Modernizing a legacy experience through design
Modernized brand perception and created a scalable digital foundation for growth across marketing and communications.
The Opportunity
Cochran Inc. had built a strong reputation over decades as one of the Pacific Northwest’s leading electrical and technology contractors, but its digital presence no longer reflected the scale, sophistication, or innovation of the company itself.
The existing experience lacked cohesion across branding, messaging, and user experience, making it difficult to clearly communicate the breadth of Cochran’s services, culture, and industry leadership. The challenge was not simply to redesign a website, but to modernize the company’s entire digital identity while creating a scalable foundation for future growth.
My Role
As Design Director, I led the creative and experience strategy for Cochran’s broader digital transformation initiative. This included overseeing the redesign of the company website, defining the visual direction and user experience framework, and helping establish a scalable design system that could support future digital products and marketing initiatives.
I worked closely with stakeholders across leadership, marketing, and technology teams to align business goals with user needs while guiding cross-functional collaboration throughout the engagement.
Approach
The project focused on evolving Cochran’s digital presence into something that felt modern, credible, and forward-looking while still honoring the company’s long-standing industry reputation.
A major priority was simplifying how users explored the company’s extensive service offerings, which ranged from electrical and preventative maintenance to security, wireless, DAS, BIM, prefabrication, and emerging technology services. The information architecture and navigation were restructured to improve clarity, discoverability, and scalability across the site.
The visual system was intentionally designed to feel more elevated and contemporary while remaining approachable and highly functional. This included:
Creating a cleaner, more modular content structure
Establishing a new visual language and design system
Improving responsiveness and accessibility across devices
Modernizing typography, imagery, and layout systems
Streamlining pathways for prospective clients and recruits
Building flexible templates for marketing and editorial content
The redesign also extended beyond the website itself, influencing supporting digital touchpoints such as newsletters, branded communications, and future-facing platform initiatives.
Outcome
The final experience repositioned Cochran as a modern technology-forward organization while preserving the trust and credibility built over decades in business. The new digital ecosystem provided a significantly stronger foundation for marketing, storytelling, recruitment, and long-term scalability.
By combining strategic UX thinking with modern visual design systems, the project helped transform Cochran’s online presence into a more unified and future-ready brand experience that better reflected the company’s expertise, culture, and ambitions.
Credits
VP, Marketing: James Robinson
Design Director: Jimmy Walker
Product Designer: Erik Maxwell
Product Designer: Camilla Aubrey
Product Designer: Jonathan Miller
Brand Identity: Ward Duft, Mckenzie Halling
Video Production: Andrew Alter, Peter Lansworth
Lead Developer: Mateusz Blyszcz
Lead Developer: Patrick Wu
