Dannemora Federal Credit Union Website Design

www.dfcu.net

Dannermora Federal Credit Union is based in New York and they have been in business for over 60 years serving various employees of Dannermora State Hospital and correctional facilities starting in 1958. They have since grown to serve and welcome anyone who lives, works or worships in and around the Clinton Counties and St. Lawrence Counties and others as they grew.

The Challenge

Like with many financial intuitions Dannermora Federal Credit Union wanted to retain their current customer base and they also wanted to bring in Millennials as well as Generation Z. To do this they wanted to show how they could be a strong financial backing to those just starting their college years and how they could be with them throughout their lives. They came to FIRSTBranch wanting our knowledge and expertise to give them a direction to take their rebrand. Some other challenges consisted of:

They wanted an innovative and youthful site that would attract 18-year old’s that was still easy to navigate and welcoming to everyone including families
To represent the community in the site such as: the Adirondacks and water sports
They wanted to show that they have current technologies and have mobile capabilities
On the new redesign they also wanted to represent their loan and mortgage offerings

The Solution

As the lead designer I went over all of the notes from the deep dive questions we have with clients prior to the site being worked on. These notes consist of information about the demographic, who they are and what they represent, who the current users are and those they want to attract and so much more. We have these questions so we can understand what is working and what are the pain points that need to be solved. I also, researched that area on the internet to see what/where the lakes were and to learn more about the region in general. Some of the other things I took into account were:

They're saying, “Small enough to know you. Large enough to serve you”.

While working on the site I also reference a sitemap built by one of our copywriters, that helps to guide order on the homepage and shows what’s most important to show on the homepage. For instance, a hierarchy of:

Mortgages and loans
Kasasa accounts and digital banking

The New Design

As I started on the design while taking into account all the research that was done and other elements like the sitemap, I always start out with very low-fi wireframe sketches to get a feel for a handful of UI ideas. As well as, taking into account the UX and really listening to what the customers wants and needs. It’s my job to really be able to explain the design and the why’s of what I did and why I went that route to solve their concerns. Some of the things that I came up with were:

Showing a young and friendly family photo to represent homes and growth for the hero image and then having an area right below that talks more about the mortgages before it shows other options that needed to be represented on the site
For the sites background, I brought in an image of some people hiking the Adirondacks (they had mentioned how important those mountains were, so I really wanted to show them)
Taking into account the younger customers they wanted to attract, I brought in some fun interactivity into the Kasasa accounts band and to be consistent into the DFCU difference band
Their main brand colors were blue and green (but they weren’t sold on the green), we were also allowed to bring in other colors if there was a good reason (so I brought in a reddish/orange to support a more playful and younger color scheme)
Always checking ADA requirements, to make sure all the colors chosen are in compliance (example: white text on an orange red button) and that it passes

Conclusion

I worked with both the copywriter and the developer throughout the design and build process on this site. I firmly believe it’s important to have really good communication with everyone involved and work as a team – in order to make a great site for the customer. It’s great to pop ideas off and ask if certain interactivity would work as well with them.

Also, I received feedback from other designers and stakeholders as I was designing this and that is important too because you want to know: what do they see, do they have any concerns and if so what/why is important before you present to the customer. The customer was very receptive.

Copy on website: Harrison Domgoole and Nick Marcotte
Front End Developer: Rachel Chay and Michelle Wadsworth