CAUE 13
The CAUE 13 has been working with the agency bluedrop.fr since the end of 2015. After developing and operating its previous site, powered by Drupal 7, the CAUE 13 team wanted to redo their website. The new site, powered by Drupal 8, went live at the end of June 2020.
Our missions
- UX design
- UI design
- Drupal development and custom modules
- Accommodation
- Maintenance
Context of the collaboration
Created in 1980 at the initiative of the Departmental Council under the framework of the Architecture Law of January 3, 1977, the CAUE of Bouches du Rhône supports elected officials, local authorities, institutions, and individuals in their planning and urban development projects. It provides technical, educational, and cultural resources throughout the Bouches-du-Rhône area as part of its legally mandated missions: advising, training, informing, and raising awareness among all stakeholders and citizens about the quality of their living environment.
CAUE 13 has been collaborating with the agency bluedrop.fr since the end of 2015. After developing and maintaining its previous website, powered by Drupal 7, the CAUE 13 team entrusted the redesign of its website to the agency bluedrop.fr.
UX design
Two workshop days were organized:
- A first day dedicated to summarizing the purpose of the association, defining its users, and analyzing the traffic statistics of the previous site
- A second day focused on user journeys and a design studio workshop for the future homepage of the site
These workshops, held during the second working day, included:
- Sorting the site content:
This workshop aimed to analyze which content from the old site should be kept or deleted. - Developing the future site’s menu:
This workshop enabled the creation of a site map (menu) for the future site, building an architecture aligned with user journeys and main personas. - Zoning and wireframing the homepage:
This workshop aimed to collaboratively design the homepage of the future website. The best ideas selected during the design studio voting phase were used to create this mockup.
UI design
These initial workshops also validated the extensive consultation methodology essential for designing and validating UI mockups, within the framework of the so-called "atomic design" method. The teams continued listening to one another, which made the mockup production phase easier.
The CAUE 13 team wanted to incorporate the work of an illustrator during the UI design process. So, with pleasure and in the interest of the project's quality and originality, we integrated the works of Thibault Rassat.
Drupal 8 Development
The site was built using Drupal 8 and a theme based on Foundation. Throughout the development, the idea was to anticipate content changes initiated by the site’s contributors. Nearly 22 paragraphs were integrated and made available to contributors (through the paragraphs module). Only 4 custom modules were developed to meet specific needs regarding blocks and to facilitate the import of content from the calendar. Search is based on the SolR module, enabling fast and optimized searching. The development team also worked on the site's performance throughout the development cycles. More details in our article.
Deployment of the caue13.fr website
Feedback from CAUE 13
"The agency bluedrop.fr has been supporting us since 2015 in the development of our digital communications. From a hesitant and barely functional starting point, they managed to redefine the ergonomics and interface of our website, making it a more accessible and more functional showcase. Over time, the agency also managed to rebuild the level of trust we had lost with our previous digital communication providers. We therefore thank bluedrop.fr for their attentiveness, responsiveness, and professionalism, which have allowed us to have a website that perfectly meets both our expectations and those of our users."
