Mille Lacs Tourism Council, a travel affiliate for Explore Minnesota Tourism, sought to refresh its brand and modernize its website. With a focus on accessibility and attracting new visitors, the project involved strategic planning by West & Co., branding by Liina & Co., and our expertise in UX design, ADA compliance, and development. Together we enhanced the member directory, improved user experience, and helped launch the “Live the Lacs Life” campaign.

The above goals and challenges are common in a normal timeframe. But the project was fast-tracked, with only 60 days for strategy, wireframes, design, build, quality assurance, and the launch of the website.

A Destination Directory

We prioritized user experience, envisioning the Mille Lacs website as a comprehensive destination for visitors seeking accommodations, event updates, and live lake views via webcams. By introducing new sections like 'Getting Prepared' and 'Weekly Happenings,' the site has been significantly enhanced in terms of usability, and we ensured the website met ADA compliance standards.

Optimizing and Repurposing Content

We crafted SEO-driven copy for the new site and repurposed content from the old Mille Lacs website, aligning it with campaign direction and SEO keyword research where applicable. A key focus was optimizing mobile functionality for users with limited bandwidth at the lake.

Our 'Things to Do' stories showcase the diverse activities at Lake Mille Lacs, providing detailed insights into fishing, hunting, and other experiences while amplifying campaign-driven marketing and SEO potential. We structured the content meticulously for easy updates by the Mille Lacs marketing team, integrating custom components where standard editing tools proved cumbersome.

Importance of Flowcharting

We wireframed the existing flow and architecture of the old site to know what content would be reusable and to understand the existing URL structure so eliminated, archived, and dead pages would be redirected to new site pages.

Vibrant & Accessible Design

Liina & Co created a design based on the wireframes and brand positioning concept: Live the Lacs Life – highlighting the various, great aspects of Lake Mille Lacs, family-friendly activities, sport and ice fishing, and countless places to stay on the lake. With layouts designed and SEO copy written, the new site started taking shape. 

Living the Lacs Life

MadeDaily’s design collaborator Liina Lundin of Liina & Co., presented two campaign concepts geared at building new audiences for Lake Mille Lacs.

“There's a lot of nostalgia around cabins and going to the lake in Minnesota. So one of the directions, Made at Mille Lacs, leaned into that. But I also felt like that concept was a bit more expected.”

“The second direction, which is the one they ended up choosing, Live the Lacs Life, had a lot of energy, and didn't feel like it was rooted in any tradition necessarily. It's just very vibrant and full of life" (Liina Lundin).

Accounting for Continual Site Evolution

The revamped Mille Lacs website invites deeper exploration. Rooted in the fresh brand perspective, it vividly captures the essence of values and experiences cherished by the Mille Lacs Tourism Council, and our narrative framework paves the way for ongoing evolution and enhancements, enticing users to revisit and discover the latest offerings at Lake Mille Lacs.