PANYNJ.gov

As manager of New York’s transportation networks and owner of some of its most valuable real estate, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had a sprawling and very busy Web presence. Unfortunately for many visitors, this mass of information was a tangle — drab, difficult to navigate, and anything but a pleasure to use. The agency had plenty to work with, including a string of big infrastructure “brands,” from the Holland Tunnel and George Washington Bridge to Kennedy Airport to the World Trade Center. How, then, could it leverage these brands while bringing greater order to the chaos? How could it build an online user experience that the millions of annual visitors deserved?

Solution

Working closely with officials from Public Affairs and the agency’s various properties and divisions, we overhauled the PANYNJ infrastructure from the inside out. First, we re-architected the sprawl into a family of separate but integrated sites. This made navigation clear and intuitive, from the home page down to each PANYNJ facility. The separate sites were then designed to create differentiated destinations, while still maintaining a strong connection to the overall brand. Finally, to protect the organization’s investment, we developed a set of site-wide standards — firm guidelines for architecture, design, messaging and imagery. This ensured that future additions would be on brand and easy to build. The agency now has an online infrastructure it can grow into for years.

Results

An interim launch of a redesigned World Trade Center site drew praise from the downtown redevelopment community and increased traffic and set the stage for an updated agency-wide presence. Initial reactions to the launch of the full site have been very positive. The implementation team has continually praised our design standards and specifications for the build, and the agency’s leaders have expressed confidence in no uncertain terms. “We’ve worked on multiple fronts to make the PA more accessible and transparent,” said Port Authority chairman Anthony Coscia. “Our new website is a major advance in these efforts, providing more information and making that information available in a user-friendly way.”