While Grounded

Services

Founder & Co-Creator
Creative Direction
Strategic Design

Overview

When lockdowns forced businesses to shut their doors overnight, many businesses did not have a digital space set up to promote their work/services. As co-founder of While Grounded, we saw an opportunity to apply design thinking to help small businesses during lockdown. In a 48 hour sprint, we created a brand and designed and built a digital platform that became a one-stop hub for local businesses, musicians and artists to connect with customers. 

100+ local businesses ended up signing up to the platform to gain visibility and new revenue streams during a time of mass uncertainty.

Information

Role

Co-founder 
Creative Director 
UX/UI Designer

Credits

Co-Founder: Studio Percy

Location

Melbourne, Australia
Manchester, UK 

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Results

The impact of While Grounded shows how strategic design can create value fast. Over 100 local businesses signed up, gaining a digital lifeline and new customer reach.

Process

We began by identifying the two sides of the problem. Local businesses and artists were losing foot traffic and revenue. On the other side, community members were looking for ways to support small businesses and find engaging activities from home.

We focused on three key design principles:

Accessibility and simplicity for a single, intuitive platform to discover local businesses and activities at a glance.
Clear categorisation of activities allowed users to quickly browse and book.
Support for musicians by creating WG Live Sessions, allowing musicians to stream music and provided ready-made social assets so they could promote themselves easily.

This user-centered approach ensured that every feature solved a tangible problem. By consolidating scattered local offerings into a single hub, we removed friction for both businesses and customers.

Summary

While Grounded became more than a website; it was a design initiative to empower local businesses and support musicians and artists.

Looking to create a digital presence that can support your business?

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