Helping reposition the digital identity of scenic trains in Aotearoa

When train tourism was stopped during the pandemic, KiwiRail took the opportunity to diversify its portfolio and support local tourism businesses by providing inclusive rail tours and holiday packages. We worked with them to design and build a new website and guide the digital application of their new visual identity. 

KiwiRail came to us to help bring their new product range to life with a new website. Great Journeys New Zealand provides once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences, which people often plan over the course of years and over several visits to the website. 

It was important to create a consistent experience for returning customers to plan and consider options. That meant designing an intuitive menu and booking experience and creating pathways for customers to browse, explore, and return to where they left off. We also needed to enable customers who were looking for the classic scenic train journeys to become aware of the new product ranges.

While we were creating the website, KiwiRail was also working with another agency on a new brand for Great Journeys New Zealand. The brand seeks to inspire manuhiri (or visitors) to visit Aotearoa by presenting a welcoming, sensory experience. We brought the brand to life with the user experience and interface design, and provided our digital expertise to make sure it was accessible and fit for purpose online. 

Ideally, a brand would be set before we start designing, with brand guidelines for us to follow, but the Great Journeys New Zealand visual identity and website were being developed in parallel - and to a very tight deadline in order to catch the upcoming summer season.

This presented a challenge and an opportunity. We guided the digital application of the new visual identity, to make sure brand assets were accessible and expressed the brand story. 

The visual identity draws on the colours and textures of Aotearoa’s native birdlife. The curved shapes and coloured gradients of the bird motif flow across the website, creating the feeling of movement. And to showcase the scenic beauty of the journeys and the stylish comfort of travelling with Great Journeys New Zealand, we put imagery front and centre.

We delivered a beautiful website that showcases the brand principles of Great Journeys New Zealand—the scenic beauty, the relaxation, the sense of freedom and discovery. But most of all, it binds together the extensive range of travel products, the inspiring destinations, the scenic journeys, and the incredible tourism experiences that Great journeys New Zealand offers.

• Workshops
• Discovery
• UX & design
• Front and back end web development
• Project Management
• Account Management
• Managed cloud hosting
• 24/7 New Zealand-based support