The Client:

Aspen Electric Cars services the Aspen area and much of the Colorado Mountain West as a dealer of multiple brands of electric vehicles. The company has partnerships in multiple Colorado locations and provides helpful services to assist in the purchasing and operation of an electric vehicle. The company represents GEM, Zap!, Zenn and California Roadster brand vehicles.

The Challenge:

Aspen Electric Cars had little in the way of an established business identity. Up until now they have relied mainly on word of mouth and referrals to promote their business. In seeking to expand their client base, Aspen Electric Cars felt the need to build a more established business identity and provide a website for both new and previous customers.

The new site needed to showcase the company’s inventory and provide a place to post news stories and tips for helping clients with their electric vehicles. The harsh winters of Colorado present unique challenges for electric vehicles and the company wanted to serve as a resource to help their customers keep moving in the winter snows.

Given the smaller scale of Aspen Electric Cars operations they wanted to be able to maintain and update the site on their own.

The Solution:

Neon Sumo first addressed the issue of business identity. After researching the various electric car dealers and manufacturers, we sought to create a visual identity that didn’t conform to the industry “norms.”  Many companies within the industry relied upon “lightning bolts” to communicate the electrical aspect of their business. Additionally, many companies were found to have a “high tech” feel with sharp fonts that we found unappealing.

To match the friendly service and demeanor of Aspen Electric Cars, we wanted to create a brighter, happier image that would also stand out within the industry.  The logo we created draws upon the look of the US power outlet.  As many have often noticed the power outlet in the US looks like a face, but its still distinguishable as a symbol of electricity to those familiar with it.

Small modifications were made to make the face appear as if it is smiling, and a freely available font was selected to accompany the symbolic logo icon. The color palette was picked because of its bright and happy look. It also created a sense of cleanliness and felt “green.”

For the website itself, Neon Sumo created a minimalist look to help ensure a focus on content and provide a certain sense of professionalism. A custom graphic was generated to add some personality to the site, and help communicate the fun eco-friendly aspects of electric vehicles.  Additionally the all white look helped make Aspen Electric Cars stand out from the current competition’s sites.

In addressing the concern to have the site be editable by the clients, we elected to use Wordpress as a content management and blog system.  The open source content management system allowed us to keep the project cost down and still provide a high level of usability.  Special workflows were developed to ensure that the client could update their inventory on their own and still maintain a professional feel.

Furthermore, the “blog” side of things allows the clients to post news stories and tips for customers to read concerning electric vehicles and their maintenance.

The end result was a bright and unique image that helps distinguish Aspen Electric Cars within its industry while allowing them to self manage their website.

The Product:

To see the site in action visit www.aspenelectriccars.com