As a brand with a strong grasp of who they are and what they stand for, our challenge was to simplify and clarify their brand platform, and to create a eCommerce experience. One that helps them express themselves in the right way, to the right people.
Highlights
Challenge
T1 Race Development was founded in 2005, by 10 year import performance industry veteran Tony Palo. This expertise and experience poised this Dallas based business to quickly become what it is today, one of the leading aftermarket tuning and fabrication shops in the country.
As a brand with a strong grasp of who they are and what they stand for, our challenge was to simplify and clarify their brand platform, and to create a eCommerce experience. One that helps them express themselves in the right way, to the right people.
Solution
We worked alongside the team at T1 Race to establish a strategy aligned with the brand’s ambition and their audience’s desires. From presentation and messaging, to the digital platform and content within it, we brought their experience forward to establish an experience that expresses their brand point-of-view.
In doing so, we created a brand ecosystem where GT-R customers can connect with content that they’re interested in, and shop for things they value–products and services that support their performance objectives.
Awards
Gold W3 Awards
Manufacturing
Gold Davey Award
Manufacturing
Gold Marcom Award
Manufacturing
Kicking things off with a solid strategy.
At the core of every Studio Rhoad project lies a concrete strategy. Whether we are crafting a new brand identity, an award-winning video, or in this case, an effective and delightful user experience, every project starts with a plan.
We worked closely with the T1 Race leadership and marketing teams over a 3-day Discovery Workshop to develop user profiles, journeys and stories, then applied these to a new navigation structure and information architecture.
The Story
A shared obsession for power
T1 Race is a brand with an indisputable reputation for record breaking speed; its pride for the smaller things should not be overlooked though, because it’s T1’s watchful refinement and obsession for detail that makes its name. We share these values with them and our two teams joined as one to establish a digital strategy and creative design direction for the new platform.
After taking the time to learn T1’s core brand values throughout a 3-day Discovery Workshop, we designed in the style of its roots, philosophy, and future ambitions. Our focus was on striking photography that demanded attention and on minimal design that deserved attention. Crucially, we brought the brand centerstage throughout.
Drive commerce
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here.
There are many variations of passages of Lorem Ipsum available, but the majority have suffered alteration in some form, by injected humour, or randomised words which don’t look even slightly believable. If you are going to use a passage of Lorem Ipsum, you need to be sure there isn’t anything embarrassing hidden in the middle of text.
Mobile Minded
Regardless of age, performance-inspired consumers like to browse on their mobiles, and they expect the mobile experience to be as good as desktop. If people want to use their mobile phone to shop, our sites are designed accordingly. Our mobile designs aren’t scaled down from our desktop design; they are created deliberately and uniquely, with absolute focus on every responsive element.
Product focused
Throughout the eCommerce experience, the product never falls from focus. This is product storytelling. After research led us to understand the rich narratives around the inception and development of T1 Race Development’s products, the pairing of product and experience was a seamless one. The strategy and design brings its craftsmanship, attention to detail, and distinct personality to the forefront.
Gallery walkthrough
A major contribution to a successful eCommerce process is the pathway from browsing to purchase. We designed intuitive shopping interfaces with multiple paths to purchase, subject to customized content for each person and particular season. Search is much improved and the entire site is SEO-strong, ensuring the customer is always informed and excited about the brand.
Having some fun
404 Page
Hopefully no one finds this page, but if they do, we hope they smile.
“Wrong Way, Pizza Boy. Find another way home. “
Godzilla's Hidden Lair
We took the liberty of expanded T1’s product catalog with this little jem. It’s completely hidden from normal browsing. But there’s a ‘red dot’ on the home page that will take you to the hidden lair.
Custom Hot Wheels Car
To celebrate the launch of the site, we had a one-off, custom Hot Wheels car made that mimics the T1 Race GTR. And the spoiler is magnetic so it can be removed for decreased drag.
Vlog
With every project, we start with a Discovery Workshop which we record as a way to reference key points later in the process. He is a small glimpse of that trip.
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