An evolving scope

They initially tasked us with designing a new logo and brand identity, as well as developing extended brand standards. It was important to them from the beginning of the project to get implementation of the brand right across all platforms and materials. The PSEJATC team understood that consistency in this way would provide the most impact for their investment – effectively appealing to their key audiences.

Their openness to learning about the equity in their new brand identity led to an expansion of the original scope and our collaboration together – the PSEJATC team also chose Hansen Belyea to design and develop a custom website. 

While a large trade school with prospective and current students to consider was not our usual client, we were excited to leverage our experience in related industries including work with subcontractors and non-profits, dive into their organization, identify their marketing challenges, and build a brand that put PSEJATC directly in front of their target audience.

A flexible design approach

We worked with PSEJATC to create a brand that had flexibility visually while staying consistent and cohesive. The logo system allows the organization to pull from a variety of logo assets based on the intended uses. A bold new color palette was applied, incorporating the vivid colors of tools and instruments from the trade. The use of copper is introduced as a secondary color option, referencing the wire so common in the field.

A fresh and functional experience for everyone

The previous PSEJATC website was outdated and received significant user feedback about its difficult navigation. Barriers to accessing the back-end for staff, the website was filled with dense and outdated content and resources.

Their old brand identity – logo, colors, and font – did not resonate with their students and the high-value and integrity of their school programming.  

PSEJATC knew their target audiences and we focused on the top two: apprentices and prospective apprentice applicants – while designing the new brand identity and website. Gone would be the bland color palette, excessive text and outdated look, and in with a vibrant aesthetic aimed at appealing to a younger generation of emerging journeymen.

Website design & development

We began the web design process by reorganizing their sitemap to make it more intuitive for users and introduced design blades that made content more digestible to their key audiences. 

We worked to create modular blades that are easy to update with text, images, or video, providing various options to present content in a clear, organized, and easy-to-read format. This has also proved an accessible way for PSEJATC staff to keep their website and content updated on their own, building their internal capability. 

For any company, the website is the most high-impact implementation of your brand. We knew that not only would the experience of navigating the PSEJATC website affect their key audiences, but also the expert implementation of the new brand identity color palette into the design

We worked with PSEJATC to create live Google Analytics 4 Looker Studio dashboards with their goals of increased visitors, average time spent on their website, and other recruitment metrics in mind. Their new dashboards will help them to track and analyze website visitors and their behavior while accessing the PSEJATC website. 

Insights that they derive from their custom dashboards will help inform decisions around recruitment that drive growth and increase the quality of their apprenticeship applicant pool.

Photography & drone footage

When we say a website requires high-quality images to communicate values and evoke emotions, we refer to both the technical specifications and the intentional artistic direction of photos taken by expert photographers. PSEJATC invested in this by inviting us on-site for a full day to capture their work. 

The result is a photo library that enhances their new website and will serve as valuable content for printed and digital collateral for years to come.