resourceful for patients, modern, and easy to navigate which enables patients to easily learn about the services offered and book appointments online. With a stronger online presence, WSFD aims to attract more prospective patients of all age groups.