Juliana Bicycles
Designed and developed an award-winning single-page brand launch website in just 2 weeks, inspired by the hang tags in the brand guide. Engineered as an innovative solution to match Juliana's innovative bikes, the site garnered attention for it's fly-out UI and fresh approach to mobile design.
Juliana Bicycles Brand Launch Website 2014
Role: Design & Code
Agency: VentureWeb
Client: Santa Cruz Bicycles
Audience: Mountain bikers who f**kin' shred
Demo: Archived site
"Very impressive One Pager for Juliana Bicycles – a producer of beautiful mountain bikes for women. The responsive adaptation here is stellar."
— One Page Love, Most Loved Award
Role & Deliverables
Creative Director & Lead Developer: Complete brand launch website design, development, and responsive implementation with innovative fly-out navigation system.
Context & Problem
- Santa Cruz Bicycles needed to launch Juliana as an independent women's mountain bike brand, separating it from their main lineup where it had been just another frame option
- The launch had to coincide with global media embargo lift, requiring a complete brand website to be delivered in just 2 weeks with zero room for delays
Goal & Strategy
- Create a premium brand presence that would establish Juliana as the top women's specific mountain bike brand, not just another Santa Cruz variant
- Design a single-page experience that showcases both the bikes and the women who ride them with equal prominence and respect
- Develop innovative navigation and presentation techniques that would set new standards for bicycle industry websites
Approach & Execution
- Developed a revolutionary fly-out page navigation system that allowed seamless exploration of bike models and rider profiles within a cohesive single-page experience
- Created responsive design that prioritized beautiful imagery and clean typography, letting the bikes and riders speak for themselves without marketing clutter
- Implemented AJAX loading for full-screen bike and rider profiles, maintaining fluid user experience while showcasing detailed product information and personal stories
- Worked directly with Santa Cruz's existing brand relationship at VentureWeb, leveraging established trust and understanding of their premium market positioning
Outcome & Impact
- International Recognition: Won 4 major design awards including Awwwards Site of the Day, Communication Arts Webpicks, and Web Designer Magazine Site of the Month
- Industry Innovation: The fly-out navigation technique was featured as a tutorial in Web Designer Magazine UK, influencing web design practices across the industry
- Brand Success: Successfully launched Juliana as an independent premium brand, establishing it as one of the top women's specific mountain bike lines in the market
- Technical Achievement: Delivered pixel-perfect responsive design and complex interactions in just 2 weeks, meeting critical launch deadline with zero revisions needed
Awards & Recognition
- 2013: Site of the Day - Awwwards
- 2013: Webpicks - Communication Arts
- 2013: Site of the Month - Web Designer Magazine
- 2013: Most Loved - One Page Love
- 2013: Featured Tutorial - Web Designer Magazine UK ("How to emulate the fly-out page navigation")
Key Design Innovations
- Fly-out Page Navigation: Created an intuitive card UI pattern that was featured in design sites and publications
- Full-screen AJAX loading for bike specifications and rider profiles, maintaining single-page flow while providing detailed content
- Responsive design that prioritized visual storytelling over traditional e-commerce patterns, reflecting the premium brand positioning
- Balanced presentation of both products and the women who ride them, establishing authentic brand connection with the target audience
Reflection
- This project demonstrated my ability to deliver award-winning work under extreme time pressure while maintaining design innovation and technical excellence
- The international recognition and tutorial feature established my reputation for creating industry-influencing interaction design patterns
- Working on a successful brand spin-off taught me the importance of design in establishing independent brand identity and market positioning
