Benchmark's Open Conversations

The Challenge: A cool blog for Boomers

Between January through May of 2019 I was contracted by Benchmark to improve and refresh the design for their web blog Open Conversations. The main goal was to balance the trust­worthiness, values, and shared promise was struck, with a strong and simple visual style to match.

The challenge is to rebrand the blog that is interesting to read, with important resources for seniors and their families who would like to belong to the Benchmark Senior Living network of residences. Seniors who have health situations or conditions such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or cases of dementia could have a lot of information about assisted living, independent living and mental care from Benchmark Senior Living services.

With the direction of Cheryl Forzatti I took on the task of refreshing the blog with the goal of making it "cool for boomers" since recently Benchmark had a new branding with new logo, guidelines, colors and typography. .

The Process: Connecting to What Matters

We organized all information and spent a period collecting articles given to me by different authors who specialize in senior living issues and challenges. After analyzing the articles to be submitted into blog post, we organized a templated approach with flexible modules that could work for a wide variety of content.

After 20 years supporting families through senior living moves, Benchmark understands how challenging this time can be. Our goal for this series is to open these challenging conversations in a way that has not been done before. Here's what to expect from the redesign of the blog:

• Real, honest talk from industry experts, families, and Benchmark team

• Learn to synthesize all the noise and focus on what you need to know

• Understand to examine and assess what you see and hear

• A guide to help you make the best decision for you and your loved one

Working with the new Benchmark branding was a joy, as their recent rebrand offers dynamic color, typography and cool new logo based on “Connecting to What Matters” approach. The challenge came in applying it to the web, where I worked with the development team to figure out the best way to implement the heavy layering seen in their print guidelines.

Concepting Open Conversations Blog

I started by designing using Sketch and Photoshop with the aesthetics from the new brand guidelines of Benchmark. I ended up moving forward with the elements from the vivid color palette and framing the photography with the circles for the featured image.

Tools: Adobe Photoshop, Sketch