Enhancing media access and streamlining communication workflows
Client: Visit California
Visit California needed a complete redesign of its Media Center, a key hub for journalists and media partners seeking news, press materials, and brand assets. The goal was to create a modern, cohesive site that aligned with the recent redesign of the organization’s wider digital ecosystem, better supported media needs, and reduced the workload on the internal communications team.
Visit California
Media Center redesign
My role
As Lead Strategist, I worked across research, strategy, and creative consultation to help shape a solution that balanced audience expectations, internal workflows, and long-term digital goals.
Discovery & research
Working alongside analysts, UX designers, and client stakeholders, the discovery phase combined multiple inputs to build a clear picture of what the Media Center needed to become:
Comprehensive content audit and structural analysis
Competitor and trend analysis within tourism and media
Review of SEO, SEM, and analytics from the wider Visit California ecosystem
Interviews with the internal media team to understand workflows, challenges, and future needs
This work drew on long-standing familiarity with Visit California’s digital properties to ensure strategic cohesion across the organization.
Strategy development
Insights from research were translated into a guiding strategy built around three priorities:
Media usability. Enabling fast, intuitive access to press releases, assets, and story resources.
Operational efficiency. Reducing the reliance on manual tasks for the small communications team.
Future readiness. Ensuring the site could support evolving media expectations and anticipated tourism trends.
Creative & production partnership
With the strategy defined, I moved into a consultative role supporting the UX, design, and development teams. This included:
Reviewing IA, content structures, and workflows.
Ensuring creative execution aligned with strategy.
Supporting cross-functional decision-making.
Presenting recommendations and progress to client stakeholders.
Key tasks performed
Content audit Market landscape analysis
Competitor analysis
Content strategy
Strategy development
Stakeholder management
Information architecture (IA)
UX writing
The outcome
The redesigned Media Center delivered a modern, intuitive, and efficient resource for media partners, strengthening Visit California’s digital presence and reducing pressure on the internal team. While specific performance metrics were not captured, the work was recognized across multiple industry competitions:
Awards:
AVA Digital Awards, Gold
B2 Awards, Web Presence (Website over 100K)
EMA Innovator Award, Website Redesign
EMA Leader Award, Website Redesign