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From Pins to Pixels: The Rebranding Journey of New Places To Be

Venturing into uncharted territory, New Places To Be was ready for a mission to redefine destination discovery. With a fresh approach and innovative offerings, I collaborated to amplify their visual identity and craft an immersive, responsive web design, making it a succesful sales and collaboration tool for the agency.


 

Client Background: New Places To Be, an online independent hotspot guide, emerged in 2012 as an in-house project of King George, aiming to provide curated insights into trendy destinations for food, drinks, and ambiance. Over time, it grew into a strategic tool for collaborations and expanded its offerings beyond mere blogposts for hotspot-recommendations.



Challenge: After a successful initial launch in 2012, the brand recognized the need for a comprehensive rebranding and digital overhaul to keep pace with its growth and evolving ambitions. So two years after conception, the challenge was to create a timeless visual identity and user-centric website platform that would cater to both visitors, potential collaborators and (potential) brand partners.




Solution & Implementation:

The first phase of the project focused on reinventing the visual identity to ensure flexibility across various digital touchpoints. Departing from the literal pin icon, a new logo combining a map-pointer and comment-card was crafted for a modern and recognizable appeal. The color palette was simplified, with a fresh minty green (#04FFBE) as the key supporting color to complement the brand's aesthetic. The typeface selection emphasized a blend of sophistication and approachability, effectively combining the robust yet friendly Museo Slab and Sans by Jos Buivenga, combined with a traditional curated appeal thanks to Robert Slimbach' Arno Pro. The rebranding efforts extended beyond digital assets to tactile touchpoints, including hotspot markers (window stickers), a flyer and photography treatment (watermark).



In the subsequent phase, wireframing and development of the website platform commenced. The goal was to transform New Places To Be into a multifunctional platform serving as a hotspot reference, partnership tool, and on-the-go city guide. Additional features such as wishlist functionality, user accounts, a user-friendly maps tool, and curated content blocks were integrated to enhance user experience and engagement. The well-thought-out minimal viable product for initial launch versus both brand and product-growth trajectory, accommodated the brand's multifaceted objectives while maintaining a seamless user journey answering each collaborators' intentions.


Wireframing

Desktop design


Mobile design



Based on this successful concept, multiple fruitful projects rolled out of the success of this in-house project. Determined to create unforgettable experiences, New Places To Be collaborated with Lannoo to create two captivating books (one and two). Strategically partnering with Alpro and curated hotspot-owners, offered the opportunity to set up a city festival in Ghent (see article), fostering vibrant connections and cross-pollination between the local establishments and their audience. In these project-based efforts, the team worked closely together getting in touch with the media partners and creating PR/copywriting content, with me focussing on the creative direction and visual execution of the touchpoints, ensuring both virtual and tactile communications reflected the brand's ethos and delighted audiences.