Edmunds, the car shopping and information platform, has debuted a new look in collaboration with RED Interactive Agency, a Santa Monica based customer experience agency. In developing the new brand identity, the agency and brand have debuted a new logo, dropped the “.com” from its name, softened its overall color palette and is emphasizing lifestyle-focused imagery across all of Edmunds’ platforms to continue the approachable theme.
DIVERGE spoke to RED Interactive Agency and Edmunds to find out more about the redesign:
Taro Ramberg, VP, Client Services, RED Interactive Agency:
Why did Edmunds choose to do the redesign?
Edmunds understood that to stay relevant, they needed to meet the ever-changing needs and expectations of their consumers. Edmunds continued to apply their knowledge and expertise to help people find their perfect car, but knew they needed to update their dot com to make accessing that information easy, simple and intuitive.
What was our design inspiration?
We took our design inspiration from the people of Edmunds and the services they provide. They are a trusted source of information, providing knowledge, expertise and a personalized experience designed to ensure their customers are confident with their choices and happy with their results. They are friendly and welcoming, and always accessible in their approach, and we let these qualities provide inspiration for our design work.
What kind of feedback have we received?
Feedback has been super-positive. People love the new logo with the winking car – it feels very approachable, warm and friendly. The site is solid across devices and has strengthened personalization features, both of which squarely meet the needs of Edmunds consumers.
How will this rehaul help evolve the image of Edmunds?
Edmunds was overdue for site and brand experiences that truly reflected the company’s personality and unique approach. By collaborating to envision, plan and implement these efforts, we helped position their outward image as not only a true reflection of the company, but a leading innovator within their industry.
Sven Wood, Vice President of Product Marketing, Edmunds:
Why did Edmunds choose to do the redesign?
The time was right to redesign our experience to meet the changing needs of car shoppers. More and more consumers are using their mobile devices to find their next car, so we designed our new experience to be consistent no matter if you’re visiting us on desktop, smartphone or tablet. The new site is also faster, easier-to-use and more engaging.
Why did you choose this new logo?
Our new logo, with a smile and a wink, encapsulates how we want an Edmunds shopper to feel once they have quickly and easily found their perfect car. We also use the logo as an everyday reminder of how our products and services should make our industry partners feel about doing business with Edmunds.
What kind of feedback have you received?
So far all feedback has been extremely positive from both shoppers and our automaker and dealer partners. The site has only been live for a few days, so results are still coming in, but in early testing we found that mobile users are twice as likely to return to our new site compared to our legacy experience and we’ve significantly improved bounce rates and page load times.
How will this rehaul help evolve the image of Edmunds?
We believe that this evolution underscores our unwavering commitment to innovating and leading the way in rolling out more products and solutions that make car buying easier and more fun for shoppers and that drive more ready-to-buy customers to our industry partners.
